INSIDE YOUR HOME : KITCHEN

In many homes, in addition to its primary function, the kitchen forms the social focus for the family, callers and almost everything happens there, especially if it’s combined with a dining area that is used for day-to-day meals. The kitchen needs to be a room that can easily accommodate people going to and fro and yet provide all the necessary facilities for preparation of the food, in a bright and if possible spacious area. The east and southeast area of your home are suitable for kitchen.

Although modern kitchens are built in extension to free up other rooms as living areas, this is unfavorable as it will be unprotected on 3 sides when it should be ‘nurtured’.

The ideal position of being able to see whoever enters the room is not always possible in a kitchen when working at the cooker, sink or a worktop. However, quite often and particularly in modern houses, the back door opens into the kitchen, so there is inevitably some conflict here. It may possible to create a passageway or walkway, which helps to keep the kitchen self-contained. 

It is interesting to consider briefly the influence that the 5 elements might have on the layout of a kitchen such as water (sink and refrigerator) and fire (cooker). As mentioned earlier, there is a conflict between these two elements and the moderating influence is wood. It is considered best to avoid having the cooker placed opposite or next to the sink as this generates sha chi. This is also true of the refrigerator and washing machine, thought the lesser extent. The negative effects are agitation, an argumentative family life or poor financial prospects. 

When the kitchen door faces the front or the back door, the chi may rush in and out without benefiting the room. This room should ideally have 2 doors to ensure the smooth circulation of chi.

Advice for the kitchen:

• Use mirrors to counteract the problem of not being able to see the door while cooking or washing dishes
• The kitchen should not become a through way with constant ‘traffic’
• Chopstick should not be stood upright, nor should the blades of knives be visible in the kitchen
• The cooker should not be placed on an island in the middle of the room
• Avoid having cooker placed opposite or next to the sink and/or refrigerator as water and fire conflict
• Kitchen extensions are inadvisable as they do not give the occupant much-needed ‘support’