NOTE; companies like Daikin have efficient units which provide TWO indoor fan units separately controlled but served with ONE outdoor unit (compressor, etc). Also note, if we ever get our own place, it will be totally open floor plan, kitchen, dining room, living room ALL open, NO interior walls.
I have always thought that the actual Kitchen should be separated from other rooms due to the 'steam/by products' of cooking settling on other furniture and whatnot's... If you have ever looked at the filter in a Range-hood then you should get an idea of just what is floating around without one. It sort of goes back to the days from when I cooked on a Wood Stove, one place which had been freshly painted prior to me moving in, advance to 6 months later when I moved out and removed the pictures hanging on the wall, it left obvious (VERY) light spots, and when trying to clean to make it less obvious, I found it was also very greasy (PITA!) Hence why I attempted to tile as much of the walls as possible this time around to make cleaning easier, and even with smooth shiny tiles, I am the one who needs to do the 'up high' cleaning (well; anything above the 4'8" mark) and using a Gas-top Burner it still gets too greasy for my liking! Just Food for thought if Asawa is short like mine...
Brian, I would definitely consider a additional "dirty kitchen" outside with an extra gas stove, to be used for any deep frying (bananas, chicken, whatever), because that is the main culprit in producing that greasy "film" on nearby surfaces (especially the cooking range "hood"). Regular cooking won't do anywhere near as much harm as the deep frying thing.
I forgot to build a pantry and ended up stealing a bit of area from the spare bedroom. Parking spaces outside the fence gate is handy when friends drop by, they can park off the road but still on my property. A room for the clothes washing machine would have been nice. Dam% rats ate the wiring in my machine twice. The machine now lives outside in a rat proof box.
As much as possible, we use the oven or make tacos, bread and green salad is mostly our thing at dinner. We make tomato sauce in bulk for pasta though and sometimes curry- love all types.
If you make your outer walls double cavity it actually aides in stopping the outside walls transferring heat inside due to the cushion of air separating the inner and outer walls, also helps to cut down on the transference of outside noise inside especially if you use double glazing on your windows which also helps to keep it cooler inside when using Air-con... I did the same thing, I planned to build a small Pantry in the Hallway where it separates the Kitchen from the TV area, but the Wife took that spot over to display (*ahem* store) her and nak-nak's Shoes... So for now we use the large plastic Tubs on wheels and store that under the TV Unit I built. (Also very Rat/Mouse/Vermin proof!) We had a problem with Rats here at one stage during a hot dry summer (due to some of the Family's habits with their 'dirty' kitchen) but after buying a few boxes of Rat Bait (unbeknown to the family & NO I NEVER told them! hehe) the Rats quickly became their problem when it came to tracing where the smell was coming from! A change in habits later (upon my vague suggestion) and no more Rat problem! They are still knackered as to WHY so many Rats were turning up in their rooms dead... PMSL
I would also want a chute near the kitchen sink for scraps of fruit and veggies that goes straight to a garbage box outside near the compost pit.
I chop all my peels and scatter them over the garden, really helps a lot with the seeds I get to sprout and to fatten up the sandy soil in readiness to transplant them onto our lot. A friend here was amazed to see I was cutting the Banana Peels, turns out she turns them into Burger Patties! We are going to give it a try and see what they taste like!
