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Designing a Kitchen for a Multi-generational Home
February 27, 2024
Mrinmoy Dey
Designing a kitchen for a multi-generational home requires a thoughtful balance between functionality, accessibility, and inclusivity, writes Mrinmoy Dey
The concept of a multi-generational home has always been popular in India, as families seek to live together under one roof to share resources, support one another, and foster strong familial bonds. One of the most critical spaces in a multi-generational home is the kitchen. It serves as a hub for daily activities, a gathering place for family members of all ages, and a functional workspace for preparing meals.
Distinct work zones within the kitchen should be created to allow multiple activities to happen simultaneously. Photo Courtesy: Freepik
Key Design Considerations
Designing a kitchen for a multi-generational home requires careful consideration of the diverse needs and preferences of different age groups while creating a harmonious and functional space. It requires a deep understanding of each family member’s unique needs, preferences, and lifestyles.
Accessibility: A key consideration in designing a kitchen for a multi-generational home is ensuring accessibility and accommodating the varying age and mobility levels of family members. This includes wide walkways, adjustable countertops, pull-out shelves etc.
Work Zones: Distinct work zones within the kitchen should be created to allow multiple activities to happen simultaneously. This can include the main cooking area, baking and pastry zone, breakfast area, and food prep zone.
Seating and Gathering Spaces: The kitchen is increasingly becoming an activity space. Therefore, seating and gathering spaces should be planned to encourage family interaction and inclusivity. Space permitting, adding a kitchen island with comfortable seating can’t go wrong. This can serve as a central gathering point for family members. Additionally, the dining area should be planned adjacent to the kitchen. One can add a children’s corner as well with toys, books, and other materials to keep them engaged and entertained.
Integration of Technology: Since the kitchen is now not merely a space for cooking, one should consider integrating technology into the kitchen to cater to different generations. For instance, having a charging station for devices, a smart speaker for music and assistance, or a digital recipe display can enhance the kitchen’s functionality.
Lighting: Adequate and well-designed lighting is essential for all family members. A combination of ambient, task, and accent lighting should be used to ensure the kitchen is well-lit and visually appealing.
"In a joint family, the clients want their kitchens to be closed, mostly. However, the newer generation and the nuclear families want the open kitchen format."
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Devyani Jaiswal
Founder and Principal Architect, DJ Associates
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The Challenges
Designing a kitchen for a multi-generational household can be a rewarding but challenging task due to the complex needs and preferences of family members spanning different age groups.
Talking about the complexities of designing kitchens for multi-generational homes, Smita Datta Makhija, Partner, Avesana shares, “The multi-generational families have the maximum complexities in kitchen design. Sometimes, you have to work with food preferences like veg and non-veg and different people wanting to eat different types of cuisines. Also, the relationship and power dynamics within the family impact the design of the kitchen.”
Different generations have varying kitchen equipment and storage needs. Older family members may be used to working with traditional cooking equipment, while younger ones might prefer modern gadgets. Balancing storage space for these diverse needs while maintaining an organised kitchen can be a challenge.
"Irrespective of the sizes of the apartments, people love open kitchens. In a smaller space, it opens up the volume. In a larger space, there is an additional closed wet kitchen."
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Kavita Sastry
Principal Architect,
KS Designs
Layout Selection
When designing a kitchen for a multi-generational household, it’s essential to choose a layout that maximises functionality, accessibility, and flexibility while accommodating the diverse needs of different family members. While individual preferences and space constraints play a role, both the L-shaped and U-shaped layouts are generally well-suited for multi-generational kitchens.
L-shaped kitchens offer plenty of countertop space and storage while providing a natural division of the kitchen into separate work zones. This layout can accommodate multiple cooks simultaneously. However, one needs to ensure that the corner space in the ‘L’ is effectively utilised to prevent wastage of storage space.
U-shaped kitchens provide excellent storage and counter space, making it easier for multiple family members to work together without crowding. It creates a defined cooking area. The layout may require adequate aisle space to avoid congestion, especially in larger households.
"Designing a visually open kitchen with glass barriers also works. This will also help to keep the smells and fumes out of the living room."
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Ruchi Sharma
Principal Designer, RS.De Experiential Design Firm
Ultimately, the best kitchen layout for a multi-generational household depends on factors like available space, family dynamics, and individual preferences. The architect or designer can help create a customised layout that maximises functionality and inclusivity, ensuring that the kitchen meets the diverse needs of all family members across generations.
Open Kitchen vs Closed Kitchen
From being confined to a closed space run by servants earlier, the trend of open kitchens has really caught on. The kitchen becoming an activity area has also played a big part here. Open kitchens create a spacious, interconnected living area that fosters family interaction. They allow for easy supervision of children and provide ample space for multiple activities.
Space permitting, adding a kitchen island with comfortable seating can’t go wrong. This can serve as a central gathering point for family members. Photo Courtesy: Freepik
Talking about the growing popularity of open kitchens, Kavita Sastry, Principal Architect, KS Designs opines, “Irrespective of the sizes of the apartments, people love open kitchens. In a smaller space, it opens up the volume. In a larger space, there is an additional closed wet kitchen. So, in either of these cases, open kitchens have become very popular.”
However, noise management can be a concern in open kitchens. Additionally, fumes and smells seeping into the living area is another issue. A visually open kitchen can be a middle ground. “Kitchen being an interactive space, open kitchen format works well. Designing a visually open kitchen with glass barriers also works. This will also help in keeping the smells and fumes out of the living room,” states Ruchi Sharma, Principal Designer, RS.De Experiential Design Firm.
"In larger bungalows, we need to have three kitchens in our plan – the wet kitchen which is the messier and service part of the kitchen, then you have the actual cooking kitchen and then you have the dry kitchen which is usually used by the family members – with baking as the main function."
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Rupande Shah
Principal Architect,
Rupande Shah & Associates
Talking about user preference for the type of kitchen, Devyani Jaiswal, Founder and Principal Architect, DJ Associates informs, “In a joint family, the clients want their kitchens to be closed, mostly. However, the newer generation and the nuclear families want the open kitchen format. Joint families want a dedicated space for dining where the families can sit together. And, they want bigger spaces. However, that is achievable in the case of bungalows; apartments do have space constraints.”
Single Kitchen or Multiple Kitchens?
The decision between a single kitchen and multiple kitchens in a multi-generational family home depends on several factors, including the size of the household, the family’s lifestyle, and individual preferences. Building and maintaining a single kitchen is usually more cost-effective than having multiple kitchens. A shared kitchen can be a central gathering place for family members of all generations, fostering interactions and a sense of togetherness. In a single kitchen, resources such as appliances, cooking utensils, and pantry items can be efficiently shared among family members, reducing waste.
"The multi-generational families have the maximum complexities in kitchen design. Sometimes, you have to work with food preferences like veg and non-veg and different people wanting to eat different types of cuisines. Also, the relationship and power dynamics within the family impact the design of the kitchen."
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Smita Datta Makhija
Partner,
Avesana
However, a single kitchen may become crowded and challenging to navigate when multiple family members are using it simultaneously. Additionally, if family members have vastly different culinary preferences or dietary restrictions, it can be challenging to accommodate everyone’s needs in a single kitchen.
Therefore, there is a growing preference for having multiple kitchens in independent houses and bungalows based on usage. Having separate dry and wet kitchens has become common. The requirement for multiple kitchens is even higher in multi-generational homes.
Makhija adds, “Everyone wants their own space. Here, the main kitchen is almost always run by the servants unless we are talking about the younger generation. When you have elderly people in the house, often there is an additional compact kitchen which is more like a pantry next to their bedroom. Having members with diverse personality traits and preferences to come together and have a meal and yet have their privacy of eating their own meal is the real challenge.”
When designing a kitchen for a multi-generational household, it’s essential to choose a layout that maximises functionality, accessibility, and flexibility while accommodating the diverse needs of different family members. Photo Courtesy: Freepik
Rupande Shah, Principal Architect, Rupande Shah & Associates shares, “When we design houses which are much larger, the culture part comes in. There comes the concept of open wash and secondary wet kitchens. There, we need to have three kitchens in our plan – the wet kitchen is the messier and service part of the kitchen, then you have the actual cooking kitchen and then you have the dry kitchen which is usually used by the family members – with baking as the main function. So, it’s about the journey of three kitchens tied together. And, this is only possible because you have the luxury of space.”
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