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Ergonomics

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The job of a well-designed interior is to promote the connection between a space’s design and the functionality of it.  That functionality is called ergonomics.  Ergonomics is around to simply create a user friendly space.  We need to design spaces that keep ergonomics in mind or we will have beautiful spaces with no prospects of being used. Thinking of all the spaces I inhabit, one of the most important spaces to incorporate ergonomics is the kitchen.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I have been thinking a lot about cooking and how it is so important that the kitchen allows for us to be able to move quickly and store a lot.  The kitchen in my apartment has served as well over the past year and a half, but does have some design flaws of its own that are just not user friendly. 

The Dishwasher
photo by me
One thing I do thoroughly enjoy about our kitchen is the dishwasher.  Freshman year, I lived on campus and had to hand wash every pot, pan, or plate I used and it proved to be too time consuming and irritating to have to do regularly.  Ergonomics was taken into consideration with the dishwasher because of the placement within the cabinet and how tall it is.  Its placement is out of the way of the sink, so if you are cleaning dishes out of the sink, you can comfortably place them inside the dishwasher without having to open or close it each time.  It also sits at a comfortable height to where we do not have to strain to load or unload the dishes.  



The Cabinets

photo by me
photo by me
Because of the layout of our apartment, we were blessed with a lot of cabinetry.  Although, not all of it is useable or user friendly.  The top shelves on the wall cabinets are too high for us to reach to store anything that we would need to use on a regular basis. When we need to get something out of them, we have to pull a chair over to be able to get it.  There are also cabinets over the refrigerator, which really are impossible for us to use.  Though the floor cabinets are large and spacious, they are way too deep and our items get lost back in there.  If we need to get something from the bottom cabinets, we have to get on the ground to reach it. 

The Pantry

photo by me
Again, we were thoroughly blessed with a large pantry in our apartment.  It holds four shelves and tons of storage at the bottom which leads to a lot of snack food from us three girls.  The second, third, and fourth shelves are at perfect heights for us and we can simply retrieve our snack or stock up after the grocery store.  On the other hand, the first shelf is extremely hard for us to reach.  To be able to use the depth of the shelf, we have to stand on a chair or reach on our tippy toes just for the front items.  Often things get lost and forgotten about on the top shelf. Although it is great for extra storage, it is not practical for things we need to use every day.







Comments

  1. Liv November 18, 2018 at 3:22 PM

    The examples you used relate to me because my apartment is set up in the same way. It often is difficult to reach things as I am not tall enough. Ergonomics should have been taken into consideration a little more when designing this space.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 27, 2018 at 7:24 PM

    I can totally relate to the struggle with the pantry and cabinet heights! Although my apartment is supposed to be handicap accessible it is still hard for me to reach things! Great post!

    ReplyDelete

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