The design of a kitchen remodel is, for many people, the most fulfilling and fun
part of the procedure. While it is possible to design a beautiful, elegant
kitchen by yourself, you may also want to consider hiring a professional to help
you with your design. A professional can give you many ideas and introduce you
to new products while staying true to the spirit of your original design vision.
Whether you decide to do all the design work yourself, or hire a professional,
there are some things to consider that will get you launched on the right track
for your kitchen remodel.
The art of kitchen design is elaborately linked to how you will be using the
space. The old saying, form follows function, has a lot of truth to it. Design
is not only about how things look, but how things are used. And while most of us
no doubt start our dreams of a new design for our kitchen with visions of a
specific look in mind, space planning is equally important.
The kitchen is often conveyed as the heart of the home, and many unique
activities take place there besides cooking. You may routinely linger with a cup
of coffee and the morning newspaper, or feed your family breakfast before they
dash out the door. Your children may like to do their homework while you cook in
the evenings, or perhaps you and your spouse share cooking duties. Maybe you
regularly host large gatherings, or cook for intimate dinner parties. All these
various activities will affect your kitchen design, and it is important to
consider them as you begin planning. You will also want to ponder storage space
as you plot your design. Do you routinely have trouble finding space for all
your pots and pans? Is there enough room for every family member to sit around
the nook? All of these space-use issues and any other problems you have with
your current kitchen design should be noted. You might want to talk to each
member of the family and see what their concerns about using space are.
Once you've made a list of problem areas to correct in your new plan, the fun
part of kitchen remodel design begins, as you make choices about cabinetry,
flooring, countertops, and lighting. All of these design elements need to work
together to create a coherent design, but that's not difficult to accomplish
with the huge variety of products available today.
There are a number of cabinet options, beginning with your choice of wood or
laminate. If you decide on wood, you'll need to choose what kind-oak or cherry
or birch? And then there are door styles-plain, curved, recessed panel, arched?
With flooring you need to consider not only looks but durability and ease of
cleaning. Countertops need to be sturdy and durable, and with the variety of
natural and synthetic choices today, your design can pair beauty with easy
maintenance. Lighting is also intimately paired with space issues in your
design-are there places in your current kitchen where you need more light? Is
the preparation area currently too dark? Perhaps you want recessed or track
lighting to increase the brightness, or maybe you prefer an elegant chandelier.
Begin with these concerns of space and use as you think over your kitchen design
and the rest will naturally wall into place. Your kitchen design will not only
be a thing of beauty, it will also be a functional, efficient space.
This work is protected under copyright and may not be published in other works without express written permission
Return to Brokerforyou's real estate articles