How to Design a Kitchen Remodel
The design of a kitchen remodel is, for many people, the
most pleasing and fun part of the development. 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 carefully 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 referred to as the heart of the
home, and many distinctive 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 fix 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 multitude 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 considerations of space and use as you
think about 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.
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