Kitchen Design Bloomers To Avoid

So far we've covered all kinds of things you SHOULD do but very little of what you shouldn't do. While the design of your kitchen depends on many different factors, there are 3 things you should never do:

Kitchens For One

Never design your kitchen for just one cook – You may be the only person living in your home right now but sooner or later you're going to have guests, acquire a spouse, you'll want to have a party or your mother will visit. Eventually you're going to want to sell that house and you'll find that most potential buyers need more space than they'll find in your Kitchen-For-One.

Storage Space Is King

Never try to save money by cutting back on storage space – Over time, you'll find that you manage to accumulate quite a lot of 'Stuff' in your kitchen. A waffle maker, a toaster, an espresso machine, a complete set of Christmas china, wine glasses, shot glasses, rocks glasses and juice glasses. And you'll seldom use these items often enough that they'll warrant a coveted space on your counter. So into the kitchen units they'll go. Oops! You didn't include them in your Kitchen design, did you? You're sorry now, aren't you?

Carpet? Noooo!

Never carpet your kitchen – This is a must. No matter how tempting it seems to put down warm, fuzzy wall-to-wall carpeting in your kitchen so you can walk in there with bare feet in the morning and not die of shock, do NOT do it. Trust me.

And if you DON'T trust me, try this. The next time you're cooking a big dinner, put newspapers down on the floor around the perimeter of your kitchen. In front of the oven and sink, along the kitchen worktops where you'll be working. Around the prep island, etc.

And when you're all done cooking, eating and have your kitchen all cleaned up, look at that newspaper. See all those splatters of water, grease, flour and crumbs? Now multiply that by however many times a week you cook and imagine what that carpet will be harbouring after just one month. Gross!

One Final Thought...

Remember, a remodel of any room, but especially your kitchen, can be a very stressful undertaking. And usually that stress is completely unwarranted.

Make a budget and stick to it. Generally, most of the stress comes from not planning your budget or not staying within the budget you set. Plan carefully and spend wisely. Shop and compare, shop and compare and shop and compare some more. Magazines and websites are full of great money saving deals and ideas and as long as you're flexible you should be able to get that new kitchen without breaking your bank.

Plan, plan and plan again. Talk to designers and builders. How much time will your kitchen be 'down?' Will it be 'back up' for the next holiday or Christmas? Anticipate as many problems as possible before you even get started and plan ahead for contingencies.

Be flexible. So you have your heart set on that restaurant quality hob? That's fine. But if it's going to break your budget then consider giving in on the ceramic tile kitchen flooring or waiting until next year for a new refrigerator.

Remodelling or designing a kitchen should be fun. It's the most used room in your house – the heart of your home, so to speak. Your entire family congregates there and that's a good thing. Get everyone involved in the planning and some of the work, too. Make it a family affair and you'll all get through it with a lot less stress.  

We hope you have found these kitchen design tips useful and have also included a pointers about different  kitchen design styles.

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