Designing your New Kitchen

Putting together a great kitchen design is a lot like taking a thousand puzzle pieces and assembling them together for the finished look.

First of all, a kitchen has to function well. From there, the design of the kitchen starts. If this is a remodel of an existing kitchen, start with all of the things you wish you had in your existing kitchen. Do you hate that you have to leave your trash can out in plain view? Do you lack storage space for food items? Is the area to store your dishes inconvenient from the sink/dishwasher area? All of these things should be considered first and then the wish list of elements that you would like to add can take into consideration choices that you need to make first.

Planning efficient use of the space will begin with a redesign of the floorplan. Once you identify your opportunities to reconfigure the existing space either by knocking out walls, extending the eat-in area or moving location of appliances, then you are ready to draw in functional cabinets to address your needs.

Cabinets come in so many choices today that were not offered in the past. In addition, most of the kitchens in new homes were installed with the express purpose of selling the house...not the function of the kitchen for the purchasers. Blind corners which are useless are cheaper for a builder to install than a lazy susan corner with lots of storage space. Deep drawers for storage of pots and pans, plastic ware or cereal boxes are rare in a stock kitchen. If you are going to remodel, make your kitchen more functional than it was in the first place. With most existing kitchens this is relatively simple to accomplish given the lack of attention to these details by the average builder. Buyers often are wowed by what something looks like when they inspect a home. It is only after someone has lived in a space for a while that they find out that the layout simply doesn't work.

As an interior designer and kitchen space planner, I see nonfunctional kitchens as a rule rather than the exception. At my website, www.barbaraenglishdesigns.com you can visit some redesigns of kitchens which may give you an idea of what your kitchen could look like. You may not be able to tell how it functions from the pictures, but I would be happy to share with you what is behind the secret of a kitchen that not only looks good, but has storage and functionality regardless of the space.