Kitchen Design Ideas
The best kitchen designs always balance beautiful design and functional considerations. How do you make your kitchen everyone’s favorite room in the house? Read these kitchen design ideas to find out.
Often described as the heart of the home, kitchens are the perfect place to spend time with family. The best kitchen designs are always functional, inviting and warm. That said, the site of so much activity also requires plenty of organization and flexibility. Read on to learn how to make your kitchen the center of attention.
Before You Begin
Before you begin decorating your kitchen, sit down and make a list of all the activities that might take place in this room other meal preparation. Considering what you come up, think about what type of space, surfaces, and materials might be required. Consider first, your most common everyday routines. Think about how you might want to set your kitchen up to serve your daily routines, while also making it flexible for special occasions, holidays, extra guests, etc.
How you move about and use your kitchen is second nature to you so you may not have given much thought to it, but it’s important to think about your personal habits in relation to how you decorate.
- Do you prefer clear counters or to keep frequently used items out on display?
- Does the chef of the house like to involve other family members?
- Do you cook with cookbooks or a tablet?
- How many people are you usually serving?
Consider a Kitchen Island
Make sure you have all the storage and countertop space you need for every activity. If there is limited counter space, a kitchen island, hutch or rolling kitchen cart are great options for adding extra cooking room, or workspace storage while allowing the kitchen to feel cozier.
Space Planning Tips for Your Kitchen
In designing your kitchen, you should plan for at least 42" between the kitchen island and the nearest countertop or wall. This will allow for enough traffic flow for multiple people to move about the kitchen.
Kitchen Seating Ideas
When it comes to seating in the kitchen, if space allows, you may want to purchase a small bistro table and a couple of cafe chairs as a breakfast nook and a place to take a load off while you’re cooking. For kitchens with high counters, barstools are a quick and easy way to create the perfect spot for afternoon snacks, or a place for quick weekday dinners. Bar stools come two different heights—counter height and bar height—so measure your counters before your order your stools.
Kitchen Storage Ideas
The more you cook, and the bigger your family is, the more kitchen storage you’ll need. If your kitchen has limited built–in cabinetry, a buffet-style console or a glass cabinet is a great alternative for storage. Floating islands are also great options for storage. And don’t forget to think vertically! Cleverly placed wall–mountable shelves can convert often wasted space into a spot for storage, as well as favorite spices or displaying unique artwork.