How to Create the Perfect Kitchen Design

How to Create the Perfect Kitchen Design

If you are lucky enough to be able to design your new kitchen from scratch it can sometimes seems like an overwhelming job. Where does one start? There are lots of online tools at various home and kitchen specialist websites as well as instore support and help. Ensure you have the dimensions of the room to hand and start with the planning.

What to do first:

• Ensure you are familiar with your kitchen – where are the sockets, stopcock, the relevant pipes and doors and windows.
• Using your planning tool start playing with layouts. Look at where the major appliances will go. If you move things like dishwashers and washing machines and the associated pipework it’s likely to increase the cost.
• Try different layouts and see how that works. Start thinking of the type of kitchen you’d like, the style and finish is important. Different designs have different types of cupboards and units and this can impact your layout.

A Kitchen for Get Togethers:

The way in which we use kitchens has changed in recent years. Open plan living and dining is much more popular now as we love to socialise, meet and eat all together. If you are lucky enough to have a large space in which to incorporate this kind of design, and it would suit your family, then do give it a go. Even if you haven’t got a large space though there are always elements of this living that you can incorporate. Even the smallest kitchens can include a breakfast bar or small table for communal eating if you plan cleverly.

Be Practical:

Unfortunately we do need to think practically as well as stylishly; the kitchen does need to fulfill the major functions of food preparation, cooking, and clearing away and washing up.

• Do plan for plenty of worktop space. The more you can plan in the better. Too little and food preparation becomes very difficult.
• Many designers like to suggest the triangle design when planning out your kitchen. The points of a triangle refer to 3 major appliances, the fridge, the hob and oven, and the sink unit. It doesn’t matter what shape of triangle you have as long as these 3 items are at each point. This creates good function and practicality in your kitchen. If you’ve never noticed this before, think about how your current kitchen is laid out and I’m sure you’ll be able to create a triangle of sorts from these appliances.
• Plan out your storage and think about how much you need. There is a trend for less wall cupboards to create an illusion of greater space, but can you get away with less cupboards, and will you need them for storage.

Once you’ve covered all the practicalities and decided how the kitchen needs to work for your family, you can really play about with the look and style. Don’t go for gloss white cupboards if you still have toddlers in the house and don’t like cleaning!

Kitchen Trends for 2013:

So what’s hot and what’s not in the world of kitchen design for 2013?

• Well dark wood is on the way out but others like bamboo, birch, oak and walnut are still popular.
• Glass in kitchens is looking trendy for this year, although do consider the practicalities!
• Mixing up textures and materials is a trend that’s been growing for several years now. Walnut with white gloss cabinets for example looks very classy and sophisticated.
• Grey is the new black, everywhere. And kitchens are no exception. As fashion trends tend to emerge in the home interiors world a little later, grey is now becoming very popular in our kitchens.
• Coloured splashbacks and feature walls and murals are building in popularity as we become more daring and much bolder with our decorating choices.

Original article and pictures take lovechicliving.co.uk site