Here are some basic steps to help you get started with your new kitchen plan!
Step 1: Get Started
Planning and designing the most essential room in your home requires careful planning. That is why it is extremely important to ask yourself some questions before doing anything else. Keeping a record of your initial ideas is also recommended, so you can refer back to them as your project progresses.
Step 2: How You Want To Use The Space
What do you like and dislike about your existing kitchen? What design would work for the current layout of the room and what frustrates you about it? All the negatives are just as important as the positives, for they can help you form a clear idea of what you would want your space to look like.
Step 3: The Main Areas Of The Room
There are a total of four vital areas that will create an efficient flow to your kitchen; food preparation, cooking, storage, and sink. However, kitchens are now used for all types of activities. So you have to ask yourself; what do you need in order for the room to cope with your lifestyle?
If you won’t be using your kitchen everyday, you may want to turn it into an open- plan design so you can also use the space to relax, lounge, and hang out after a long day. On the other hand, if you’ll be utilizing your kitchen most of the time, then plan for a space that will accommodate enough prep area and dining room altogether. After all, it’s your kitchen. The most important thing to remember is how you and your family are going to utilize and enjoy the whole space.
Step 4: Add The Details
As you become aware of the important things that you will be putting on your brand new kitchen, it would be wise to make a wish list of all your preferred materials and products. Practicality wise, always consider what you will require from your work surfaces, appliances, sinks and storage solutions.
By now, you may already have an idea of what your kitchen would look like in terms of the colour palette, the style, as well as the finishes. but gathering ideas from websites and magazines can also be helpful. You can even create a scrap-book layout with cuttings of the flooring, furniture, taps, paint swatches, crockery – and just about anything else that will make you feel inspired.
Step 5: The Budget
Creating a whole new kitchen can vary dramatically. The appliances can easily account for a considerable amount of the total cost of the project. Similarly, your choice of work surface materials and other major elements of the design, may also substantially increase the budget. There may be some areas of the project where you may need to compromise your budget and go a little bigger than the original plan. It’s wise to have a contingency fund just in case these things happen.
Step 6: The Layout
As you already know, the layout of the new kitchen design should be dictated by the existing dimensions of the room. However, if you have the time and money to extend your kitchen, then go for an open-plan design so it would seamlessly link to your living space. Remember that whatever the shape of the room, there are numerous design options that will make the most of the space available to you. Even a small and tight kitchen area can look miraculously classy when paired with a clever design.
Design your kitchen space based on the activities that will take place in the room, and most of all, make sure to match your kitchen design with the kind of lifestyle that you have.