We’ve all watched those home renovation shows with their almost instant transformations, which are so satisfying, right? But when it comes to actually designing your own kitchen, that’s a whole different story. You know, those shows where homeowners complain about their bad lighting, lack of storage, outdated cabinets, lack of work space, and overall kitchen layout We’ve all been there and that’s what gives us the courage to go ahead with our own remodeling plans. You’ve taken all those “before” pictures of your kitchen, capturing every last inch of wasted space, and now you’re just itching to snap those “after” shots.
As much as we’d love for a kitchen renovation to magically finish with the snap of a finger like the TV shows, remodels actually take time. Living in a “gotta-have-it-now world”, we often can’t resist diving straight into our kitchen design process, skipping crucial steps that can turn our dream kitchen into a nightmare – even with the best contractors. So, nailing down a detailed kitchen plan from the get-go is crucial. We’ve tapped into top kitchen designers to help us guide you through the process. Here’s what to do for your kitchen, how to design it and the mistakes to avoid.
Understanding Kitchen Design Principles
The Basic Elements Of Modern Kitchen Design
If you’re redoing your kitchen or starting from scratch, there are a few things to keep in mind. Designing kitchens can be a little tricky, because they need to balance the functionality of your day to day usage and your personal style. So, when you’re in the planning stage for your kitchen remodel, here’s what you should pay attention to:
Kitchen Layout
When you’re planning a kitchen, the first step is nailing down the best layout – think about where you want the countertop, sink, dining area, fridge to go. Your kitchen’s layout plays a big role in how practical and efficient your kitchen will be.
Kitchen Storage
Adequate storage is super important in a kitchen – whether it’s for small kitchen appliances, countertop décor, or food. It’s crucial to have enough cabinets, shelves, and cupboards to keep everything organized.
Kitchen Flooring
You want to choose the perfect flooring for your kitchen that not only looks great but can withstand daily wear and tear while matching your kitchen’s vision. The ideal flooring should make moving around a breeze and make cleaning up spills or messes a simple task.
Kitchen Lighting
Having good lighting is key to setting a welcoming atmosphere in your kitchen. It not only makes cooking or working easier but also helps to get the best version of your kitchen cabinet and wall colors.
Where to start Designing Your Dream Kitchen Layout
1.) Plan Plan Plan
Make a Wishlist of Your Kitchen Must-Haves
In a space normally driven by utility, it can be challenging to infuse your kitchen design with your own personal touch while still taking into account your needs to feel comfortable in your kitchen.. Whether you’re into modern, traditional kitchen, or you’re still figuring out your kitchen style, start by nailing down your essentials. This helps you set the stage for your kitchen layout, budget, and the look you want. By focusing on what you can’t do without, you’ll make designing a kitchen a much easier process, even with a ton of options to choose from.
Start off by using a mood board or jotting down all of the features that you would love to see in your new kitchen space.
This is where your creativity can soar! What design style are you excited to try out? Any luxury gadgets you’ve been dreaming of? Jot down everything that you would love to see in your new kitchen. If sturdy kitchen cabinets are your top priority, make sure to note that. Do you like the best kitchen appliances money can buy? Add that to your list and let it guide you along the way. You’ll thank yourself later when those tempting but pricey design elements come calling that can destroy your budget if they’re not planned for.
You might also want to take a look at what’s not quite clicking with your current kitchen design.
Find design inspiration
Get your wishlist just right with the help of platforms like Pinterest and Instagram or by browsing through magazines and coffee-table books for kitchen design ideas that catch your eye. This is going to be the easiest way to discover how to style your own kitchen. Visual design inspiration does a lot to help guide you in making informed choices on things like cabinet colors, countertop materials, mixed cabinetry hardware, various countertop finishes, and more. The more you explore, the clearer your preferred kitchen style will become, whether it’s farmhouse, contemporary, transitional, rustic, minimalism, or something entirely different.
Think about your lifestyle
Ultimately, the perfect kitchen is personal. A kitchen that functions as a family hub for meals and homework, for example, will look very different from that of a young single city dweller who barely cooks. For that reason, think about your needs and belongings. Take inventory of everything you own to make sure there’s a place for everything, which also reveals cooking habits.
If you need an extra-large prep space for rolling out dough or tons of cabinetry for serveware, a workspace for your kids to do homework, or creative kitchen storage options to create enough space for a smaller kitchen. You want to consider your lifestyle to help inform your kitchen design decisions.
2.) Make Your Budget
When designing a kitchen, costs should be clearly laid out at the beginning of your project. A kitchen remodel could range from $5,000 to $35,000, depending on the project’s size and product choices. For instance, revamping the entire kitchen with all-new everything will cost significantly more than refinishing some cabinets and updating your flooring. Your budget will determine how far your wishlist can go. Establish a realistic spending limit for the project to guide your decisions.
• Lighting
• Kitchen Appliances
• Flooring
• Décor
• Countertop Materials &
• Design
• Backsplash
• Sinks
• Cabinets
• Plumbing
• Electrical Wiring
• Labor and any finishing design touches.
You might want to consider adding extra money as a buffer for any unexpected costs that may come up.
Steps To Properly Design Your Kitchen
1.) Choose your kitchen layout: 6 Most Common Types of Kitchen Layouts
Resist the urge to dive straight into paint colors and fun finishes, and instead, start off with the basics: a solid kitchen layout. When it comes to designing your kitchen, the key is selecting a layout that suits your family and your space to the tee. With a variety of layout options available for kitchens of all sizes, big or small, you can definitely find the perfect fit.
The secret to a great kitchen layout is the work triangle. This triangle is all about making your kitchen as efficient as possible. It gives you a smooth path between the stove, sink, and fridge to make prepping, cleaning, and storing food flow as smoothly as can be. Here are the 6 most common kitchen layouts that are a great place to start your design. They all keep the work triangle in mind.
Single-Wall Kitchens
In a single-wall kitchen, cabinets and appliances line up along one wall. This setup is great for saving space, especially in apartments or small homes. Instead of a work triangle, it’s more like a work line here, so you’ll need to carefully plan and space out your work stations. For extra storage, think vertical. Stack cabinets all the way up to the ceiling to make the most of your space.
Galley Kitchens
Galley kitchens feature two parallel walls with a walk-through in between, making them a smart choice for narrow, smaller spaces. They are cost-effective because of their smaller size and you don’t have to worry about custom corner cabinets with this kitchen layout. However, just be mindful of your work station placement to prevent overcrowding in these compact kitchens.
L-Shaped kitchens
The most favored option for kitchen layout design is the L-shape. An L-shaped kitchen layout consists of two adjacent walls that are perpendicular to each other. This design is particularly well-suited for kitchens situated in corner spaces, especially if they open to another room.
L-shaped kitchens work well in kitchens of any size, optimizing traffic flow. Customization of corner cabinets is possible based on available space. You can enhance the functionality of an L-shaped kitchen by incorporating an island, a breakfast nook, or a walk-in pantry.
U-Shaped Kitchens
U-Shaped kitchens feature three connected walls of cabinets and counter space. The key advantage of this kitchen layout is the extra wall for storage. A u-shaped kitchen works best in larger spaces, as a small u-shaped kitchen might feel a bit boxed-in. Adding open shelving or a large hood and backsplash on one wall can help create a more open feel to the space.
Kitchen Island Layout Design
Island kitchens are getting super popular for kitchen remodels! Adding an island to a single-wall or L-shaped kitchen helps maximize functionality. More storage, more counter space, and different options to eat in are just some of the benefits to including an island in your kitchen design. The kitchen island becomes the new command center of the kitchen, if you’ve got enough space for it.
Peninsula Kitchen (G-Shaped)
2.) Make The Right Cabinetry Choice
The starting point when planning your kitchen’s design, it’s key to envision how you want it to look and feel. Consider its connection not only to the living and dining spaces, especially in an open-plan layout, but also how it aligns with your overall aesthetic choices.
Use pics of kitchens that inspire you from social media or magazines and start refining your ideas, thinking about how they could blend with your vision for your kitchen and the rest of your home.
For instance, if you’re a fan of traditional kitchens, consider using detailed cabinet doors. If you like more modern kitchens, painted kitchen cabinets, rather than stained wooden ones, are a great choice due to their timeless look and the ease of repainting them for a fresh look every now and again. Shaker cabinets can be repainted over time and look great in any kitchen over time.
Think Storage
To make the most of your kitchen, consider the storage you need right from the start. Since this is where you’ll likely spend a lot of your time, having easy access to what you need will make cooking hanging out, and doing work in your kitchen much more enjoyable
In larger kitchens, the emphasis on storage shifts towards organizing your belongings rather than just squeezing everything in, like what is needed in smaller kitchen spaces. However, there are various aspects to consider during this phase of kitchen planning that can simplify the process of deciding exactly where that new toaster should go.
Think about your space as divided into zones for specific functions, plan suitable storage for each area, and create a smooth flow around the room.
Pantry Storage
A pantry or larder cabinet is like a treasure trove for storing dried and canned goods, set up in a way that fits your lifestyle. Think of using the cabinet door racks for various snack boxes, olive oil, dried fruit, and use the shelves for pasta boxes, cereal, rice bags, glass jars, and more.
Cabinetry Proportion & Symmetry
Designing a kitchen is all about finding that perfect balance between practicality and aesthetics – remember, when choosing your cabinetry style, keep those proportions in mind and design for symmetry. The specifics will ultimately depend on the size and height of your kitchen.
3.) Choose Your Kitchen Lighting
Your kitchen’s lighting may be the most important factor to consider for your kitchen design, second only to the layout itself. When designing a kitchen it’s easy to get carried away with choosing colors and cabinet styles, countertops, appliances and the like, but without proper lighting your beautiful marble countertops wont shimmer as they should and with without proper lighting you won’t be able to see clearly what your cooking or working on.
So, good lighting for a kitchen should actually be one of the main things that is considered for your kitchen design due to the huge impact that it has on everything in your kitchen.
There are 3 main types of lighting:
Ambient Lighting, Task Lighting and Accent Lighting
Each type of lighting can have a big impact on how your kitchen looks and how well you can see while working there. It’s important to choose lighting that not only looks good but also provides ample light for cooking and working.
If your kitchen has large windows, take advantage of natural light to brighten up your space. For kitchens with limited natural light, choosing the right combination of artificial lighting can help to make sure that your kitchen fits your lifestyle.
4.) Choose Kitchen Flooring
While your kitchen floor needs to be tough and preferably easy to clean, it can also be something that adds style and charm to your kitchen. The flooring material you choose depends on your budget, what you find beautiful and also what will work the best for your specific kitchen.
There are lots of different options to choose from that will each serve different purposes based on the needs of your specific kitchen dynamic. However, when deciding which material to choose it’s important to consider what will be the easiest to install, the easiest to maintain and the easiest to clean for your specific kitchen setting.
Here are some popular kitchen flooring options that can help to get you started on choosing the right option for your own kitchen:
• Porcelain Tiles
• Wooden Tiles
• Vinyl Planks
• Engineered Wood
• Real Wood
• Laminate
• Luxury Vinyl Tiles
5.) Think: Kitchen Colors
Choosing colors is where the most fun really kicks in. In kitchen design choosing the right color can jazz up your kitchen as well as draw attention to certain elements of your kitchen. The most common kitchen colors by far are neutral. Grays, whites, tans, greiges. Neutral colors make it easier to style your kitchen with different décor because neutral colors work well with so many different color combinations.
When designing, think about contrasting colors in a kitchen to draw attention to a specific design element or if you are more of a fan of minimalism, use complementary colors on your kitchen walls and kitchen cabinets.
6.) Factor In Appliances
7.) Choose Your Countertop Surfaces
Choosing the perfect countertop material involves finding a good balance between utility, durability, aesthetics, cost, and upkeep. Each choice comes with its pros and cons, so the key is to find a balance that you’re comfortable with between the positive aspects and limitations of your countertops.
For instance, marble looks awesome and handles heat very, very well, but it can have issues with porosity, especially if you are buying from countertop makers that aren’t using the latest tech advances. Butcher block is a winner in the looks and utility department for kitchens, but it requires more TLC compared to other choices out there on the market. Stainless steel rocks certain kitchen styles and is a breeze to maintain, but it can give off an industrial feel if you are not careful with your décor choices.
Pro's & Con's Example
• Marble: Beautiful and heat-resistant, yet porous.
• Butcher block: Functional but needs regular oiling.
• Stainless steel: Preferred by chefs, gives an industrial look.
8.) Choose Kitchen Hardware
An often overlooked part of kitchen design is the kitchen hardware. The knobs or handles on the kitchen cabinet doors and the finish of your sink and faucet. These seemingly small pieces of hardware not only have a practical purpose by allowing you to open and close your cabinets, but they also add a touch of personality to your kitchen design. As with everything else, there are an incredible amount of options to choose from, but actually choosing what type of hardware works best for your kitchen isn’t that hard. Think about the following things to help you decide.
Questions to ask yourself
– Do you prefer knobs or pulls?
– What finish fits the décor of your kitchen?
– What size handle is best for the hands that will open and close your cabinets?
– What will be the placement of the handle relative to the cabinet door?
Avoid These Common Kitchen Design Mistakes
Not using the work triangle
The kitchen work triangle is like your cooking bestie, keeping things in perfect balance. The work triangle is the space between the cooktop, fridge, and sink forming an invisible triangle that allows the cook to move freely to prepare food, cooking, and cleaning tasks. Seeing the kitchen from above provides the clearest way to plan it out. U- and L-shaped kitchens are currently among the most prevalent layouts and are the most conducive to incorporating the work triangle.
Mistaking the size of appliances
One common mistake many DIY kitchen designers tend to make is ordering appliances in the wrong sizes, like oversized fridges and built-in microwaves that end up not fitting properly. To avoid this, it’s important to double-check space measurements and dimensions before making any appliance purchases.
Not having enough lighting
Lighting plays a HUGE role in a kitchen – even with a top-notch design, lousy lighting can totally mess up its look and feel. Good lighting not only enhances the kitchen’s appearance but also boosts its practicality because, well, you can actually see what you’re doing. It’s beyond annoying to work in dimly lit spaces when prepping or cooking. Remember: the more light, the better!
Not optimizing storage space
Since storage is a big need for any kitchen, it’s crucial to make the most of all available spaces to maximize storage, especially if the kitchen is on the smaller side. When planning a kitchen, it’s smart to think about all the storage you’ll require based on how you plan to use the space.
Final Thoughts
To sum it up, creating your ideal kitchen doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. When armed with the right know-how and an awareness of common mistakes to steer clear of, you’re on track to designing a space that marries functionality with beauty. Remember, every fabulous kitchen design kickstarts with a clear vision and careful planning. By looking at your unique needs, making smart material choices, and carefully planning your layout, you can avoid the common mistakes that many homeowners make.
Don’t sweat the small stuff of making mistakes. Every design journey comes with its learning curves, but with the insights shared in this post, you’re already ahead of the game.
