How to update a kitchen is something that many people are wrestling with. Rather than move houses or relocate, many are deciding to remodel their kitchen, bathrooms, and other rooms in the house. Ultimately, it is cheaper to refurbish the cabinets and change the kitchen floors than it is to move houses.
When you look at your kitchen, you might immediately see many things that need help. Great kitchen design ideas involve making some changes but ultimately working with what you have. In an extreme case you might want to knock a wall out to make more space for a kitchen island but in most cases something that drastic is not needed.
The kitchen counter tops and cabinets are what most folks see when they walk into a kitchen. If your counters are old, worn, and faded it is time to replace them or refurbish them. Granite is the "in" counter top with kitchens and all new houses are now being built with granite counter tops. Note that the color of granite is a personal choice but there are differences. A dark rock seems to show streaks more than a lighter shade of granite. It is similar to black and white cars: black cars always show dirt more than white cars. So, if you are looking for kitchen granite counter tops with the least maintenance you should choose a lighter color.
- First and foremost decide upon the size of the kitchen. This will depend upon the strength of your family and also for what purpose you want to use the kitchen. If your kitchen has to merely satisfy the need of a good storage and cooking place, then you can keep it small and simple. For this you can chose the “L/U” shaped kitchens. These kitchens can be accommodated in the odd corners of your house and thus is a great way to compliment your house pattern and geometry. Moreover the “L and U” shaped kitchens require less of floor area, provides more storage opportunities and plus the cook top legs can be used for various purposes like dining or breakfast table.
- Secondly decide on the kitchen layout. Based on the location of the electric points and the water connections, it is important to fix the position of the work station, the sink and the refrigerator. They together form the work triangle. It is advisable to keep the perimeter of the work triangle at least 12 feet but less than 25 feet. Having fixed the three main important kitchen components, you have to now think of organizing the other appliances based on its utility. It is also advisable to lookout for drainage points, position of the gas etc. You can hire kitchen design firms to do your layout or you can do the design yourself using kitchen design software.
- Without proper storage facilities your kitchen can be a real mess, so don’t forget to place as many cabinets and cabinet counter tops as possible without making your kitchen look clumsy. Storage is very important for a well planned kitchen and we shall discuss this aspect in details later.
- If you want to go by modern trends and have a family that sleeps together, eats together and also cooks together…… then you can opt for the multiple work station concept which is quite unique from the conventional kitchen shapes. It is possible to do so simply by putting the cook top in the center of the kitchen along with the sink, so that at any time 2 – 4 people can stand around it and work together.
No comments:
Post a Comment