Top 5 Design Elements to Consider for Your New Kitchen
Whether you’ve just moved house and can’t stand “her” kitchen or you’re renovating your home, here are 5 top design elements to consider when designing your new dream kitchen.
Sandra at our Stafford kitchen design studio is happy to work with you on your design and create the kitchen of your dreams that you will love and your friends will envy. Eagerly awaiting our new kitchen showroom in Staffordshire – FunkyWunkyDooDahs Inspired Designed Interiors can supply design and fit quality German made kitchens as well as British made kitchens. Here’s what Sandra has to share with you about kitchen design considerations.
Kitchen Design Tip 1 : Space planning –
The first consideration when investing in a new kitchen “is the current kitchen large enough for you?” If the answer is “yes” then that’s great news. If the answer is “no” – then how can you make the kitchen larger?
Could the kitchen be made larger by creating an extension, taking down a dividing wall to a dining room or utility room.
Or if removal of walls and or building a kitchen extension are not within budget, or not a practical solution for your home, would creating more kitchen storage , having a different layout and clearing worksurfaces make the kitchen feel more spacious?
Kitchen Design Tip 2: Function –
This may seem like a straight forward consideration and a straight forward answer could be “to cook in”. But more careful consideration of how you, or you and your family wish to use the room will help to develop a new kitchen design that will work for everyone.
Is the kitchen simply for cooking in? A kitchen that can simply be a kitchen with a door closing it off from the dining room or rest of the house may work really well for single people or for couples.
However in family homes, the kitchen becomes more the heart of the home and opening the space to encompass a dining area and possibly a family space means that the kitchen becomes a more functional and inclusive area to all family members. So whilst the person is cooking they are able to keep an eye on younger children playing or encourage older children with home work or studying. For working people they may sit and work whilst watching the meal cooking to avoid cremating the food. Yes – we’ve all got distracted with emails and work and forgotten the dinner cooking away!
Kitchen Design Tip 3: Layout –
The layout of a kitchen is influenced by many factors and considering these will help to design a clever layout that really works for you and your family’s needs.
For example – the position of the windows, the size of the windows and the view from the window will influence the layout. Traditionally the kitchen sink is placed under the window as much time was spent washing up and the person doing the dishwashing could enjoy the view of the garden. However with the advent of the marvellous dishwasher and the majority of home using one – how much time is spent at the kitchen sink?
Could the view be more appreciated whilst sitting doing a few more emails whilst the dinner is cooking? Now we are not saying “do not put the kitchen sink under the window” – but what we’re saying is that we work with you to consider the layout and how you use your kitchen to create a kitchen that really works for you.
Some simple considerations on lay out are the proximity of the sink to the kettle (unless you have a boiler tap at the sink) to the mug or cup, tea and coffee storage as well as the fridge. The proximity of dishwasher to the sink and the storage of plates and cutlery for speed of unloading the dishwasher. The position of the oven and hob near to the fridge , in relation to the good work surface area to saucepans, casserole and utensil storage.
Kitchen Design Tip 4: Practicality –
By looking at the people, children and possibly pets that use the kitchen will all help to determine the influence on the practical aspects of the kitchen from function to durability to ease of cleaning. Slab or flat surfaced doors and draw fronts may be easier and quicker to clean than moulded dorr or draw fronts. High gloss may show finger prints more so consideration to the type finish is important. A matt finish or even finger print resistant finishes are available in many of the kitchen doors and draw fronts that we use as well as work surfaces. Granite is a popular choice but may require more polishing than quartz and may be less durable than quartz or ceramic work tops.
Kitchen Design Tip 5: Look –
Start with the end in mind.
The look or style of the kitchen may also be influenced by the house type or style of property, as well as the personal preferences of the people who live in the home. When designing a kitchen by starting with the end in mind we always consider your personal style of furniture and how to blend and mix this with the kitchen style selected to create a cohesive and stylish home. The danger of not starting with the end in mind is the creation of a disjointed mish-mash of rooms with different styles and a home that does not flow well from room to room.
Traditional and contemporary kitchens can be made more interesting by adding a mix of open shelves, glass cabinets or display cabinets to break up blocky looking cabinets. They also add more depth to the kitchen making it feel larger too. Considering taking storage to the ceiling can be a good use of space – but careful kitchen design can make this look great as well as being functional and practical too.
Are you planning your new dream kitchen? Then we’d love to hear from you. Whilst awaiting our new kitchen showroom in Stafford FunkyWunkyDooDahs Inspired Designed Interiors can already design, supply and fit your dream kitchen. We can access samples and create images and layout of your kitchen design. We are the only Staffordshire supplier of quality German made kitchens. If you like our designs we can always arrange a joint visit to the London showroom to view a wide variety of quality German Kitchens. We also design, supply and fit quality British made kitchens too.
Based in Stafford FunkyWunkyDooDahs Inspired Designed Interiors work with quality, experienced kitchen fitters and builders so that we can design supply and fit quality kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands.
To discuss your project please call us on 01785 229306 or email us at inspire@fwdd.co.uk.
Comments (2)
Hanna Miles
Staffordshire KitchensOriginal Author
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