designing a dream kitchen is a thrilling – and stressful – experience. There’s a lot to consider even before the building work begins, and sometimes it’s the most obvious things that slip our mind.
It’s no use simply dreaming of big dinner parties and long Sunday breakfasts; you need to live in your kitchen even before you’ve designed it. Where will the bins go? How much storage will you need? How will you live your day-to-day life in this kitchen you’ve only ever imagined?
Nothing should stand between you and your dream kitchen, so let this handy guide take you through the most common kitchen design mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Forgetting counter space
every kitchen, no matter how big or small, should contain as much useable space as possible. That means space for preparing meals, displaying appliances, putting down hot pans and plates, washing up, and dining and entertaining if you intend to combine your kitchen and dining space.
When you're designing your kitchen, make sure you include plenty of useable surfaces, allocating different areas for different tasks.
Underestimating your storage needs
It’s impossible for a kitchen to have too much storage.
You’ll need cupboards for groceries and crockery; drawers for cutlery; somewhere to store cleaning products; perhaps shelves for cookbooks; somewhere for spices, drinks, herbs, utensils, pet food, appliances, and all manner of other things necessary to the function of a working kitchen.
Clever storage solutions will help you, such as utilising the corners of cabinets for things like cleaning products or pet food; magnetic wall panels for knives; trolleys for drinks you can move around, making even the floor a valuable storage space. Think outside the box so you can avoid cluttering your valuable work surfaces.
Choosing a design that will date
Those beige kitchens seemed so chic in the early 2000s, but no longer. Fashions change quickly, and kitchens are expensive to replace. Choose an aesthetic you know you will love 5 or 10 years down the line, to avoid being stuck with a time capsule. It’s much safer to choose fashionable or bold colours and patterns for things that can easily be changed, such as wall paint and accessories, rather than countertops and cabinetry. If you're eager to try the latest trend, do so on things that can be cheaply changed should you fall out of love with them in the future.
Ignoring your cooker hood
It’s hardly the most glamorous part of choosing a new kitchen, but good ventilation is essential, and cooker hoods can also be an attractive complement to your chosen style.
The scent of good home cooking is wonderful at the moment, but not two days later, and nothing ruins a carefully painted wall or ceiling quicker than greasy moisture from a bubbling pan. For good looking, high-functioning extractor hoods, UK residents can visit Cooker Hoods UK, where they will find unsurpassed kitchen ventilation in a range of different styles.
Letting the rubbish pile up
Waste is unavoidable, so it should be a priority.
Nowadays, you can purchase attractive and discreet freestanding bins, for both general waste and recycling, but you could also consider allocating storage space for the concealment of waste disposal altogether. This helps to contain unpleasant sights and odours.
Skimping on lighting
Lighting is the designer’s magic tool, creating both mood and a sense of space.
Consider how you will use the different areas of your kitchen and plan the lighting accordingly. Food preparation areas will require brighter lighting than dining areas, where warmer, dimmer lights willhelp set the mood.
Going over budget
The most common, and most feared kitchen design mistake: overspending.
Sometimes extra costs can’t be helped, but most of the time sticking to a carefully laid plan will ensure you don’t exceed your financial limits. It’s all about knowing what you really want, not being tempted by frivolous extras, and being aware of how you will use the kitchen. Do you really need a hardwood countertop when you cook a lot and have young children? A laminate wood effect alternate will have better wear, look juts as nice, and be far cheaper.
Thanks to EKCO with their contribution on this blog.