Kitchen Design & Kitchen Layout Ideas
The kitchen is one of the most functional and communal rooms in your home. As a result, designing your kitchen means that special attention must be paid to its layout, accessibility, and ease of use. While everyone desires a kitchen that’s visually appealing and filled with striking design elements, it’s crucial to balance form with function when designing this space. To help provide you with some of our top tips for strategically laying out your kitchen, Total Restore has created this quick reference guide. Let’s begin!
Tip #1 – Functional Strategy
To begin our list of top tips for appliance and kitchen layouts, we would like to introduce you to something we call the functional strategy. Taking some time to evaluate your specific needs is a great way to begin designing the kitchen layout. Do you have a large or growing family to feed? Are you a culinary enthusiast with a massive collection of cooking tools and equipment? Do you host large groups of people often? These are the types of questions to consider when determining the needs of your kitchen.
After you’ve determined your criteria, it’s now a great time to consider how to organize your kitchen functionally. Keeping daily essentials close and accessible helps to maximize utility and overall enjoyment. For example, positioning the sink near the stove makes it easier for you to wash your hands or drain boiling water. Making an effort to keep high-traffic areas open can also have a positive impact. Ensure that cabinet doors and drawers don’t interfere with accessibility when open. If your family is expected to continue to grow, it’s also a smart idea to add some extra storage when planning for the future.
Tip # 2 – Storage Strategy
As we briefly discussed in the first tip, some homeowners have quite a collection of kitchen tools and cookware that they simply are not ready to part with. If you find yourself in a similar situation, the best way to address your needs is to consider implementing a storage strategy. Clever storage solutions like a kitchen island with storage underneath is a great way to offer quick access to your essentials.
Other small efforts to optimize storage space can have a lasting impact on your enjoyment of your kitchen. For example, avoiding deep cabinets where items can get forgotten about can reduce clutter. Adding a set of bar stools to your kitchen island can transform it into a functional counter space as opposed to fitting a bulky table into your kitchen. Achieving harmony between usability and style is what the storage strategy is all about!
Tip #3 – Design Strategy
Just because your kitchen is intended to be a functional space doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on eye-catching style and design. Since lighting is always essential inside of a kitchen, paying attention to how you incorporate windows boosts both the attractiveness and the usability of the space. If taking advantage of natural lighting proves to be difficult, consider installing lighting directly above cabinetry, counters, and the stovetop.
Another factor to consider when designing your kitchen space is the placement and quantity of power outlets. Power is vital for large appliances like your refrigerator along with smaller tools like a toaster, blender, or food processor. Outlet placement is just one of many kitchen layout examples of kitchen design that can have a big impact on your enjoyment of the space.
Tip #4 – Combine Strategies
Our final tip for effective kitchen design planning is to diversify and adapt your design plan to accommodate a variety of strategies. There’s no need to limit yourself and your kitchen by sticking to only one type of design. Instead, incorporate elements from all of the above strategies and make your kitchen a space that your whole family can enjoy for years to come.