Kitchen Design, Planning, Advice and Ideas

The kitchen is said to be the heart and hub of the home or house. It is usually the first place we stop to sit down on one of the barstools when we enter the house, therefore it is crucial that we get our kitchen design to work for the family or occupants of the house.

It’s where we store our food and prepare our meals and often the kitchen is where we dine.

However its not just the food area of the house as its usually central to the traffic and living flow.

Preschoolers will play there while the parent is cleaning up and working with food, children will often do their homework there with the help of the parents while preparing an evening meal and if you have a party you can bet that’s where many of the partygoers will gravitate.

It’s an odd phenomenon but the kitchen is the heart of the home and that is why this website explores all the areas and needs of the kitchen, the design and decoration. All the activities and more are part of the kitchen’s role and the themes are endless from contemporary, modern to a traditional country kitchen.

The fantastic thing about modern kitchens is that they can look old or to any style and still be practical with the modern finishes and appliances available. Kitchen design is not a simple process but it is logical and using this website will enable you to answer many of the questions you have and how to design and plan a kitchen.

Kitchen Design Decorating and Remodeling Ideas

Get information on kitchen decorating and cabinetry design.

Kitchen design is a large topic, covering space planning, appliance selection, decoration with flooring, finishes, colors and hardware. You could be looking to design a new kichen and want ideas on different styles or you could be remodeling and looking to choose different finishes for your cabinetry. Whatever your position, there are ideas and inspiration for you here.

We know that the kitchen is the central hub of every home, even if you don’t cook in it, it still houses the refrigerator and we access that frequently. If you do cook, then you will be particular about where everything is stored and placed in your environment. The kitchen makes up a large focus of interior design and is often one of the major areas of the house that people consider when looking at purchasing a new home because it is one area that costs a lot to alter.

Whether you want to remodel your existing space, design a new kitchen from scratch, gain skills for being a kitchen designer or you have a general interest in decorating and making your existing space work better then you will find articles of interest for you here.

The golden question is how do we go about putting a kitchen and the associated areas together, how do we make the choices from the hundreds of options available.

Planning a Kitchen Design

Planning a kitchen design, like all things that are built, if you get the foundation correct then the finishing items usually go into the main system fairly smoothly. So it follows that if you plan your kitchen correctly and methodically then the process should be relatively straight forward, however if you start with the finished idea then that may not be at all practical.

To plan a kitchen we need to start with establishing the parameters within which we have to work. This includes the actual space, the uses of that space and the budget.

There are four stages to planning a kitchen:

1. Defining the space, which includes either measuring up, and noting the position of the existing services, windows and doors of planning from the start with the architect on how you want the space laid out.
2. Designing the room’s layout to get the appliances, work tops and cupboards where you want them.
3. Confirming that layout and the services that are needed.(This includes lighting).
4. Confirming the finishes that you require for the bench tops, the exterior of the cabinetry and the interior of the cabinetry, the flooring, the walls, ceiling and window treatments

The following is intended to help you with the actual kitchen planning, but they are only suggestions and will not be practical in all situations, you will often have to compromise. The golden rule is – keep it simple – and remember that the kitchen is one of the main selling points for a house.

For years now kitchen designers have used a simplistic method of a triangle to connect the three main work spaces within a kitchen.

The main working zones in the kitchen are generally recognized as being – food preparation, cooking and serving, and finally washing up. Each activity zone needs to include the work top(s) and appliances required for that activity, also the zone will require the storage space for the utensils, ingredients etc. required for it.

In addition to the three zones, it is important to arrange the appliances and work tops in the correct order i.e. work top – appliance – work top. A work triangle is formed between the three zones 

For the greatest efficiency the total length of the three sides of the triangle should be between 3600mm and 6600mm, and as far as possible, the work triangle should be uninterrupted by through traffic.

Kitchen Styles - Which One Suits You?

Kitchen styles – sleek and industrial, rustic and homely, crisp and fresh, which one suits you?

There is an expression for all the differing kitchen styles available, but they all have one thing in common.

They all have a sink, oven and refrigerator!

Most have many more appliances and this makes the kitchen the most expensive room in the home to equip.

So careful planning and attention to detail for every aspect is essential from electrical power point placement to light fittings; the kitchen is a complex space to design.

The kitchen is the hub of the home as we all have to eat regularly and it is always a constant buzz of activity. Kitchens are therefore one of the major area home buyers look at along with bathrooms when purchasing a house.

The first consideration whether remodeling your existing house or starting out with a new home is the current style of your home and your furnishings. The kitchen is often placed centrally in the home and therefore visible from most rooms, the decoration and style should flow harmoniously throughout.

Imagine how crazy a sleek single line, white marble top, lacquered cabinetry with stainless steel appliances would look in a country cottage. An exaggeration of concept but crazier style combinations have been seen, unfortunately most of them fail as the contrast is too great and the detail of the styles is broken and lost with the jolting differences in a small space.

In this area of the website we outline the features of different kitchen styles and allow you to decide which style reflects your home and your lifestyle best.

Kitchen Styles

Traditional Styled Kitchens – Timeless and versatile.

Country Styled Kitchens – Relaxed and Comfortable.

Contemporary Styled Kitchens – Sleek and Streamlined.

So follow through and find out which style of kitchen fits the look of your home.

To learn about which type of kitchen layout best suits you visit Kitchen layouts.

Remember that there is a style of kitchen out there for everyone, when you add your decoration to the space you completely create your own unique sub style of kitchen design.

Kitchen Photos of Interior Design and Decoration

When it comes to choosing what type of kitchen design you want, the choice can be overwhelming. That is why looking at kitchen photos can help you rule out what you don’t like and start zeroing in on what you do.
You will find after looking through magazines and web sites, that a particular style or theme will start to prevail and it will give you a great starting point for working out what look you want for your kitchen.

Below are some kitchen photo examples with interior designer critiques of what they think works and doesn’t in the kitchen design. Please browse through and get ideas for your kitchen design or even just kitchen decoration, see how different finishes look combined together, how appliances are teamed up, lighting ideas and flooring combinations. There are lots of things to explore in a single kitchen photograph. See if you can find the one thing that makes the kitchen special, is it a functional item or simply decoration? Collect little ideas and collate them for putting together your kitchen.

Kitchen Photos of Interior Design and Decoration

	White Timber Country Kitchen
	Dark Timber or Wood and Stone Kitchen
	Detailed Kitchen Cooking Area
	Upholstered Chair in Kitchen Design
	French Castle Kitchen Design
	Timber Kitchen with Colored Glass Vases for Decoration
	Chandelier over Kitchen Island
	Kitchen Design Improvements
	Molded Timber Kitchen with Tile Inlay
	Modern Stainless Steel and Timber or Wood Kitchen
	Sloping Ceiling Kitchen
	Textured Kitchen Design with Stone and Tiles
	Traditional Paneled Cabinets

Get inspired with the kitchen photos, look at all the detail and imagine yourself using the kitchen, then you will start to see what will work for you and what won’t.

Look at the size and placement of the sink, see what type of faucet or tapware they use with the different styles of sinks, see how they use extract fans and decide if you want them to be a feature of be hidden away.

Examine the lighting, this will make or break your kitchen.

Most of all, take your time, a kitchen is a very expensive room in the house to design or renovate and believe it or not, your taste will change the more kitchen photos you look at, so don’t jump in before you have done all your homework or you might regret it.