Kitchen design is considered to be most important area of home design. Careful planning and measurements are needed to design a kitchen as it may save you lots of money. While designing kitchen you need to be aware of common mistakes made by contractors and homeowners. You will find here a list of common mistakes to avoid.
Kitchen Layout
Draw a Kitchen layout before you start working on the kitchen. Not having a Kitchen layout is a big mistake which is made by homeowners. In kitchen activity areas such as gas stove and sink should have unobstructed access to both of the locations. Wrong placed kitchen island or some other furniture that you decide to place in the kitchen may cut off direct access to these areas so once you have the Kitchen layout on paper, you can avoid such mistakes.
Measurement
Inaccurate measurement is another pitfall. Most of the home owners who design the kitchens themselves get over confident about the measurements of various appliances in their kitchen. Not taking right measurement of kitchen cabinets and countertop may cost you a lot of money in fixing these mistakes later on. It may be possible that cabinets, kitchen appliances or even sink will not fit right. Countertop height and width is very important because after completion of work it is hard to correct the things. Make sure you have the measurement of refrigerator and other big appliances and draw them on the floor of the kitchen before you start the work, this way you can have some sense of the space available once every thing is complete. Give these dimensions in writing to your contractor and before finalizing the final amount with contractor make sure that the contractors work is according to the measurements provided.
Material
Wrong material selection can be another big mistake of kitchen design. Keep in mind that cheap counter top may chip off after some time. When purchasing a countertop material keep in mind durability and maintenance of countertop. Laminated countertop needs more maintenance than a granite countertop. Ceiling and flooring material is also equally important, skid proof floor material should be installed in kitchen. Ceiling of kitchen needs more maintenance than other rooms so choose a ceiling design that requires less maintenance. If you are planning for a false ceiling, avoid coves in the false ceiling as the coves are hard to maintain in the kitchen
Countertop space
One of the common mistakes about the kitchen is lack of countertop space. While you are on the planning stage, the home owner thinks that they would keep many of the kitchen appliances on the countertop. This reduces the available space on the countertop.So again make a list of all items that you must keep on the counter top and then see whether you have enough space on the countertop.
Lighting
Kitchen generally requires illuminated light, task lights and accent lighting. Most kitchens have general lighting on the walls or ceiling but not sufficient task lighting for particular task. Evaluate the each work station in kitchen where you may need more light and highlight each area that is used for specific task. Once you have the list of the places with you, put provision of task light in those areas. Natural lighting is equally important for kitchen and try to create window where ever possible to get natural light in the kitchen. Kitchen sink and gas stove area should have dedicated lighting so keep that in mind. .
Ventilation
Ventilation is also as important as other aspects of kitchen designs. Proper ventilation is necessary to remove the odor and heat from the home which will help you to improve indoor air quality. While planning ventilation, kitchen chimney are probably some thing that every one has in their mind but home owners tend to forget that your refrigerator and microwave ovens also need ventilation so check the manual provided by your vendor and implement sufficient ventilation.
Too Big Island
Islands are very exciting but home owners tend to forget that Improper island is also a big mistake that can eat up the space in your kitchen. Kitchen is a work area and a wrong placed island or an oversize island can choke the movement between various important areas of the kitchen, i.e. Stove, refrigerator, cleaning station etc. Island that obstructs the flow of work to or from kitchen sink, gas stove or refrigerator will be big hassle.
Storage
Another big problem of kitchen design is not planning storage space in kitchen. While planning a kitchen design, kitchen storage should be planned according to the need of kitchen storage. Note down all the items in your existing kitchen and make a mental note as to where you would place them in your new kitchen Sufficient storage cabinets should be installed in kitchen for storage. There can be cabinets for kitchen appliances; proper dimensions are necessary for that. Evaluate what you really want in your kitchen and how do you want to access this storage area. This will help you to utilize space of your kitchen.
Kitchen is the heart of your home and design of kitchen may make it functional. Just make sure that do not make these mistakes while designing your kitchen.