Kitchen Design Ideas
Discover Easy Ways To Make The Best Kitchen Designs

In this section we will discuss kitchen design ideas that will help you create a kitchen which is not only aesthetically appealing but tailor made to suit your way of working.

Now-a-days kitchen is not only a place to prepare food and clean the dishes. It has become, besides cooking, a place to eat, entertain, relax or work.

You need to plan accordingly, taking into account all these functions, to create a kitchen that not only fits your needs but makes working there a great experience.

Along with proper planning, you need to have -

the right elements in the right places
coordinate the decor
decide on appliances that meet your needs and style

We will discuss all these issues here. Let us start with...

How To Plan The Kitchen

The planning and design of a kitchen is dependent on layout and organization of various elements.

The more you plan your requirements, priorities and your way of working, the better kitchen design ideas you will get.

Discuss with your family members listing out all the things you can think of. Then start planning each one by one.

First see how much space you have and what type of plan you prefer. Do you have a separate room as a kitchen or an open plan integrated with living and dining areas?

The size and shape of the kitchen dictates its design. Do you have large area dedicated for kitchen or just a small space? Not that small space cannot be designed efficiently and made into a great kitchen. Clever planning can overcome any space limitation.

See small kitchen designs for kitchen design ideas and guidelines to get the best out of a small kitchen.

When it comes to planning, divide your kitchen into different work areas. The overall distance among the three major activity zones - cooking hob, sink and freezer should not be too much.

The preferred total distance of this work triangle is eight meters.

The most important work space lies between the hob and the sink. Have the main food preparation area there.

Next, you must be thinking what are...

Different Kitchen Layouts And Which Is Best For My Kitchen

Depending on various factors like room configuration, size and shape of kitchen, location of doors, windows and plumbing fixtures, usages, the required storage etc. different kitchen layouts are possible for maximum space optimization. These are -

Single-Line
Suitable for narrow rooms and for one or two people to use at once.
Gallery
Two worktops parallel to one another with a passage in-between. It provides the most efficient use of space.
L-Shaped
When the worktop is along the two adjacent walls. It works well with a sitting area that is integrated into the same room.
U-Shaped
When the worktops use the three walls of a room space. It is an efficient layout which offers maximum work space and storage.
Island
An island is introduced into a bigger U-shaped or L-shaped kitchen to give more compact work triangle. It is suitable for large rooms with a lot of space.
See kitchen islands ideas for detailed information on kitchen islands.

Moving on, it is time to work on...

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Design Elements For A Perfect Look And Feel

Once you have sorted out your kitchen design ideas, considered the basics of kitchen planning and finalized its layout, you can begin to think about the kitchen as a room in its own right.

At this stage, begin to determine kitchen colors, patterns and textures. Start developing the decorative palette.

Colors

In the kitchen, as in any interior space, color can be used to enhance the effect of natural light. Light, airy backgrounds make a space seems brighter. More spacious, richer tones provide a sense of cosy enclosure.

Accent colors on a single wall can highlight the chosen elements and add a sense of interest.

You can find more information on how to use colors to make your kitchen design ideas more interesting on kitchen colors page.

Textures

Texture can also be used in a variety of ways to add interest to the kitchen. Cooking is an activity which uses a lot of touch and feel. This increases our awareness of texture in the surfaces we come in contact with.

The more subdued the colors, the greater the emphasis on texture should be there to provide a sense of depth and character.

For richness of textures, either of these surfaces or a combination of them can be used to complement the colors -

Reflective Surfaces - Stainless Steel, Glass, Glazed Ceramic Tiles etc.
Matt Surfaces - Wood, Stone etc.

Lighting

Lighting is a very important element of kitchen design ideas. First of all, try to have as much natural light as possible. Then concentrate on the artificial light required for the kitchen.

The colors, textures and materials choosen for different surfaces will affect the quality of light. Light colors reflect light and dark colors absorb it. So you need to provide the light accordingly.

The size, shape and layout of the kitchen will also determine the amount, type and quality of light required.

For complete information on kitchen lighting, see the following pages -

Now that you have done the initial planning, made layout and finalized the look and feel of the kitchen, it is time to decide...

What Materials To Use For Different Surfaces

Materials used for walls, flooring, countertops and splash backs, cabinets etc. make a kitchen functional, easy to use and aesthetically appealing.

Commonly used materials in a kitchen for different surfaces are -

Walls - Paint, Plaster, Tiles, Stone, Metal, Wallpaper.
Flooring - Tiles, Stone, Wood, Mosaic, Concrete, Vinyl, Metal, Rubber.
Countertops - Tiles, Stone (Granite, Marble, Limestone, Slate), Wood, Metal (Stainless Steel, Zinc), Glass, Solid Surfaces, Laminates, Concrete.
Splash backs - Tiles, Stone (Granite, Marble, Limestone, Slate), Metal (Stainless Steel, Zinc), Glass, Solid Surfaces, Laminates, Concrete.
See kitchen backsplash ideas for more details on splash backs.
Cabinets - Solid Wood, Veneers, Laminates, Lacquers, Glass, Metal, Paint.

Another important thing that needs to be considered is...

How To Integrate The Storage In The Kitchen

A kitchen which looks great but does not have sufficient storage will not function properly. You can never have enough storage, no matter how big your kitchen is.

Not having enough storage is less to do with lack of space in the kitchen and more due to improper planning and bad organization.

Visit these pages for in-depth information on kitchen storage and how to integrate it with kitchen design ideas -

Furniture is also becoming more and more a part of the kitchen design ideas as kitchen is evolving into a place to eat, entertain and relax.

Information on small kitchen tables will help you find the best small tables for your kitchen.

Finally, one very important element of kitchen design ideas is...

Appliances - The Workhorse Of The Modern Kitchen

Modern appliances not only help us drastically cut down the time spent on preparing and cooking food, clean the dishes and other daily chores but make the kitchen a more efficient, hygienic place.

Before you finalize on buying a hi-tech appliance, decide -

what range of functions you require
what level of sophistication suits you
whether it will really make life simple for you in the kitchen and improve the quality of work in the particular way you desire

Coordinate the appearance of the appliances with other elements and general decor of the kitchen. Choose appliances that not only meet your practical needs but also add to the kitchen style.

See this guide on buying kitchen appliances before you venture out to buy appliances for your kitchen.

You will generate a plenty of kitchen design ideas by following these guidelines step by step. This whole section on kitchen is there to help you with all these things.

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