Tips On Kitchen Design

The kitchen is almost always considered to be the heart of a home and that is why it should be not only efficient, but also comfortable, inviting, and beautiful. When designing your kitchen, it is all in the details and there are several tips that can help turn your dream of the perfect kitchen into a reality.

• Keep a straight-line distance from the sink, fridge and stove. There should not be anything you have to walk around to reach these things. The distance from one to the other should be kept between 12' and 23'.


• The best place to put a sink is between the stove and the refrigerator because it is the most often used appliance in the kitchen. This is not always possible, depending on where water pipes and other plumbing fixtures are located.


• Try to have 36" of counter space on one side of the sink and at least 30" on the other side, depending on the size of your kitchen. It is highly recommended, however, that you have at least 24" on one side and 18" on the other.


• While it may seem like a good idea to place the stove and refrigerator next to each other, each appliance needs to have landing space on each side for safety reasons.


• Your upper cabinets and base cabinets should each have about 10' to 12' of linear space.


• Use lazy Susans to give function to what may seem like wasted corners. This will add to your cabinet space.


• For added convenience, use drawers that pull out rather than ones that you have to reach into. You can have pull-out trays placed in existing cabinets if you plan on retro-fitting them.


• Take the size and shape of your kitchen into consideration when choosing what you want in it. While a large, double oven may look great in the store, it may make your kitchen look smaller and feel cramped.


• Decide on a focal point for the kitchen and work around it. For example, if you have a wall length window, center the room around it and the view it provides.