Kitchen Design Mistakes to Avoid

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Kitchen Design Mistakes to Avoid:
These Common Errors Have No Place in Your New Space!

You’ve decided it’s time to get “everybody’s favorite room” updated, and not just a new coat of paint. You’re thinking about new about new appliances, a new island and new cupboards, too.

Congratulations!

We couldn’t agree more that the kitchen is a great place for an all-out renovation. In these times, particularly, when we’re all at home a whole lot more than we used to be, making the kitchen a warm, welcoming and efficient space is a smart investment. It’s the room where you cook, where your family sits down for casual meals, perhaps, and maybe even the kids do their homework. It may even get the most foot traffic of any room in the house, if it’s connected to the back door. The kitchen is where people congregate, converse, and chop veggies for supper, and many other activities!

Unfortunately, when planning a kitchen reno, there are some mistakes folks make that can be avoided with the right amount of expertise and planning. A full kitchen renovation is not for the DIY homeowner; it takes professionals to guide you through the process. This project takes time, money and patience, and you don’t need mistakes adding to your stress! Here are a few all-too-common flaws we’ve seen in kitchen updates, so steer clear of them when planning yours.

1) Not making function your priority. Your kitchen is the place for making and serving meals and storing food. That’s the bottom line – every other consideration is secondary. All your choices should be in service to that function, making life easier during prep and cooking. For example, having an island is terrific, but is your kitchen big enough to handle one without folks bumping into each other constantly? You may love the look of an island, but don’t get one if you don’t have enough space.

2) Careful with lighting choices. Your kitchen isn’t the place for mood lighting! You should choose lighting that zeroes in on food preparation areas, over the sink and perhaps under the cabinets. Your designer can help with this, because they know what lighting works best in kitchens – and what lighting doesn’t.

3) Don’t toss the current layout just because. No designer worth their salt will suggest tossing the layout if it works. They are wise enough to know that sometimes, a kitchen is laid out a certain way for a reason, such as encouraging flow and allowing for easy access to cupboards and appliances. Providing your new fridge, for example, fits in the space allotted to the old one, there may be no reason to move it. Let your designer guide you on this, but if you’d like to make a switch, no doubt they can make that happen too.

4) Not getting enough counter space. This is one complaint many homeowners have about their kitchens – there isn’t enough surface area. Be sure you increase what you’ve got, and make the most of every square inch! Your professional kitchen designer will have lots of creative ideas about increasing your countertops and getting you the extra surface space, you crave.

5) It’s a mistake to build “wide.” Think “up,” as in a tall but fairly narrow pantry storage unit. There are many terrific choices out there, ones that address the issue of function (storage) but look gorgeous!

We know that a new kitchen is one of those “big dream moments” homeowners have, and if the time has come to do yours, that’s wonderful. But remember – careful planning, a solid budget and a professional renovator are the most important ingredients to making it a resounding success, the room in which the family will want to gather more than ever! If you are planning a kitchen remodel in Calgary or Edmonton, contact the award-winning team at Kay2 Contracting today and start your journey toward the fresh new kitchen you deserve.

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