Oct 15, 2009
lkncabadmin
Comments Off on Kitchen Design Considerations

Kitchen Design Considerations

 

It is certainly true that kitchens have come a long ways over the years in regards to their “prestige” in a house. It used to be that kitchens were only found in the rear of the house, tucked away out of sight out of mind more or less. Fortunately, this is not at all the case any longer. Once people realized that more often than not, when people casually gather together in a house, whether it be a formal holiday party or a casual get-together, the kitchen is often the focal point. Because of this kitchen design has evolved to include much larger spaces as well as spaces that transition seamlessly into family and dining areas.

If you are in the process of planning a new kitchen, there are a number of things you’ll want to consider when it comes to your design. For example, will your kitchen have an island? What kind of lighting do you plan to have? What kind of appliances? What about the overall feel; will it be rustic, modern or something completely unique that you come up with on your own? As you can see there are many things you’ll need to decide on in a creation of your own personal kitchen.

Because of this metamorphosis of the kitchen into a family room/great room, kitchen islands or, alternatively, “peninsulas”, are very useful. They allow the cook, chef, host/hostess or whomever is doing the work in the kitchen to have a surface to work on while still being able to easily engage in conversations and activities with everyone else. Without a kitchen island type setup like this, the person in the kitchen would constantly have their back turned to everyone else. This is certainly not an ideal situation for either side of the coin.

The color of your kitchen cabinets will go a long ways to setting the tone for the overall kitchen. Bright colors and create a fun, funky atmosphere while stateless steal or brushed steel will create a very modern but rather cold, and he septic feeling. If you were to go with natural wood, the lighter woods such as birch, beech or ash will contribute the lightness to the kitchen whereas the medium range would might be chestnut or cherry. For something darker, you can simply apply darker stains rather than necessarily spending a lot more money on harder, darker woods. The call is yours.

Kitchen lighting plays a huge role in the design of your kitchen, yet it is often overlooked or is the last thing to be considered. This shouldn’t be the case. Remember, a lot of time will be spent in the kitchen most likely. There’s no reason to be straining your eyes in dim light or in harsh light when there are so many options that can contribute a positive feeling to a space. For example, if you happen to have a smaller kitchen, the use of smaller spotlights can be used to make it look larger than it actually is.

Of course the countertop is a critical choice you’ll need to make for your kitchen. Many people opt for the natural stone materials such as marble, granite and limestone for the counters. Another option would be to go for ceramic tiles. With Randy tiles you will have a tremendous variety of sizes, colors and patterns to choose from. Besides ceramic tiles, you can also get solid acrylic surfaces with at least as many choices when it comes to colors, patterns etc.

My two personal favorite countertop materials are concrete and wood. I like concrete because it is durable and versatile and because I have installed numerous concrete countertops always with great success and very happy owners. Would… well, what is simply beautiful though it can get somewhat abused over time due to water and household chemicals. Finally, stainless steal is yet another option. A very clinical, modern look. Completely different from the wood countertop, but done correctly they can be at least as stunning, just in a different way. Just be aware that while they will not absorb stains (hence the “stainless” part of the name), they do tend to scratch fairly easily.

Speaking of scratching… this article has barely scratched the surface of options you may want to consider when planning out your new kitchen. But isn’t that the way of creating your home? Each and every room, and each every aspect of each row, has so many different facets to consider and that you can tweak to make your own. And that my friend, is the beauty of creating not just a house, but a home.

Cindy is a long time writer and an even longer time fanatic about interior design and home organization. Her most recent adventures with her own living space involve combining black light bulbs with a modern floor lamp to create a very unique ambiance. It’s a departure from her previous chandelier lighting obsession.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_Nattey

www.LKNcabinets.com

Comments are closed.