Planning a kitchen

If you’ve decided to remodel your kitchen, than you should know a few basic things about the project. Remodeling doesn’t only involves repainting or designing with different styles, but sometimes can even mean changing the entire structure of the room. In the following article we will cover the things that you will need to consider when planning to remodel your kitchen.

The most important thing that you will need to consider is the way that you will be using your kitchen. This includes the features that you will need for it to have. This will also help you calculate a budget. Because the investment will be an important one, it’s necessary to plan everything and think of all the options and features that you will need.

Things to consider

think about the traffic in your kitchen and how often will it be used
do you need extra counter space for intense cooking?
do you like to serve dinner in the kitchen? do you like to have guests over?
what else do you use your kitchen for, besides cooking?
does your kitchen need to have special features for disabled persons?

Features

Some of the features that can be included in a kitchen are: kitchen islands, pantry, sink – stainless steel one or enameled cast iron, microwave oven, gas oven, electric oven, storage, etc.

You will spend most on structural changes, so get the opinion of a professional. Also consider the complexity of the job. For example, maybe you want to demolish a load bearing wall. This is a complex job and should only be handled by a professional. A load-bearing wall support the structure of your home. Also think of plumbing, heating ducts and electrical wires if you plan on making structural changes.

Styles

Now you need to think about the styles that you will use. Do you want a more modern or traditional style? Think how the style will blend in your home. Also think about the colors and how they will match the rest of your house and appliances.

Kitchen work centers

There are four main areas in your kitchen, each serving a different purpose. These are: cleaning center, cooking, storage and mixing/preparation center.

The cleanup center is the area around the sink. This is where you stack all the dishes and pans.

The cooking center is the space that contains the ovens and the counter part near them.

The storage center is where the refrigerator is situated and also contains the cabinets where you store your food.

The preparation center is where you keep all of your pans, bowls, dishes and utensils.

If you want enough space to work, then you should think of having at least 42” clearance from the front edge of the counter top to the kitchen island or table; 20” from the dishwasher door to the nearest cabinet; 26” from your work area to the traffic area; 36” clearance from your eating table to the nearest obstruction.

Work triangle

Almost every kitchen remodeled by a kitchen designer is based on a concept named the work triangle. This concept links the refrigerator to the range and the sink. You can, of course, design the kitchen as you think it will work best for you, but the work triangle is proved to be the most efficient.

Cabinets

First of all you need to think if you will buy standard cabinets or custom-made ones. The standard measures for base cabinets are 34” in height and 24” in depth. Wall cabinets have standard heights of 12”, 15”, 18”, 30” and 36”. The height really depends on the ceiling height. You will need to install the wall cabinets 18” above the counter top.

There are four main types of base cabinets:

standard base – one drawer, door and shelves
drawer base – three or four drawers
sink base – has false drawers and it’s opened on the top part to allow the sink to fit in.
corner base – specially designed for corners.