Kitchens

Kitchens and bathrooms are the most commonly re-decorated rooms in the house, and decorating it can mean tearing down cabinets, counter tops, and buying new appliances, or simply repainting and adding a few decorative touches.

Before you begin the process of giving your kitchen a new look, do your research. Keep a notebook with cut-out pages of kitchen designs and colors from magazines, research appliances, and watch your favorite home decorating programs to get a feel for the new gadgets out there. Apply the information that you have accumulated to specific planning techniques and discuss these plans with others living in your home to see if your ideas also fit into their lifestyles. Since the kitchen is the most used room in your home, everyone in the family should review your plans.

Cabinets are usually the focal point of a kitchen. If you inherited your kitchen cabinets, you might feel stuck with them, but there are many things that you can do to give them a whole new look. Your options for a cabinet makeover are painting, resurfacing, or replacing. Painting your cabinets is the simplest and least expensive. Painting is possible on any surface as long as you purchase the paint that is specific to the particular surface. Refinishing the cabinets is the same as stripping and refinishing furniture. This option can prove quite messy, so you may find it much easier to hire out this job.  You can also replace just your cabinet doors or just take them off and leave open shelves. This will give your kitchen a totally  new look. Changing out dated hardware on cabinets is always a quick and inexpensive  way to add new design.

When organizing your drawers and storage areas, organize them by the way you work. You might place drinking glasses near your refrigerator.  Plates and eating utensils might be placed in drawer near the table for easy access.  Cooking utensils might be placed near your stove. Put little used items out of the way so that there is more room for the things you use everyday.  Extra storage can be added by placing cup hooks and hanging utensils on a wall grid, but this storage solution depends on your kitchen style.

Another way to give your kitchen a new look without completely renovating it is to replace the countertops, or retile the countertops. The wide range of material in existence today allows the homeowner an unparalleled freedom of choice in creating a kitchen space distinctive in appearance and highly efficient in design.  These choices for counter tops are endless--gemstone, marble, granite and even metal can provide years of service. You man also consider ceramic tiles, butcher block, stainless steel, or laminate.  

In an ideal kitchen, your appliances are usually placed equal distances apart. If you place the sink, stove and refrigerator equal distances, you do not have to walk distances every time you need to get from station to station. In interior design, this is called the triangle. To make things work easily, each side of the work triangle should be from four to seven feet long.  There should be a two foot minimum of work space on each side of the sink. The dish washer should be near the sink. There should be eighteen inches of space on either side of the stove. If you replace you cabinets you need to consider these rules-of-thumb when planning the placement of your new cabinets.

Appliances can serve two functions in a kitchen: style and function.  If you are redecorating a kitchen and don't have the money to buy a new appliance, try painting it. Refrigerators, for example, are commonly repainted. You only need to buy the correct paint that will adhere to its surface. Painting will give you enough time to save for a new appliance and it is a clever way to make the old appliances fit into the new scheme. 

When replacing a new stove, consider if you want gas or electric.  When shopping, look for the energy guide labels for energy use comparisons. Gas stoves are the usual choice of professional chefs. Gas can be harder to clean than electric and there is always a danger of carbon monoxide poisoning or gas leaks. Many people cannot get gas service in their area. Fortunately, some cooks think electric stoves cook as well as gas stoves. The position and choice of your stove is crucial to the enjoyment and efficiency of the kitchen. Ideally, it should face into the room, have a sink nearby, space suitable for resting hot pans, and a powerful exhaust fan for removing cooking order and steam from your kitchen. Lights built into the exhaust fan hood is a good feature for highlighting the stove area.  When purchasing a new stove make sure it can be easily cleaned.  Microwaves are now fitted with exhausts and lights. You can save much needed counter space by investing in a microwave that fits over you stove.

When choosing a dishwasher, the important things to consider are capacity and low operating noise levels. Other options that are useful include liquid rinse dispenser and energy efficient no heat or low heat drying cycles. When shopping for a new dishwasher, research a number of dishwashers and compare reliability and life expectancy of the dishwasher. Choose a dishwasher with valuable features, such as high energy efficiency, low operating noise levels, two revolving spray arms for a thorough wash, antiflood sensors, removal racks and variable sized plate and glass holder.

You can purchase a variety of counter top appliances that are easy to match any kitchen decor. Just make sure you don't have too many that will clutter your counter space. Also, when buying think of buying them for decorative accessories for you kitchen. If you have stainless appliances, buy a stainless blender.  If you have the space when designing a new kitchen, a butler pantry is a wonderful solution for all of your small appliances. If you don't have space for a butler pantry, try clearing a few storage shelves for your appliance. This will keep a clutter-free look while your appliances are not being used.

Your kitchen will benefit from attention to decorative details. Even though kitchens are used for working, little decorative touches will make a difference. Add decorative window treatments that blend in with your kitchen decor. Herbs such as basil and parsley look great when added to kitchen decor. Your kitchen will have additional humidity from cooking and plants love the kitchen. Plants look great in a window or hanging from the ceiling near a window. For a decorative touch, retile the backsplash with colorful tiles. and add a bulletin board to keep up with the family's schedules.

Choosing the right flooring material for your new kitchen needs to be carefully thought out. You need to find a hard-wearing hygienic material while keeping cost in mind. Wooden floors are warm and easy to clean, but they tend to wear around the sink where there's water and additional wear and tear. Modern materials such as vinyl are appealing because they are long lasting and natural, as well as less expensive and easy to replace when worn.  Tiles have a wide range of colors, textures and patterns . Tile is durable and low maintenance if properly sealed, but cold on the feet and noisy. Slate is popular because of its natural variations in color and smooth or rough natural finishes, but it is expensive. Linoleum produced from linseed oil is cut for intricate patternng. Linoleum is quie, warm, durable and low maintenance. However, it is more costly than vinyl and needs expert fitting. It may scuff or mark if not kept well polished. You need to look at the pros and cons when choosing the floor covering that is right for your family's needs.

A  well-designed lighting system is a vital ingredient for achieving a pleasant working environment in the kitchen. The exact position of the light fittings is important. If they are installed too far back from the wall units you will always be standing in front of the light source and casting a shadow over your work. You will always need to plan a minimum of two electrical circuits for a small kitchen; one for task light and one for general lighting and up to five circuits for a large room. One to two circuits for counters and the front of cabinets and the table, one floor lamp circuit for the ceiling and one circuit to light a sitting area plus and extra booster circuit to light lesser areas.  You also might consider decorative lighting such a a floor lamp. Under cabinet lights, track lights, pendant table lights can enhance a particular area in a kitchen.

Unless you have an exceptionally small kitchen, try to include an eating area in you kitchen plan because a table is the center for a sociable kitchen. It is the gathering place where members of the family congregate. The table should always occupy the most comfortable space in the kitchen. The eating areas in a kitchen are usually small and informal, as they are intended for casual family meals, snacks, or breakfast.  A smaller table or built-in bar is a good alternative for a small kitchen. If your kitchen is larger you can choose a larger table. There are now alternative kitchen islands that can serve as a table. Tables come in oval, round and rectangular shapes. Try to keep the position of the table in mind when starting your design.

A few additional thing to remember when laying out plans for a new kitchen are: 

• Will your family grow?
• Does your kitchen have enough electrical outlets?
• How much storage space do you need when you buy groceries?
• Will you have enough counter space?
• How much storage space will you need?
• How will you store you spices?
• Do you like open shelves or closed shelves?
• Where will you keep cleaning supplies?

Kitchens can also be a dangerous place. Make sure your kitchen is child safe. For your child or visiting children, make sure your cleaning chemicals are behind lock and key. You will need a lid for your garbage disposal. Also, remember to store dangerous sharp knives high, in a space where children can not reach them.