When it comes to interior decoration, most of us have a pretty good idea of how we would like our homes to look. We might have a specific theme or a period in mind for the entire home or each separate room, and we are ready to bend over backward to make it happen. If you are an avid cook and understand that the kitchen is often the most important room in your house, you naturally want it to be perfect. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to come up with a few ideas to help you design your perfect kitchen:
Have a vision
In order to get anywhere, you have to have a good starting point, or in this case – a vision of what your ideal kitchen should look like. This also means that you should be realistic – if you live in a miniature rented flat, you won’t be able to get a spacious and airy kitchen where you’ll easily cook a five-course meal. Look at the floor plan, take into account the walls, windows, and doors, and try to plan how your future kitchen should be arranged. You could do several sketches to see which idea works best with your kitchen’s capacity, and only when you have a rough layout plan in mind should you proceed with designing and choosing furniture and appliances.
Carefully pick appliances
After you’ve chosen a layout, you should start thinking of appliances and cabinets, as it is the size and dimensions of the appliances that will dictate further design. Your counters, cabinets and kitchen island should be made to fit around the appliances you’ve chosen. Of course, such big and important pieces would be difficult to “squeeze in” after you’ve taken care of everything else, especially if you have a small kitchen. Installing appliances is also tricky, especially for people living in Australia, as they shouldn’t perform any electrical work on their own, so they will need the assistance of a Sydney electrician. Another thing you should do is get energy-saving appliances because these are environmentally friendly and will save you money on your electricity bills in the future.
L-shaped kitchens
If you’re aiming for this layout, the units will have to occupy two walls, and you will form a “working triangle” with the appliances and work surfaces. You can have a sink on one wall, preferably right underneath the window, and place the hob and the fridge on the other wall. On either side of the hob, there should be enough preparation space, and try not to overload the kitchen with heavy wall units. If you need wall units, place them on the walls along the longer part of the L-shaped space.
Galley kitchens
Galley kitchens usually consist of a single run of units that go along one of the walls, or they might have a double galley. If you have plenty of open space, try placing the facing cabinetry in such way that they take the form of an island, and simply leave the run of units on an exterior wall. In case you want a double galley, simply try placing the sink opposite the hob as it’s the most sensible design in most cases, and have worktop space on either side of the hob. If space is narrow, refrain from hanging too many wall units and opt for open shelves instead.
You might be thinking of renovating your boring old kitchen or making vague plans on how your future dream kitchen should look like, but the most important thing about designing kitchens is to do it slowly and with a lot of patience. Remember that designing isn’t all about the way the room will look, but about how well you will be able to get around it too. You should also be willing to improvise and compromise a bit unless you want to spend a fortune and end up bankrupt.
