Renovate Your Kitchen Like The Pro’s

If you’re planning to do kitchen renovations: Be prepared for a potentially disruptive project. However, you can make the whole process go much smoother, and enjoy greater satisfaction with these top ten tips.

1. Plan the Layout of Your Kitchen Renovations Before You Start building

Although there are some amazing kitchen ideas in so many display showrooms, they may not be suitable for your kitchen. They may not be exactly what your family is happiest with.

So, before you begin to seriously research materials, it’s important to plan out all the options for your needs.

So, what’s the way the professional home builders do it? Simple: You want to have what’s called a work triangle at the centre of any kitchen renovations. It allows for the three most important work stations to be easily reached from anywhere in the triangle.

That means: At each point in the triangle, you have:

The sink (water supply)
The food storage (pantry and/or refrigerator)
The cooking areas (heat)

Now you can tackle the other important traffic considerations, the width of walkways and the best use of available storage space. For example: Ideally, there should be a walkway at least three feet wide through your kitchen. You will also need approximately four feet of additional bench space at/or near the cooking zone. If you find you’re restricted for space, you may not be able to install an island or another row of cabinets. But we’ll cover that later.

2. Consider Kid Friendly Kitchen Renovations

While many kitchen renovations are designed to look fantastic, they may not be appropriate for a busy family home. If you have children, you should consider a kid friendly design. This should include keeping your cook top away from higher traffic areas, so you can avoid spills or accidents as children often run through these areas. You should also plan to keep snack foods and favourite dishes where they are easy for your children to reach.

When planning out your kitchen ideas, you should also consider the steps you take every time you move through the kitchen. For example: Place bowls and breakfast cereals near to where the kids eat in the morning. This will cut down on unnecessary and time-wasting in your day.

3. Make Use Of Corners

Corners can often be dead space in a kitchen. Unless you carefully consider using these areas, you may end up with awkward cabinets which become cluttered with unreachable junk. So:

avoid putting appliances into corners.
install corner shelving solutions to allow easy access into the deep cabinets.
Keep your most used activities located strategically with your appliances immediately on hand.

4. Determine The Function of Each Area

It’s a good idea to define the primary function for each area of your new kitchen. This can help you to plan out the location of power outlets, range hoods and cabinets. For example: If you’re using an area for food preparation, you will need a power outlet and safe drawer space for knives. And don’t forget large shelves or cabinets for cutting boards and serving dishes!

5. Increase Ease of Recycling

Families often struggle with recycling as bottles, cartons and jars end up all over the kitchen. But by including a cabinet large enough for separate containers, you can sort out your glass, plastic, paper, and cardboard into easy disposable sections.

This will not only make it easier to work in the kitchen, it will be tidier and much more hygienic.

6. Include A Message Board In Your Kitchen Renovations Design

Kitchens are often the heart of family homes. So it’s a good idea to include some form of message board on a wall everyone can see and react to.

This is especially handy if it is near the telephone, so any messages, appointments or plans can be left for family members. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how functional this little kitchen idea really is.

7. Kitchen Renovations Should Improve Clean- Up Time

Another consideration for your kitchen renovations should be the amount of clean-up involved in any day. With some careful kitchen designs and thoughtful planning, you can make cleaning your new kitchen much easier and helpful for the person who is the prime user of the area.

Remember: Glossy surfaces tend to show more dirt and marks compared to matt finishes, so keep that in mind when you’re choosing colour schemes. Trims, grout lines in tile surfaces and intricate detailing can be a magnet for crumbs.

8. Add Interest To Blocks of Cabinets

When space is at a premium. It’s tempting to install heavy blocks of cabinets to maximise storage. However, this can be boring and just plain unattractive: It’s worth speaking to your home builders for ideas to add comfort and interest in your kitchen renovations.

After all: You will spend a great deal of time in your new kitchen, so it’s good planning to make the design and appearance attractive and functional. You won’t regret it!

This could include things like,

display shelving
glass doors
wine racks
entertainment stations
walk-in pantry
joint breakfast bar and servery
display plants

9. Consider Using Colours That Create A Pleasing Atmosphere

You can easily compromise the most effective kitchen renovations with a poor choice of colour. Darker colours can make a small space look uninviting, smaller and even depressive. If you want to create the effect of a larger, warmer space consider using lighter colours and softer shades.

10. Create a Focal Point That Says ‘Welcome To My Kitchen’

Fancy flooring, shiny cabinets, bright tile and busy patterns on your countertops can be a little too much for the eyes to take in. However, by creating a pleasing focal point in your kitchen designs you can complement all the other details, draw the eye to the heart of your home and make you visitors feel very welcome and relaxed. Always a great way to begin any meal!

Let’s Sum It All Up

Planning kitchen renovations can be a little daunting and, at times, overpowering for some people. However, with a little guidance from experienced home builders, you can create kitchen designs that not only look great but complement your home.

Remember: Kitchens are the heart of any home.

So, if you’d like to talk to a unique Gold Coast builder who began his career doing kitchen renovations. And still has a soft spot for these projects.

Give me a call on 0466 874 175 And, together, we’ll come up with a design that’s just what you want. I hope this article has been helpful to you and these tips and ideas produce kitchen renovations you’ll be proud of.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Aaron Thompson, AT Constructions

Building You A Better Home