Kitchenset Design Mistakes To Avoid – Kitchens are the heart of the home. However, many kitchen renovations lack heart and soul, leaving homeowners underwhelmed and frustrated.
Custom kitchen renovations can be daunting. It’s a big investment and one that will affect the look, feel and future resale value of your home for decades to come. You may only be involved in a couple of kitchen renovations in a lifetime, but we do it every day at my interior design firm, and I have to tell you, I’ve seen horrors when it comes to kitchen renovations.
Kitchenset Design Mistakes To Avoid
While it was hard to narrow down the kitchen mistakes I’ve seen throughout my design career, I think the five I’ve outlined here are potentially the most painful financially and from a day-to-day functional perspective. .
The Right Order For Designing A Custom Home Kitchen
So, whether you hire a professional to guide you through the process or try to do it yourself, here are the top 5 things to avoid at all costs…
Not only does the wrong layout of your kitchen affect the aesthetics and resale value of your home… it also makes everyday activities like cooking and cleaning up much more stressful.
The other day I had a client who went to a local cabinet shop to plan a kitchen layout.
At the moment, their kitchen is from the 1970s with dark cabinets and door handles in the middle of the door.
Pro Panel: 10 Kitchen Layout Blunders And How To Avoid Them
Dishwashers weren’t common at the time, so when it was installed later, it was placed on the back wall sandwiched between the stove and refrigerator.
An awkward peninsula cut the space in half and made it feel much darker than it needed to be, with a large window, passageway and sliding glass door.
Clients would call me because the layout they received from the in-house cabinet designer repeated all the same problems they were already having. It just moved the dysfunction to another area of the kitchen! The showroom designer placed the stove on one wall and the sink on the other. But the fridge, dishwasher and sink were still lined up!
I’d like to say this is an isolated incident, but we get calls like this every week. After all, in-house designers for cabinet suppliers work to sell cabinets! Some in-house designers are fantastic and we’d recommend them all day (and we do), but unfortunately that’s the exception, not the norm.
Modern Kitchen Ideas We Love
After inspecting this client’s layout, I immediately saw the problems. The first is the absence of a working triangle. Everything was stacked on one wall, from there the stove stood at an awkward angle.
If you worked in that kitchen, the person unloading the dishes would be blocked by the refrigerator door if someone else was cooking in there. And the chef will be shuffling all over the place, spinning like crazy!
For this client, we created an efficient work triangle and managed to place a small island that completely opens up the space.
To be honest, the kitchen layout concept is not something I recommend DIYing because it’s very important (and very expensive to fix after installation). You can get a kitchen layout from an interior design firm for less than $1,000, including your choice of finishes. This includes gathering trade quotes for the job and a plan to bring it all together!
Small Kitchen Layouts: 20 Ideas To Maximize That Small Space |
However, if you’re trying to do it yourself, here are 8 tips to get it right:
Custom kitchen cabinets alone will likely cost between $20,000 and $50,000 depending on the size of your space. Then add in the tiles, flooring, appliances, lighting and worktops… and in the end your custom kitchen will cost about as much as a nice car.
However, kitchens are a much better investment than any vehicle as they provide up to 200% ROI.
When you buy a car, you take steps to preserve that investment, right? You wash the car. Change the oil regularly. Insure it against damage.
S Most Coveted Kitchen Is Superexpensive. Here’s How To Get The Look For Less
When you design your kitchen, you want to protect that investment by ensuring it will stand the test of time.
My childhood home was recently listed for sale and the listing said “brand new modern kitchen”. Looking at the pictures, I discovered that this “modern” kitchen was exactly the one my father put in 20 years ago! The same cabinets. The same countertops. Even the flooring. Nothing has changed.
I don’t think the real estate agent was trying to cheat. It’s just that the kitchen still feels new because it was clean and built with semi-custom cabinets and timeless finishes that were made to last.
The fashionable neutral at the time my father built this kitchen was beige. In the late 90s and early 2000s, we saw a lot of beige tiles, floors and countertops. Today, that same beige tile is tired and in desperate need of an update.
Regrettable Custom Kitchen Mistakes (and How To Avoid Them)
Instead, my dad chose blue tile to go with the white cabinetry. And today, everyone who passed by the house remarked how beautiful the new kitchen was (even though it’s 20 years old!)
In the 1980s, everyone painted their houses white with bold black accents. Black toilets were in fashion. I remember I had white walls and blue trim! (We still make fun of my mom for this)
Then in the 90s we saw golden oak cabinets and pinkish beige tile and paint. Both are neutral, however they are not what anyone wants in their home today.
The early zeros brought us the Tuscan trend as we moved into orange and yellow-beige colors. I get calls DAILY and I’m desperate to have the travertine and terracotta tiles ripped out of the houses. No one installs them in the 2020s.
Where To Put The Microwave In Your Kitchen: 5 Mistakes To Avoid
Around 2008, we started referring to early 2000s beige as “builders beige”. These words came out of our mouths with great disgust as we declared gray the new “it” neutral.
And around 2015, gray felt too cold. So gray came to the rescue as a gray and beige alternative that felt warmer and cozier.
Now, in 2020, the black and white trend is going strong. But of course we had to move from the Art Deco movement of the 1980s to a more country and industrial mix. Gray, of course, is “out”. We don’t see it in designer showrooms anymore, so it’s only a matter of time before we start wanting to rip all the gray out of our homes in favor of the next neutral sensation.
Going back to my father’s kitchen renovation, he paired blue tile with white cabinetry. It still looks fresh and will please any homeowner.
Home Appliance Trends You’ll See Everywhere In 2024, According To Pros
As a designer, I am tired of white kitchens. But from an investment perspective, they don’t go out of style UNLESS you pair white cabinetry with the latest neutral trend for countertops, flooring, and tile!
This brings me to color. Look, I understand that you might be uncomfortable using color in the kitchen. In fact, the most common phrase I hear from clients is “I’m afraid I’ll get bored of it.”
However, the second most common phrase I hear from clients is “It’s old and needs to be removed”…which ALWAYS refers to some neutral finish that was applied over 5 years ago that is already in the house.
You know what I never wanted a design client to throw up? They did something in their favorite color. Be it their closet, couch, or even a rug. The colors you loved as a child, you will enjoy for many years.
Interior Designer Shares 8 Mistakes To Avoid When Building Your Dream Kitchen: Why Subway Tiles Are Bad Idea And More
I’m not saying you have to add color to achieve a timeless kitchen. Like I said, mid-tone wood and white on white on white are also timeless choices. But never be afraid of the colors you love. I promise, you’ll tire of this “safe” neutral long before you tire of your favorite colors.
The most beautiful custom kitchens contain some architectural features. These can be stunning old windows. Or the $10,000 brass and wood hood vent, which is a highlight.
Now, we certainly don’t want to trade function for beauty. However, we can have both if we open our eyes to the architecture of the room.
Maybe you already have a great architecture. Maybe your kitchen is like mine and opens up to a full wall of windows overlooking a manicured garden. Or maybe you have high ceilings with wooden beams.
Ide Kitchen Set Minimalist ] ?✨
However, most kitchen designs will require adding some architectural interest – and this is a step that is very often overlooked!
Here are some ways to add architectural interest to a space without completely redoing the roofline or losing the window cabinets:
Since everyone uses their kitchen differently, no two kitchens should be arranged in the same way. One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make when renovating their kitchen is not making the most of their space.
A chef will prepare a meal differently than a mom with four kids tugging on her pants while cooking.
Best Ways To Reduce Costs With Ikea Kitchen Cabinets 2023
Before ordering a single cabinet, it’s important to really learn the ins and outs of what you’re doing in the kitchen.
For example, my husband and I are vegetarians. However, for a