What are the Common Kitchen Design Mistakes?
The kitchen is among the frequently used areas, and most of us define it as the heart of the home.
Your kitchen is a place to gather and socialize while cooking your favorite meal for your friends or loved ones. Kitchen Renovation Interior Designer can be among the most worthwhile tasks that you undertake in home remodel. Since a kitchen is filled with endless design decisions, it can be really a daunting decision for those who are not prepared enough. In order to save time, wealth, stress, and get the most out of your dream kitchen, try to avoid some of these costly designing mistakes.
Kitchen Renovation Interior Designer
Nowadays, the kitchen is not only a place where we cook and eat, but it is a part of home décor. So it is much important to select the right kitchen renovation interior designer to execute your ideas efficiently and make the kitchen a masterpiece in the home.
Function and Space Planning
Space planning is the most repeated mistake that most homeowners make while designing their kitchen. Make sure the designers you are hiring are making a plan while considering your space. The appropriate measurement of the kitchen layout allows you to move towards the next step of designing. It would help to start with taking measurements of the floor space you need for your kitchen appliances. The most common issues that arise with space planning in the kitchens are –
- Clearance issues that deal with doorways and walkways
Always keep the doors 32″ inches wide (80cm), and swinging doors should not affect the appliances, cabinet doors, and walkways. If your kitchen passageways do not have doors, make sure to keep them around 36″ wide (90 cm) or larger. However, when you are standing in front of your refrigerators, the walkways should be 42″ inches wide (106 cm). It is the appropriate measurement if there is one cook, but if there are multiple cooks, make sure to keep it 48″ inches (120cm).
- Poor Design of a Work Triangle
Every expert kitchen designer is aware of the work triangle importance of a truly functional kitchen. Work triangle improves the functionality of the kitchen while minimizing the walking distance between the skin, cooktop, and the refrigerators.
- Lack of Countertop Space
When designing a space, keep the usable countertop space to be 150 total inches (380cm). It can include the lower cabinets that are at least 24″ inches deep (60cm) and clearance space of 18″ inches above the countertop.
- Kitchen Island
Make sure there should be at least 36 inches (90cm) of space around the island for passage. It would also help if you can purchase the storage equipment for your kitchen to save more space that you can use for other purposes.
Logistics and choosing appliances
Why do you actually need to choose the appliances? Choosing the right appliances and locating them within the confines of the kitchen will allow you to custom-fit all your cabinets according to space. Knowing each unit’s measurements will allow you to fit the cabinets around the appliances, giving you a seamless custom look. A common mistake that people make is they leave for the task to last and then realize nothing fits, due to which they end up spending an unnecessary amount. The appliances include the refrigerator, the cooktops, the sinks, dishwasher, microwave, and anything that is built-in and needs electricity or gas to operate.
- Neglecting the electrical needs
All the countertops, receptors, and working areas need GFCI, which means Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter protection. It is designed to completely shut off the electrical powers in the event of faults to prevent electric shock. Once you are done with locating your appliances, you can then start with strategically placing your outlets. A kitchen should have at least one wall switch to control the light and make sure to place it in the entrance.
- Forgetting to ventilate appliances
Ventilating the appliances is crucial. During the time you cook, the strong food smell lingers in the air, and the excess moisture can also lead to molds. Make sure to plan for a hood with an extractor fan available with an exhaust rate of 150 cubic feet of the air per minute.
- Poor location of interior fittings
It is more about the storage and the organization rather than the actual design of the space. If you are customizing your interiors, it will help to decide this for the installation of the doors and cabinets.
Storage and custom fittings
- Underestimating the storage needs
Everyone prefers to have relevant storage in their kitchens, whether it is cabinet space, pantry space, or drawer space. You need to calculate how much space you need, and it depends on what appliances or equipment you are going to store in your kitchens. Make sure to allocate the required space to every appliance when planning your space. If there is leftover space on the top of your kitchen, you can plan for a top pantry cabinet. You can use it to store seasonal items, less used products, or the items you need occasionally.
- Not making room for trash receptacles.
Never forget to plan a space for your trash bins, and you can place them near the refrigerators, sink, or countertops. It would help to install one for general waste and the other for recycling to keep the space cleaner.
Finally, don’t just randomly pick up any material or decide on the finishes -these can impact your overall kitchen style. Don’t make your kitchen awful while arranging everything matched, instead a Kitchen remodel in Northern Virginia can guide you. It can make your kitchen look dull and boring, so consider the above-discussed mistakes to keep your kitchen in the right shape.