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What Not to Do When Designing a Kitchen

Posted on: April 11, 2021

Modern gray, brown neutral kitchen features front cabinets with granite countertops and tile backsplash, window in contemporary home, house, apartment

The kitchen is the hardest-working room in your home. You expect it to be beautiful yet functional, spacious yet efficient. If your kitchen lacks storage or counter space, you may be considering a renovation. Take your time and work with a professional kitchen designer to ensure you don’t fall prey to these common mistakes when designing a kitchen.

1. Overlooking ventilation

Every cooktop should have a vent hood for safety and indoor air quality, but this doesn’t necessarily require installation along the wall. With the proper design, the hood can vent through the ceiling, opening up the possibility of an island cooktop.

2. Making lighting a low priority

Ideally, kitchens should have three types of lighting—general lighting, task lighting, and ambient lighting. Popular options include can lights, pendants over the island, dimmable spotlights, and under-cabinet lights.

3. Skimping on outlets

It’s easy to forget how many things you plug in at once while working in the kitchen. In addition to ample wall outlets, get creative with in-drawer outlets for electronics, pop-up outlets built into the countertop, and outlets hidden behind false drawer fronts for a more streamlined appearance.

4. Choosing an all-white kitchen without exploring other options

Are you considering an all-white kitchen because it’s the safe thing to do? If you’re passionate about bright colors and unique materials, don’t be afraid to incorporate those into your kitchen design! Catering to your personal style is more important than worrying about resale value, especially if you don’t plan on moving anytime soon.

5. Planning a kitchen for only one cook

Typical kitchen layouts feature a single food prep area, making it hard for multiple cooks to share the space. If friends and family regularly help out in the kitchen, now’s your chance to add a second prep sink and incorporate more counter space near the stove.

6. Neglecting the livability of the space

Inspiration boards can help you nail down your design style. Still, ending up with an efficient, livable kitchen is more important than mimicking a magazine cover. Cater your kitchen design to match your specific storage needs, daily habits, and lifestyle, not the other way around.

7. Treating plumbing fixtures & hardware as an afterthought

No detail is too small when designing a custom kitchen. The faucet and cabinet hardware may have a relatively minor visual impact, but they play a significant role in your quality of life. To ensure pleasant daily interactions, give as much thought to picking out your faucet and hardware as you do to choosing your cabinets and countertops.

8. Squeezing an island into a small space

Kitchen islands are among the most requested upgrades, but they aren’t the right choice for every situation. Kitchen aisles should be at least 42 inches wide, so if you can’t safely fit an island, achieve a similar seating and countertop space upgrade with a peninsula.

9. Missing an opportunity to customize

Unique modernizations abound, so ask your kitchen designer what options are available. Everything from roll-out pantry shelves to built-in spice racks to corner drawers can help you optimize your kitchen’s functionality.

10. Reusing the existing, problematic layout

Who says you have to work around your kitchen’s current footprint? Feel free to relocate the sink, move appliances, and tear down walls to open up the kitchen to the rest of the living space.

Are you considering a complete kitchen renovation? Your best chance to avoid making common mistakes during the design process is to work with Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens. We know just how to bring your dream kitchen to life, with results that will leave you feeling 100% satisfied.

To get your kitchen renovation project started, call Jack Rosen Custom Kitchens at 301-363-4064 or contact us online.

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