There’s no one who wants to have a bad kitchen in their home. Their kitchen is the hub of food and sustenance. For many people it’s also a social place where families gather together as a meal is made or before school and work. Kitchens can become the hit of a party when friends and family have gathered together. Despite the importance of a kitchen, many people make huge mistakes when they are going through a remodel. Many people have great dreams before they renovate the kitchen. Unfortunately, those dreams can turn into nightmares really quickly during a bad remodel. It doesn’t matter if the homeowner decides to do the work themselves, or if a contractor is doing it. Bad plans lead to bad kitchens. This article looks at common mistakes people make when they choose to remodel their kitchen.
Islands are a fantastic addition to a kitchen. They often take up what would be wasted space and allow for many kitchen tasks, storage, or a place to sit and eat quickly in the kitchen. The problem is that people fall in love with the concept of an island. Many are designed as gigantic kitchen islands. Suddenly, it’s difficult to reach the middle of the island, so items left there are no longer convenient. Some people design storage that will go past the rim of the countertop and makes using the island more difficult. In a really big kitchen, having two islands makes more sense than one gigantic island that takes a solid 11 minutes to walk all the way around.
Not all kitchens are going to be large. Quite simply there’s not enough space for everything. Peninsulas can be better than large islands for a small kitchen. Trying to place too many things into a small space just turns a kitchen into a cluttered mess. This also will often damage the walkway room. You want to ensure that a kitchen has room for two people to pass each other easily while cooking. This is especially true for potential hot items being held. It’s very possible to get innovative with small spaces and use non traditional storage styles. This can be a bit pricier in a remodel, but will usually pay for itself quickly!
There’s so many ways to offer storage in a kitchen. You don’t need traditional cabinets. Shelves and open storage looks can be fantastic choices. Storage is also one of the best ways to get the real style of the kitchen across. They should match the style of the kitchen in question perfectly. When considering storage, also think about small kitchen appliances. Too many can make the kitchen look very cluttered if they are all sitting on countertops.
When designing how a kitchen should be placed, too many people make mistakes in where items are located. Stoves on the wrong side of a fridge from prep and the sink are a waste of time and effort. You want the flow of the kitchen to go from fridge to prep/sink area to stove/oven. Ideally the storage of pots and pans should be within easy reach of prep and the cooking tools. Design the kitchen with the actual workflow of the kitchen in mind and you’ll be pleased with the results.
One of the worst things that can destroy a remodel of any kitchen is changing your mind halfway through. Trying to pivot to a different concept can work in other aspects of life, but during a remodel is the absolute worst time to try to change your mind and do something different. While it can be pulled off, it will add a huge amount of expense to the project, and often looks worse than if a plan had been executed straight from the start.
