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Designing and renovating your kitchen is an extensive and exciting, albeit expensive job, so it’s only natural that you try to accommodate for all those kitchen desires (hello kitchen island and double door fridge freezer). After all, most people won’t renovate their kitchen again for at least 10 years so you’ll definitely want to ensure it’s everything you’ve dreamed of.
However, with so many options available it’s almost too easy to make the wrong decisions and for your dream kitchen to become a nightmare.
Avoid realising too late the impracticalities a poorly designed kitchen could have and save yourself the burden of regret by checking out these kitchen design mistakes and how you can avoid making them.
1. Favouring property value over personal style
Focusing on the resale value of your property is a sure-fire way to creating a lacklustre kitchen. Not only will it limit your kitchens potential, but it can lead to having a kitchen that isn't personal, or representative of the lifestyle of you and your family. Instead of focusing on pleasing the next buyer with a blank canvas for their liking, design a kitchen that works for, and around, you.
2. Following the latest trends
It's easy to get swept up in the latest design trends - they're on trend for a reason. However, what's all the rage now won't be that way forever; you can bet that in five or ten years time, these trends would have changed twice over. So stick to trusting your own tastes and preferences, or, incorporate the latest trends into the finishing touches of your kitchen design. Appliances and accessories are easier and cheaper to change up should you want to redesign again in the near future.
3. An imbalance of patterns and colours
Colourful decor isn't specifically a bad thing, but too much colour can become...well...too much. A little colour here and there can create a fun and stylish kitchen as well as adding a little bit of your personality into the room. Too much colour everywhere, however, can create a chaotic feel and becomes dated much sooner. Instead, opt for neutral tones and add a dab of colour in your accessories and appliances.
4. Insisting on a kitchen island
The kitchen island. It has slowly and steadily become the epitome of a beautiful kitchen. Not only does it give a kitchen that "wow" factor, but it's a clever way of incorporating more space, storage and worksurfaces into your kitchen. Seems like a failsafe idea to include one in your design, right? Wrong. Adding a kitchen island just because you have the budget and desire to does not mean you should. Sometimes an island can take up valuable room in a small kitchen, or it could disrupt the workflow and become a hindrance instead. Go for an island if you have the space to do so - you ideally want to have 1.5 metres of space on each side, if your kitchen cannot accommodate this, you could opt for an ingenious kitchen peninsula instead.
5. Not including a backsplash in your design
This is a vital component of a functional kitchen but is (unfortunately) overlooked often. Including a backsplash in your kitchen design is a necessity if you are wanting to protect your walls from grease, dirt and grime and prevent having to renovate sooner than you'd like. A backsplash is also a great way to incorporate a burst of colour, or to make a statement in the kitchen. And backsplashes are far from boring; tiled, glass, industrial steel; short, tall, or cover the entire wall: there are endless possibilities to suit any taste or style.
6. Forgetting to measure appliances
Seem unlikely? If we had a cent for every appliance that wasn't measured or measured incorrectly then we would probably have around $5 (but that's a lot of cents!). It's devastating when you realise too late that the beautiful double door fridge freezer won't fit, or it sticks out too much (which could result in poorly functioning adjacent cupboards or will simply look unsightly)..
Measure, and then measure again to fit your appliances into your kitchen seamlessly and avoid any last minute disappointment.
7. Cluttering worksurfaces/underestimating how much storage you'll need
Nothing looks more unsightly in a kitchen than having a appliance exhibition right there, on the countertop. Not only is this an eyesore, but it also causes a hindrance in day-to-day cooking as well as taking up valuable surface space. You want to make sure every appliance has a 'home'. Better still, creating a storage solution where the appliances can stay put, even when in use, will take the meaning of 'bespoke' up a notch or two. For the smaller, every day items (mugs, chopping boards, utensils) you could include hooks, hanging rails, and shelves into your design to ensure your worksurfaces are kept clear.
8. Not including enough power points
It gets old pretty quickly when you're having to unplug the toaster to plug in the blender, or when you have to rummage around for the socket splitter in order to have the kettle on at the same time as the cooker. Many homes are ill-equipped to accommodate for all the gadgets and appliances we use today, especially in the kitchen. So when designing your dream kitchen, be sure to include ample power points in your kitchen design to avoid inevitable frustration in the future.
9. Poor workflow planning
Not thinking about the workflow in the kitchen can turn cooking into chaos. Nobody wants to run a marathon from the fridge to the cooker to the sink and back again; turning to the 'working triangle' can ensure you have an efficient flow in the kitchen and will make for a practical working environment.
Carefully consider how you will be spending your time in the kitchen and design your 'work zones' to accommodate your needs accordingly.
10. Cabinets not taking advantage of ceiling height
Not making full use of your ceiling height doesn't only limit the capacity of your cabinetry, but it also makes way for that annoying space above the cabinets which serves to only gather dust and make spring cleaning a whole lot tougher. Instead, make use of your ceiling's height by taking your cabinetry all the way to the top.
11. Having the lighting in the wrong place
Lighting is often overlooked in the kitchen design, but in actual fact the lighting is what can make or break the room - and there isn't a bigger pain than having to prepare and cook food in the shadows.
You want to make sure you have task lighting (usually under overhead cabinetry) to illuminate your worksurfaces as well as having statement lighting to bedazzle guests (this is where beautiful pendant lighting comes in). You could also consider LED accent lighting to light up any glass panelled units and so on. And don't forget dimmers for creating warmth, especially for any late night entertainment.
12. Buying without trying
You won't regret requesting samples for things such as colours, textures and finishes. You want to make sure it all fits together perfectly, and the only way you can do that is by seeing how it looks in person.
Shopping online can look extremely different compared to the physical thing and visiting a showroom is a great way to see your chosen elements upfront, however, having samples to take home is the best way to see how placement and lighting will effect your design.
For more advice get in touch today where we will be happy to discuss your kitchen design.