Showing posts with label kitchen tips. Show all posts

Kitchen Taps - Kitchen remodel ideas

Kitchen Taps for Beautiful Kitchen Redesign

Kitchen taps along with other kitchen accessories can really make or break a kitchen. Kitchen taps can enhance a basic kitchen and embellish a beautiful one. There are so many wonderful kitchen designs where does one start. Here are a few kitchen tap ideas to inspire your kitchen remodeling ideas.

Kitchen Remodel Solutions - Resolving Kitchen Design Problems

Kitchen Remodel Solution

Choosing to remodel your kitchen is the first step toward introducing a more creative and stress-free environment for cooking and socializing. The optimal kitchen design is functional, efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Incorporating these qualities into your kitchen design requires a work triangle, optimal cupboard and pantry space, a proper kitchen lighting design, and space for socializing.

Problem: Cramped or spread out work space.
Solution: Create a work triangle.

As the name suggests, your work triangle should incorporate food storage, a cooking zone and a cleanup area as the three points of a triangle. When developing your new kitchen design, it is important to know the details of each area included in your work triangle. Is the storage area in each zone sufficient for housing all of the area-specific items? For instance, does your cooking station offer convenient storage within arms' reach for pots and pans, cooking utensils, and spices? Are obstructions keeping your work triangle from being a triangle? How much space do you have, or need, between each zone? Do you have adequate counter space?

There are several kitchen remodeling design schemes that allow for a convenient work triangle. Here are a couple of examples:

Equilateral. An equilateral work triangle that positions the sink as the top point of the triangle, with the stove and refrigerator as the two bottom points, is useful for maximizing speed and efficiency.

Isosceles. An isosceles work triangle that arranges the sink and stove adjacent to each other as the bottom points, with the refrigerator at the top point on the opposing wall, is a great kitchen design for maximizing counter space.

Problem: Not enough cabinet space.
Solution: Install a pantry.

Your kitchen remodeling efforts will be in vain if you do not consolidate as much countertop and storage space as possible. To give your work triangle the breathing room it needs, consider a more efficient storage solution, such as a pantry for storing canned and dry food. The pantry should be located close to the food preparation area, as well as near the refrigerator to save time unpacking groceries. Some kitchen remodeling ideas for modest-size kitchens include: installing a shelf in a small space on an open wall; expanding established cabinets and incorporating shelves; or buying a separate pantry that can be placed off to the side in a corner.

Problem: Dull lighting.
Solution: Incorporate task and accent lighting.

The kitchen lighting design has both practical and aesthetic value. Without decent lighting, a kitchen design can become dull and uninspiring. There are several types of kitchen lighting to alleviate this problem:

Task lighting. Task lighting goes directly above the area where you prep and cook your meals. Adequate task lighting allows you to more closely inspect your food and wield your knife as accurately as possible.

Accent lighting. Accent lighting provides the aesthetic element of your kitchen lighting design. It gives the room a lucid glow and provides a comforting atmosphere conducive to creativity.

Problem: Kitchen feels crowded or isolated.
Solution: Designate space for socializing.

The kitchen is often referred to as the most social area of the home, and a functional kitchen design should include built-in space for socializing. The kitchen's social space should be removed from the work triangle, so as not to impede the cooking process, and preferably situated around it. An encompassing social space allows for the cook to be involved and sociable instead of cramped in a corner facing a wall. To this end, bar stools or a table can be used to allow seating near the work triangle, allowing the chef to engage in conversation. Keep in mind to match the decor of the kitchen design so as to create an aesthetically pleasing social space.

These are just a few kitchen remodeling ideas to get you started with your new kitchen design. A work triangle, ample storage, task and accent lighting, and social space are key components to any functional kitchen. Keep these ideas in mind to make your remodeled kitchen more functional, tasteful and sociable than ever.

Ben Anton

Kitchen Design Trends

The Latest Kitchen Design Trends

Are you considering renovating your kitchen? Are you ready to change the old for the new? Are you looking for the fad kitchen design ideas for your working place? Typically every year, new ideas come and go as they are meant to be but it does not mean that you need to change your kitchen designs year after year. Renovation can be very costly so people are advised to get fad designs that will last a very long time. Listed below are some of the tips on kitchen design ideas.

Bright is right - Instead of the classic neutral wall painting, the trend for this year are bright reds, blues, greens and yellows. This may shock you. However, the kitchen is one part of your house that can be painted and look good with this type of paint.

Mess is out, Neat is in - Before, the use of refrigerator magnets are tolerated. They look cute. The countertop is filled with mess like the kitchen utensils, the walls full of hanging pots or pans. Well, this year the mess should be all but cleared out! Classic and clean kitchen countertops and refrigerator doors are in trend.

Vintage is back - The old style of mortar and pestle on the counter top is one good way to imitate the old design. You can simply alter the old style appliances with the modern and more efficient ones. The premise for this kind of look is the minimalism and cleanliness.

Kitchen for a chef - If you would like to go for this kind of look, you may want to look at what most restaurants look like today. This is because they usually update their kitchens regularly because for them, kitchen creates a mood for chefs. If your kitchen is seen on the dining room, this look will look good for your house.

Elegant look

Flooring - For the kind of materials for the flooring, the best is to look for ones that come in sleek design like white ceramic, porcelain tiles, natural stone.
Countertops - Use porcelain or the glass backsplashes which is still in trend. This classic design is one of the many designs that may never come out of trend.
Cabinets - Installing organizing racks inside your cabinet is one of what modern kitchens have. Cabinets seen are mostly made from cherry wood and maple wood. The cabinet doors on the other hand are made of glass, nickel or aluminum. This is what is in for kitchen trends.
Appliances - In modern houses, the appliances are mostly built under the counter or dishwashers hiding inside the drawer. The best thing about this technique is that does not just make the room to appear clean, it also allows more storage and promotes multipurpose tops.

When renovating your kitchen, make sure that you plan it out thoroughly and decide according to your needs and not the trend. Always remember that kitchen renovation is done once or a just a couple of times at the most in a person's lifetime. Therefore, your kitchen design idea you should choose for your kitchen should be based on elegant design as this type lasts longer than most.

By Richard McIntyre

Kitchen Design - 10 Top Tips

Kitchen Design - 10 Top Tips

Kitchen Design Tip 1. Before you start designing your new fitted kitchen it makes sense to formulate your idea's and note them down on to a wish list. It is worth remembering that your new kitchen plan should incorporate the things you do like about your existing kitchen, as well as the things you don't.

Kitchen Design Tip 2. Again, before starting your new kitchen plan you will find choosing your kitchen appliances (or type of appliances) is worthwhile. Your new fitted kitchen will require designing differently depending on your choice of appliances. ("Built In" Appliances are planned differently to "Built Under").

Kitchen Design Tip 3. Keeping the new position of the sink relatively close to it's existing position will simplify your kitchen installation. It is not so much a problem getting hot and cold feeds to your sink - it is the running of the waste from it that can cause problems. (As a rule of thumb "Right Handed" people prefer "Left Handed" draining boards - The "Lefty's" that lurk amongst us generally don't care.)

Kitchen Design Tip 4. Work your design out from any corners. Good access into corner cabinets is crucial for utalising storage space. If your measurements allow, try and plan corner cabinets in this order of preference... "L shape" Bi-Fold, "Le-Mans" Cantilever Tray, "Magic Corner", "Syncromotion Corner Drawers", Diagonal Cross Corner, and lastly the Blind Corner.

Kitchen Design Tip 5. Using "Hi-Line" base cabinets in place of "Drawer Line", will generally provide a more ergonomic kitchen. Instead of drawers everywhere (some working, some false) it is more practical, and often less expensive, to position an optimal size nest of drawers (500, or 600mm) where they are required.

Kitchen Design Tip 6. Try to design your kitchen economically. A 300mm wide cabinet may be half the size of a 600mm cabinet - but it is 3/4 of the cost. Try to plan your kitchen layout using large cabinets instead of loads of small ones, this will reduce the kitchen furniture cost dramatically (And, as part of your fitting cost is calculated by the number of cabinets to be installed you will achieve a saving here as well)

Kitchen Design Tip 7. Position your new kitchen hob (or Range Cooker) reasonably adjacent to the new sink position. This will avoid the need to walk any distance to drain pans full of boiling water. (If you are Right Handed consider positioning the sink to the right of the Hob)

Kitchen Design Tip 8. Allow for an uncluttered area of worktop space
immediately next to your oven. This will provide a safe area to remove hot trays from the oven and place on too.

Kitchen Design Tip 9. Avoid the classic error of designing an American Fridge Freezer into a corner as they need a minimum clearance of 300mm each side for the doors to open fully... (check yours before buying)

Kitchen Design Tip 10. When designing in a Kitchen Island make sure there is plenty of walk-around space (preferably 1100mm, but minimum 900mm) to all sides. Avoid the temptation of including an island with less clearance space than this - it will dominate the room, making it look cluttered.

We hope you found these tips useful and provided you with a brief introduction to the world of kitchen planning.

Important Kitchen Design Tips For Newcomers to Kitchen Remodelling

Important Kitchen Design Tips For Newcomers to Kitchen Remodelling

If you are planning a kitchen remodel for the first time then I really appreciate how stressful it can be. Apart from the many ranges and styles of kitchens available online and in free brochures to get ideas and inspiration from there are some harsh realities that you need to know. Unfortunately, having done a number of kitchen remodels the later far more successful and easier than the earlier ones I have learned a number of things which I think are vital for those new to kitchen remodelling need to know if they want their kitchen remodel to be a fairly simple operation. I list the key factors of a good kitchen remodel as follows:

Plan, Plan, Plan and plan again

Most of you will read this and probable say but I already know that and you are right. However, there is real thorough planning where you cover every possible detail and plan for potential problems which is differing from having a few ideas in your head, alot of kitchen ideas and a basic kitchen plan. Believe you me the planning process of kitchen remodels is so important that it will not only save you time but also money and stress.

When planning you kitchen remodel you need to think about the following:

1. Plumbing:

Where do you want the sink and washing machine to be?

Is the existing piping in the right place for the sink and washing machine to be fitted exactly where you want it now?

Also, is the pipe work dated (if the property is old) and in need of updating?

Does the pipe work have the necessary stop taps in case of an emergency in which you need to lock off the water supply for a particular area?

This may seem like a stupid and simple question but I am amazed at how many homes and even small businesses such as take aways have few stop taps and some cases just the mains stop tap. If you don't have sufficient stop taps in the kitchen and have a problem such as leaking pipe it means you will have to lock off the mains system cutting off all the water to the home which means no hot water, central heating and running water until the problem is fixed. I learnt the hard way during my first kitchen remodel when a pipe burst in the kitchen during a very cold spell and I had to turn off the mains water stop tap which also caused further problems with the central heating due to the drop in temperature and the freezing of pipes!

Does your gas point need to be moved due to fitting your hob or gas appliances in another part of the kitchen?

A friend of mine, who in his rush to move into his new home, decided not to take my free advice about planning his kitchen remodel throughly and in detail, informing me 'I don't have the time, I'll get it sorted, no worries, may be next time'. As he solely focused on getting his kitchen fitted and relying on advice from a small kitchen business he had not planned the necessary steps for his pipe work to be fitted exactly where he needed it. In his old kitchen his cooker was in the corner where as in his new kitchen he was installing his new hob on another wall in the middle. This meant that his gas pipe needed to be moved. However, in his rush to have his kitchen fitted he had his floor tiled so the kitchen could be fitted on top of the tiles before moving the gas point to the other wall where the new hob would be. Where the pipe should have been fed under the floor boards to the new location it had to run along the wall which caused more work and complexity when fitting the kithcen units thus costing more time and money.

Should I use copper or the plastic easy fit piping?

Copper may cost more but give me it any day over plastic piping. I have seen on a number of occassions plastic pipes cause so much damage due to the push joints on plastic failing where copper would be so much more superior as a material. Also when pipe work can be seen copper looks so much nicer than plastic!

Do I have an extractor fan fitted with carbon filters or an extractor fan connected to a pipe which sucks in air from outside?

An extractor fan which uses air from outside is much better and more cost effective than using an extractor fan with carbon filters that must be changed regularly to be effective. However an extractor fan which sucks in air from outside needs a pipe that leads to an external wall and therefore should be on an external wall or very close to one otherwise you will see a pipe above your cabinets which doesn't look particulary appealing. This is where using an extractor fans with carbon filters excel they can be placed anywhere. If you are not bothered about the additional cost of changing carbon filters and plan to have it in a location away from an external wall then it is the better option.

2. Design:

Are my kitchen walls in a good enough condition to simple paint them?

I have seen kitchen walls in my time old and even recently plastered that have more bumps and bends then a country valley! Such walls needed to be rectified and made smooth and flat by a good plasterer before you paint, or should be tiled. I have seen people paint on walls that are not straight and flat in the hope that the paint may cover up somehow the uneveness of the walls! It doesn't work! Replaster or tile!

Are my tiles cheap ceramic tiles or heavy duty porcelain tiles which need super diamond drill bits to drill through?

I love Italian porcelain tiles. They are thick, strong and robust. They will last a life time and still look beautiful however... Thick porcelain tiles Italian or otherwise are a nightmare to drill into. I have wasted so many drill bits along side other work collegues that I am sure we made the DIY stores we frequented rich just because of our purchasing of drill bits! Cheap ceramic tiles break often so buy extra as you will need them!

Do a use cheap paint to safe costs or do I use expensive paint?

I was ask this recently what is the difference between cheap and expensive paint. What is the difference? It depends on the quality of the product not the price? I buy alot of paint from a paint recylcing place in my home town which will mix whateever colors to your taste using expensive and cheap paints. I have found that they are as good as expensive paints that are branded as top quality. What I always do in order to use less paint especially on newly plastered walls is wash the walls with PVA bonding mixed with water and then add a little PVA glue to the paint so I use less coats of paint, saving time and money.

Lighting

If you have a small kitchen do not go for dark coloured units especially if your lighting is limited. If you have large windows which allow you alot of sunlight then you can consider having darker cabinets. Spot lights really help in kitchens which lack natural lights and reflective surfaces such as the high gloss kitchen units also help to create the effective of more light due to their reflective quality.

Workmen

Please, please use professional kitchen fitters or joiners who have sufficient experience and show you examples of their work. Don't be fooled there is a huge difference between a professional kitchen fit and a standard kitchen fit done by the local joiner or your friend. Somone who specialises in fitting kitchens will be much better than someone who fits kitchens sometimes, hangs doors, builds bookshelves etc.

Also, if you are using tilers, plasters and plumbers ask to see there work and ask around about them. I amaze at how poor the level of quality and service is being offered by so many workmen. I have suffered dearly financially due to poor workmen. And finally, if a workman is cheap beware! Cheap price poor quality! And don't pay all upfront!

Kitchen Units

There has been so much said on this subject that I have very little to say. Work with a good kitchen designer to produce the kitchen the way you want it in terms of style, use, space and comfort. Read some of the other blog posts on this blog which discuss this more detail.

Hope you enjoy this article until the next;