For most homeowners, kitchen design is a process that aims to make a kitchen not only pleasing to the eye, but also functional as well. Unfortunately, most people tend to focus on only one of the two. With custom kitchen design, however, you can benefit from the best of both worlds, and it will be possible for you to do so without breaking the bank if you so wish.
One of the major advantages of doing custom kitchen design is that it allows you to come up with a design that specifically suits you. Remember, just because someone else finds a particular design ergonomic does not mean that you will have the same sentiments about it. There are a few design ideas you can use to maximize the usefulness of the kitchen. Some of these include:
Make sure the counters are designed to suit your needs perfectly
You should not get counters just for the aesthetic appeal they have; you also need to make sure that they suit your working as well. For instance, if you happen to be very tall, it would be a good idea for you to get counters that are high enough for you to work on comfortably. One of the goals of practical kitchen design is to ensure that the environment is ergonomic enough. Having to stoop too low or to tiptoe most of the time on account of the wrong counter height could end up influencing your health negatively especially if you regularly cook. Fortunately, getting custom made counters is not as expensive as it used to be in the past; many companies can do it for you at very reasonable costs.
Use your experience
If you are designing your home’s kitchen, it’s always a good idea to try and use some past experience to guide your decisions. For instance, what are some of the things that you did not like about the previous kitchens that you owned? Keeping them in mind when deciding on how to design the new ones will make it easier for you to get good value for money. Correcting these mistakes will mean that by the time you start using the new one, it will feel even more perfect than before.
You can also think about those times when you visited other kitchens, and found them to have limitations that you may not want to have in your own. For instance, do you remember a time when you visited a friend’s kitchen, and found it to be less than practical for you? You can also draw on such experiences to make your own design efforts more effective.
Imagination goes a long way
Imagining things is often thought of as not a very good way to come up with design plans. However, there are many times when it will come in handy. When you are designing a kitchen using custom made plans, try to think about how you will be using the kitchen. On the average day, what are you likely to be cooking? How will you move about, and what factors will likely limit your movement? Thinking about all these things will make it easier for you to plan for and execute ideas that will last, and which will serve your specific needs. This is one tool that you should not do away with, it is more potent than many people think.
Getting professional help is not all that bad
Most people imagine that getting a designer or other contractor to help them design the kitchen is a waste of time and money. However, it does go a long way in ensuring that you don’t make expensive mistakes.
Search engines are your friend
To get inspiration for pleasing and practical kitchen design, don’t underestimate the role of the internet. It does a lot to make the process easier. Something as simple as finding pictures of practical kitchens can give you some ideas on how to work on yours.