By Rob Stouffer

Before you even draw up a new kitchen design, you are going to want to talk over with your significant other what aspects of the kitchen you have now that you would like to change. This applies to everyone, no matter if you live in MD where I do, or on the west coast. By discussing these things ahead of time, your design process will proceed a lot more efficiently and the designer that you choose will have a better understanding of what it is you want in your remodel.
So, let us take a look at some of the design features that you might choose to make different in your new room.

The first thing that comes to mind is the layout of the appliances. Do they form the work triangle that is usually incorporated into kitchens. If they do, is there a certain appliance that you would like to add or increase the size, such as adding a dishwasher, disposal, over the range microwave or including a larger refrigerator.

Are there certain cabinets that you want to include in the new kitchen design, such as a tall pantry cabinet, a lazy- susan cabinet, or maybe a refrigerator cabinet that extends out to meet the front of the refrigerator. Are the wall cabinets that you have now tall enough or do you want cabinets that will reach to the ceiling of the room.

What about removing a wall to open up the room to the other areas of your house. This is one of the hottest trends right now and will create an overall entertaining environment within your home.

Countertops are another aspect of the kitchen design that you will need to discuss. If you have small children, is it really going to be practical to have granite installed instead of a laminate or solid surface such as Corian installed. Granite will scratch easily and the abuse that it could take with small children will leave you frustrated.

Flooring is another aspect of the kitchen design that needs to be discussed. If you are intending to replace the old floor, the new one should be installed before any cabinetry is installed. This is something that needs to be relayed to your designer before any renovation begins.

Are there any custom custom cabinets that you might want to consider for your new room. Maybe a custom island cabinet that will stand out and be a feature piece of the room. Maybe some of the wall cabinets or base cabinets will be larger than the others, creating a more custom look to the new room. Stain colors and door styles are one of the most important aspects of the kitchen design that you will need to decide on before you get really serious about the remodel.

These are just some of the ideas that you might want to go over before venturing out to find a designer that will incorporate all of your wants and desires for your new remodeling project.

By Yoga Priyakara

Think you're great at multitasking? I certainly think I can give just about anybody a run for his money in this department. No surprises then that I experienced pure, unadulterated glee when I got the enviable opportunity to add another feather to my cap- that of a diligent designer all set to demolish every prosaic rule in the interior design books. Thanks to the sustained efforts of a spate of tools, 'kitchen design online' does not really seem like rocket science anymore.

My Link To Sanity

My kitchen, like a majority of homemakers, means the world to me. It's sometimes an oasis of calm, and sometimes becomes the supreme inspiration for the most delightfully aromatic creations. If you too belong to this bandwidth, then a few clicks of your mouse are all that it takes to create a personal space that bears your signature stamp.

These extremely easy and interactive tools can help you exercise complete control over all facets of the layout of the space, without requiring knowledge of the vague rubrics of designing. Selection of architectural styles, lighting, materials for flooring, cabinets and countertops and other accessories like fittings, faucets, fixtures and practically everything else that has a persistent place in your imagination can come alive on your desktop with generous doses of help from these avant-garde tools.

And the icing on the cake is the fact that all your myriad dreams can come alive in 3D. Just submit this to your designer and your custom-made layout could be ready sooner than you imagined.

Recipe For Success

Online design tools and copious amounts of your prodigious talent is a match made in design heaven. Here's what you can do to ensure eternal bliss:

* Pull-out all stops when it comes to selecting the right colors, textures and finishes. Durability, low maintenance and breathtaking looks are key factors.
* Efficient kitchen design gives due importance to storage. The pantry, corner cabinets and other options must utilize the available space judiciously.
* Harbor no doubts about the location of the cooktop, dishwasher, refrigerator and sink.
* The kitchen island must be central to your layout plans.
* You are in the danger of sacrificing a lot more if safety considerations, whether glass doors or sharp edges on countertops, are excluded from the design.
* A cozy breakfast nook or an informal corner adds dollops of sunshine to the place's dark, stolid appearance.

By Franco Zinzi

Let's take a look at some common flow plans for food preparation that you'll discover inside the kitchen. The most basic, and most desirable, flow plan is the straight line, also known as the assembly-line flow. Materials move steadily from 1 procedure to another in a straight line. This type of style minimizes backtracking; it saves preparation time and confusion about what's going out of the kitchen area and what's coming back in.

The straight-line arrangement functions nicely for little installations because it can be placed against a wall and adapted to the cooks' duties. Wherever there isn't enough room to arrange food preparation in a straight line, a well-liked and efficient option is the parallel flow. There are four variations of the parallel style:

1. Back to back. Gear is arranged inside a long, central counter or island in two straight lines that run parallel to every other. Sometimes a four- or five-foot room divider or low wall is positioned between the two lines. It's primarily a safety precaution, which keeps noise and clutter to a minimum and prevents liquids spilled on 1 side from spreading onto the other. Nevertheless, placement of a wall here also makes cleaning and sanitation a lot more hard. The back-to-back arrangement centralizes plumbing and utilities;

you may not need to install as many drains, sinks, or outlets, as both sides from the counter can share the same ones. A back-to-back arrangement in which the pass window is parallel to (and behind one of) the production places is sometimes recognized as a California-style kitchen. When the pass window is located perpendicular towards the production line, it might be referred to as a European-style kitchen area style. The benefit from the European style is that each cook on the line can see the progression of multiple dishes that make up 1 table's order.

2. Face to face. In this kitchen area configuration, a central aisle separates two straight lines of gear on either side from the room. Sometimes the aisle is wide sufficient to add a straight line of worktables among the two rows of gear. This setup works well for high volume feeding facilities like schools and hospitals, but it doesn't take benefit of single source utilities. Even though it's a great layout for supervision of workers, it forces individuals to perform with their backs to one another, in effect, separating the cooking from the food from the rest from the distribution procedure. Therefore, it's most likely not the best style for a restaurant.

3. L-shape. Wherever room isn't sufficient for a straight-line or parallel arrangement, the L-shape kitchen design is nicely suited to access several groups of gear, and is adaptable for table service restaurants. It gives you the ability to place more equipment inside a smaller room. You'll often find an L-shape design in dish washing areas, using the dish machine positioned at the center corner from the L.

4. U-shape. This arrangement is seldom used, but it's ideal for a little room with one or two employees, such as a salad preparation or pantry area. An island bar, for example the ones in T.G.I. Friday's restaurants, is an additional example of the U-shape at perform. There are also circular and square kitchen area designs, but their limited flow patterns make them impractical. Avoid wasted room if you can, by making your kitchen area rectangular, with its entrance on one of the longest walls to save steps.

The a lot more foodservice establishments you visit, the more you'll realize that the back from the house is really a separate and distinct entity from the rest of the business, with its own peculiar difficulties and unique solutions.

Correct flow planning occasionally means breaking each kitchen area function down into a department, of sorts, after which deciding how those departments ought to interact with every other. They must also interact using the other, external departments from the facility: your dining room, bar, cashier, and so on. A great way to begin the design process-both for the overall company and for the kitchen-is to create a bubble diagram. Each region (or workstation) is represented being a circle, or "bubble," drawn in pencil within the location you've decided may be the most logical for that function. If two different workstations will be sharing some equipment, you might let the sides of their circles intersect slightly, to indicate where the shared equipment might greatest be located.

The finished diagram will seem abstract, but the exercise permits you to visualize every perform center and think about its needs in relation to the other centers. You are able to also lay a kitchen out utilizing a diamond configuration, situating the cooking area at one point of the diamond form, and other crucial areas in relation to it at other points. Notice that this layout minimizes confusion (and accidents) with a separate kitchen entrance and exit. This allows the people who bus the tables to deliver soiled dishes towards the dishwashing area without having to walk via the entire kitchen to do so.

An alternative to drawing diagrams is to list every perform center and then list any other work middle that should be placed adjacent to it. Conversely, list any perform center that ought to not be next to it. For instance, it is most likely not a great idea to have the ice maker and ice storage bin adjacent to the frying and broiling center.

By Katrina Wagner

It is important that you know how each material and design option is crucial as it determines the space, functionally and aesthetically.

Moderate, rejuvenate, innovate, contemplate. This is the mantra to renovate a kitchen. While one can find ample options and suggestions, putting together value based information before the start of the renovation project can be the best companion for all the right answers one seeks for a new kitchen.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of being lured by the most exclusive looking kitchen and spend a fortune on it only to realise in due course of time that it never really suits you.

Trends are only an indication of popularity and for spaces like a kitchen, it is recommended to look into one's lifestyle and budget than look at what's popular. Lifestyle and budget are key factors that should moderate the renovation project. Ask yourself some basic questions first: How do you use your kitchen? How much time will you spend in the kitchen every day?

How many of you will be using the kitchen at a time? Will you all be dining there as well? How much of storage do you need and most importantly what sort of storage? Let a clear understanding of your lifestyle guide your choices. Budget is imperative to the choices as well as determining the extent of the renovation.

Getting a new look for the kitchen need not entail a complete overhaul. At times, a revamp of a surface or interesting additions such as accessories can bring in the much needed renewal. The wall surface can be the most apparent to start with. Retiling the walls can be a start.

While tiles are useful when it comes to maintenance, one has to be careful about the joints and the height to which the tiles are being laid. The pattern on the tiles are important for creating the ambience of the space and in making the kitchen seem larger or smaller than it actually is.

Light, especially natural, adds exceptional warmth to the kitchen. Planning for a window in the kitchen adds value, preferably away from the cooking area. Even if the natural light can be filtered in through overhead openings, it should be accommodated.

Integrating light fixtures as accessories is good too. Colours matter. They rule the psyche. Each colour has a perception significance, which has made its impression on our minds over centuries. Colour affects our moods, whether it is in our living and working environment or in the clothing we wear. For a kitchen, colour is vital. Be it through paints or stains of the wooden furniture or the cabinetry, colours can revive a space.

Most often, one ends up in predictable types of kitchens. The layout of the work areas usually follows the conventional open, L shape, U shape, corridor or island kitchen types. While these are tried, tested and successful options, one should innovate and explore combinations of these types for an effective use of space and to evolve a personalised and interesting kitchen.

Segregating a pantry and breakfast area from the actual cooking area, exploring lighting fixtures as accessories, placing planters, integrating a music system in the kitchen; these are some "out of the ordinary ways" of setting up a kitchen. However, maintaining the work triangle is important for ease of work.

Innovation will surely add interest and more importantly personalise it making the use of the kitchen more delightful. However, the path to remain innovative yet generic could also be tried if one anticipates renting the space in the future.

In either case, the exclusiveness and identity of the kitchen is established.

Certain parameters have to be contemplated upon for any kitchen design. Ease of maintenance, quality and durability of material and hardware used, ease of operation and most importantly ergonomics are principal factors. All these have set standards but it is advisable to determine them based on one's requirement especially the height of the countertops and overhead cabinetry.

Maintenance of different areas of the kitchen, especially the worktops and the underneath surface of the cabinets are critical. The worktops are the most used surface in a kitchen and the choice of the material for this has to be carefully evaluated. Stone tops like granite are the conventional ones. While they do not require a lot of maintenance, they can be aesthetically limited in terms of colour and pattern. The stone tops which are porous can become cold surfaces.

Acrylic solid surface countertops are a competitive option. Composed of nature's minerals and acrylic polymers, this nonporous solid surface can be fabricated and installed with invisible seams.

The choice of colours and patterns are plenty and can be customised as well. Fixture choices determine the durability in kitchen apart from the worktop. The hardware used, especially of the cabinetry, hinges of shutters and drawer pulls, are the most taken for granted elements in a kitchen.

These need attention and their detailing holds the key to the kitchen's longevity. The search for exclusivity and identity reigns in every section of the building industry. Base your kitchen renovation on personal choices than on market forces, making the smart picks to give your kitchen the right ambience it needs.

By Roger Klein

INTRODUCTION

Many of my clients have, unfortunately, initiated the design of their kitchen without an understanding of the extent of what is actually involved in the process, in terms of design, budget, timeline and other issues. In these cases, our design process together, was frustrating for the client and for me. As a result, this article will clarify the process so that you will have the opportunity to become better informed before you begin your kitchen project, thereby avoiding uninformed decisions or possibly spending time and/or money needlessly.

This article is not about the specific design features of your kitchen and how to design it. There are many good resources available for that. Instead, it is about the process of designing your kitchen. It is meant to help in getting a head start and to expose anyone who is, or might be, embarking upon the design of a new or remodeled kitchen, to the first and most important step - Planning.

Designing a kitchen for a new or existing home is a big investment in time, money and energy and it is sometimes stressful and challenging. Unfortunately, some vendors and TV programs don't like to dwell on this aspect and therefore mislead the consumer regarding the actual amount of time and effort that is required. Even though creating a new kitchen is challenging, most clients say that the results are more than worth the effort. I hope that the information provided herein will be a helpful contribution toward having you well on your way to a successful project.

Before you begin the process of designing your new kitchen, you will need to set the criteria for the design. I recommend that you engage a professional kitchen designer that not only designs the cabinet layout, but designs every element of the kitchen and is involved throughout the entire project, so that the final result will be a cohesive design that reflects optimum function and style. The designer will not only help you create a beautiful, efficient, kitchen but will save you significant time and money and you will both have fun developing your joint creation. I trust that what follows will get your energy flowing and thoughts racing, in preparation for actually embarking upon your journey. And, it "is" a journey!

THE KITCHEN OF TODAY

The kitchen has traditionally been the most important room in the house because cooking and sharing food has long been central to family life. Meals will always be important, but cooking has, in some cases, significantly changed. The grocery industry has focused on replacements for home meals and hundreds of restaurants have incorporated "to-go" in their business model. Whether we cook frequently or not, kitchens remain the foundation of family life because it is where we live and gather. It is where most of us start and end our days and share the information of our day.

Today's kitchens serve more roles than ever before: entertainment center, home office, cooking and dining space. The electronics for an entertainment center may include TV, music and internet connection and the office area may have a desk, files, computer and bookshelves.

THE FIRST STEPS

Determine with your family, who uses your current kitchen and how, and discuss the conveniences you would like to have in the new version. Make a scrapbook of articles and notes on kitchens and kitchen features that interest you and photographs of kitchens you like. Evaluate how and when you cook, where you serve meals to whom and how often you entertain and how you entertain. Inventory your dishes, silverware, serving pieces, cookware, linens, and your typical grocery storage requirements so that you can be sure that the new design accommodates everything.

It seems that no matter how much time you budget for a remodeling project, it usually takes longer than you expected. For a complete remodel, the down time during construction can be at least two or three months and much longer, depending upon the size and extent of the project. Your family needs to eat in the meantime. So, before construction starts make arrangements to store, heat and clean up, enough to keep you going until the kitchen is back on-line. Many of my clients who have had the good fortune to have a bar sink in the family room, have moved in the old refrigerator and microwave near the bar sink and this combination becomes the interim kitchen during construction of the new one. The upside to this is that it provides a great rationale for eating out more often!

THE KITCHEN FOOTPRINT

Let's start with the space you have available for the kitchen. Whether you are designing for a new home, or remodeling in an existing one, you are limited by how much space you have available in which to create your dream. If the space is fairly small, you will want to consider whether or not you have the option of expanding. You may be able to accomplish this in your existing home and, in a new home, very often you still have time to alter the architectural plan, if needed. In either case, if you can eliminate or relocate a wall or walls or add to the house to create more space for the kitchen, it will improve the function and value of the room significantly.

Of course, if you don't create an addition to the house, and just remove or relocate a wall(s), you then have infringed upon a contiguous space and decreased its size, so you have to weigh which option is the best for you. Is it worth giving up the other space to increase the size of the kitchen? In my experience, if you can do without the adjoining space, it is much better to devote that extra space to the kitchen.

When you plan to remove or relocate a wall(s), the key factor to determine is, by so doing, will you encounter a load-bearing situation? This occurs when the wall(s) is part of the support system for the structure of the house. Usually a contractor can determine this. If the contractor is uncertain, you will need to have a structural engineer examine the structure to make that determination. If it is non load-bearing, when you are ready to start construction, the contractor can proceed to build out the space per the new plan. If it is a load-bearing issue, your local building authority will require that you retain a structural engineer or an architect to design a structural solution for removing or relocating the wall(s).

He or she will submit design drawings and calculations of the solution, to the building authority for approval and permit. Upon receiving the permit, when you are ready to begin construction, the contractor can then proceed to build-out the structure per the engineer's or architect's specifications. This is the process in California, based upon the state building standards, Title 24. The process in the other states is very similar.

In any case, once you have made the decision of whether or not to expand or re-configure, you will know the size and shape (footprint) of the space that you have available from a horizontal standpoint - Plan View.

VERTICAL SPACE

You should also consider what size and shape the room will be from a vertical standpoint as well. If it is possible to increase the height of the room by raising, eliminating or altering an existing low ceiling or soffit, you should seriously consider taking advantage of this option. The additional height will provide more cabinet storage from the increased height of wall cabinets and the room will become more voluminous which is always more visually impressive and comfortable. From a construction standpoint, the load-bearing issues will apply to increasing the room height just as it applies to moving or eliminating walls.

Of course, in dealing with all of these design and construction issues and decisions that need to be made, you will not be alone. Your designer will be the pivotal person who will help you evaluate the choices you have available. He or she will produce drawings in order to visually demonstrate these options and will offer advice on which options are best and why.

I understand that this all sounds very tedious and problematic. In some sense these two words are a good description of the design/construction process. However, what I have outlined above is done thousands of times every day and most of those homeowners have survived and, as a result, now have the new, beautiful, functional, kitchen of their dreams. You notice I said "most"! Seriously, the project will be challenging and there will be some problems. This is just the nature of design and construction and that is why you should not proceed without experienced professional help throughout the process from the very beginning to the end.

UTILIZING YOUR KITCHEN

Are you an expert chef, who does it all: cooking, baking, barbecuing, or are you a minimal cook whose main goal is to just get a meal on the table for the family as expeditiously as possible, or are you somewhere in between? Do you always cook by yourself or do you often have family and friends help with the cooking? Do you often entertain and all flow into the kitchen while munching on your Brie between sips of chardonnay? Do you bake often and want a marble surface for that purpose? The questions can go on and on.

Some clients have large, prestigious, homes and entertain frequently and/or have large families. They may have someone do the cooking for them. Some of these types of projects may need the full treatment, such as a butler's pantry or walk-in pantry, two islands, two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two microwave ovens, a wine cooler, a separate beverage cooler, a built-in espresso machine, sink, prep-sink and bar sink and glass-door cabinets to display the family heirloom china, etc.

Most clients require something substantially less than all of this, but I bring it up just to emphasize that how you utilize your kitchen has a strong influence on the design and therefore, as I mentioned, you should think about how you want to operate and what you want to accommodate in your kitchen. You can start to think about what type of appliances and features you would like. Think of the three major work areas of a kitchen: Food Prep (refrigerator and sink), Cooking (cook top, oven and microwave) and Cleanup (sink, dishwasher and recycling). You will find a myriad of styles and options available which you and your designer will need to carefully consider. More planning, of course!

HOW & WHERE YOU WILL EAT

You may prefer to be able to eat in the kitchen by having an island with seating. The size of the island that the room will accommodate will determine how many persons you can seat. Seating at an island reduces the storage space available in the island, so the balance of the kitchen storage will need to absorb this loss. You can basically sit at three counter heights: chair height (29-30"), counter height (36") and bar height (42").

If you have an adjacent breakfast room, you may want to eat there in the interest of having more storage space in the island. If the room will accommodate it, you may like the idea of a built-in booth in the breakfast room or kitchen, in lieu of a typical table and chairs. Many clients like to have the option of eating in both the breakfast room and at the island in the kitchen. In some cases there is no breakfast room and the dining room serves as both breakfast room and dining room. In any case, you should give these and other possibilities careful consideration.

THE DESIGN STYLE

There are many design motifs available to you: Traditional, Modern, Contemporary, Country, Craftsman, Cape Cod, etc. The design motif that you select will obviously heavily influence the selection of all of the other elements in the kitchen. The cabinet style and finish have the strongest influence on the design style of the kitchen. As I mentioned, you can start by collecting magazine photos of kitchens to get a feel for what you do and don't like. They will give you great ideas for all things kitchen. Stock, semi-custom or custom cabinets have many different styles and finishes to offer and of course, custom cabinets can provide any design and finish.

REMAINING ISSUES

The planning process will continue until every aspect of the total kitchen design is selected and specified. However, once you have established your footprint and vertical space, how you want to utilize your kitchen, how and where you want to eat, and your design motif, you are more than half way there. The planning process continues, on a smaller scale, as you are making more decisions about all of the items and issues that make up a total kitchen design.

Examples: Do you often make spaghetti and pasta, which requires filling a large pot with about four to six quarts of water? If so, you should have a pot-filler over the cook top or range top. Since there are only two of you and it takes a long time to fill up the dishwasher before you can wash the dishes, you should consider a two drawer dishwasher which enables you to wash one drawer at a time, thereby saving energy and providing you with clean dishes more often. Do you prefer an air switch in the countertop for the disposal or do you want the switch to be on the backsplash? Do you want a garbage disposal in the prep sink as well as the main sink? Do you want soft close on your cabinet drawers? Do you like the idea of pendant lighting above the island? Do you want a filtered water system? The questions go on and on!

The various categories you will be encountering in designing your new kitchen are as follows. This listing of categories will give you an idea of what is to come. I didn't say it was easy!

APPLIANCES, CABINETS, HARDWARE, FLOORING, PLUMBING, COUNTERTOP, BACKSPLASH, LIGHTING/ELECTRICAL, WALL FINISH, FURNITURE, WINDOW TREATMENTS, ART WORK, ACCESSORIES AND CONSTRUCTION.

CONCLUSION

I trust that by reading this article, you now have an appreciation of how important careful planning is to the successful design of your kitchen. The more thought and quality time you devote to it, the better prepared you will be when you begin with your designer and the process will become easier and more efficient, which everyone involved will greatly appreciate.

Once you have made most of these macro-decisions that I have mentioned, you will be ready to tackle the micro-decisions that are coming next. As you can see by the examples I have mentioned and the listing of categories above, you have a lot more planning to do, but remember you are now over half way there. Be strong and resolute and I am sure that you will get through the entire process virtually unscathed. And, if you are thoughtful, organized and work in the spirit of mutual cooperation, you will probably have some fun too! Remember that not all of this is on your shoulders. Your professional designer will be by your side for the whole trip.

I sincerely hope that you have found this information helpful and I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

By John Anthony Vanderkolk

Someone who is planning a kitchen upgrade, or even building a new home, is going to usually have a file or a notebook full of ideas. They might have paint samples, pictures from magazines, and even preferences about the materials to be used. Because there are so many resources claiming to offer the best kitchen design options, it can often be incredibly difficult to choose such simple things as countertops, cabinetry, or even paint colors.

The first, and probably the most important, factor in the decision making process is to seriously consider the lifestyle of the homeowner(s). For example, a homeowner might have seen a magazine article where the kitchen has heavy concrete countertops and a very modernistic look. Though they might have become entirely enamored with this style, if it clashes with the rest of the home and with the general day to day life of the family who inhabits it then it is not the best kitchen design to select.

Obviously it can be difficult to give up on a style or a look if it isn't suitable to the existing surroundings, but it is even more difficult to often let go of a fascination with certain unnecessary "extras" as well. For instance, many websites and magazine articles show the unique types of cabinetry that can make a kitchen more efficient. There are pantry drawers that can hold all kinds of foods and cooking supplies, there are special cupboards meant to hold pots, pans, and lids in an organized way, and there are even things like refrigerators concealed in the various drawers of a cabinet area too. If such options are unnecessary and difficult to fit into the existing plans it is usually a serious conflict to overcome.

It helps to use the "best kitchen design" argument in order to understand which items or choices will "work" for the space and the lifestyle of the owner. For example, the pantry cupboard is a wonderfully handy feature, but does the homeowner make a lot of food from scratch? Do they already have a strong need for pantry space? If not, it is necessary to demonstrate how the space could be put to use in a more productive and effective way.

There is no such thing as an absolutely perfect or best kitchen design, instead there is only the best choices in design for the particular needs of the homeowner.

By Brian Keith Young

As an Architect, I try to utilize the best means of design to make a house more efficient and well utilized for the square footage. In this article, I'm dealing with kitchen design, and how to make it more efficient in use and storage, make it feel more open than a standard kitchen, but do it in a smaller size (square footage costs money).

I am a big believer in the "Open Floor Plan" which has fewer walls and doors, with rooms tied together as open visual space. Keeping the Great Room, Dining Room and Kitchen "open" (meaning no walls between them) help make all the rooms "feel bigger". The wall removal helps facilitate the open communications between the rooms. You don't feel isolated in the kitchen when wall barriers are removed, and thus people don't have to step into the kitchen to talk to you. They can do it from outside the kitchen zone.

Keep you ceilings tall by putting in scissors trusses. You can make your walls 8 foot tall, but by adding the scissors truss (peak at 13 to 14 feet) will give you lots of visual space and a less confined feeling. And get a skylight in the kitchen. The opening for a skylight can be much bigger than the skylight itself. Get the opening from the peak of the ceiling to the edge of the wall, and locate the skylight near a perpendicular wall so it will disperse the light throughout the kitchen. Put some "niches" in your tall walls above the 8' line for greenery, or statues. Put "puck" lights in these niches for accent lighting.

Use tall, 2' deep cabinets instead of overhead cabinets. 2 foot deep, 7 foot tall cabinets (or 8 foot tall) are also known as pantry or utility cabinets. With fixed shelves, they hold over 4 times as much stuff as an overhead cabinet. Put a line of tall cabinets along a back wall, and near the opening to the kitchen zone. By having a 2' wide, 2' deep, 7' tall cabinet near the Kitchen opening (usually next to the Dining Area) it can store all the glasses, dishes, platters, and bowls that you use on a daily basis. People don't have to enter the kitchen to get the dinnerware to set the table as you would with overhead cabinets.

By using just 3 tall cabinets (2' deep 7' tall) at the rear of the kitchen, and the open floor plan, this allows all the rest of the kitchen to have 36" tall base cabinets and countertops, without overhead cabinets. Eliminating overhead cabinets (and the associated wall) just gives you an incredible open feeling. The kitchen isn't as nearly as cramped. The windows and natural light come from the windows of the other rooms and skylights, meaning you don't have to waste valuable kitchen wall space for windows. Place your sink and cooktop to face the open rooms.

In the corners of the kitchen, install cabinets at 45 degrees to the adjoining cabinets rather than a "blind" cabinet or "lazy susan". While a 45 degree cabinet has some dead space, it utilizes more space than a "lazy susan", mainly because the cabinet shelves and drawers are square, and a "lazy susan" is round.

Put a pantry in the corner between your tall cabinets. It doesn't have to be very big (4' x 4') and being in the corner will utilize all the corner "dead" space. The pantry would have a 2' opening at 45 degrees to the adjoining cabinets. The pantry walls could be 2x4 framed with drywall or 3/4" MDF, but the wall shouldn't be taller than the height of the tall cabinets. This allows for crown molding (if you use it) to also be used on the pantry. Have the pantry open at the top, especially if there is a skylight above, to allow daylight into the pantry. Have shelves from the floor to top of wall. Put a "cabinet door" (same as the rest of your tall cabinets) on the pantry entrance, not a frame door like you'd use in the bedroom. By having a cabinet door the pantry, and the pantry walls at the same height as the cabinets, the pantry looks like a cabinet rather than a drywall opening.

In the pantry, install a counter with 4 electric outlets. This is where the coffee maker, toaster, electric can openers, etc are to be permanently located. It keeps them off your kitchen countertops, but they are always available to use. No need to store them in your cabinets and no need for appliance garage cabinets. This leaves your main kitchen countertops "clean" (nothing on them) and more open for the food prep you need to do.

Put an upper counter 8" above your countertops (i.e. 6" wall, 2" thick upper counter). In an "open floor plan" concept, this 8" of height hides a "messy" kitchen counter from view to the other rooms. It also gives you plenty of room for multiple electric outlets in the in the 6" wall areas. The 6" tall wall is the right height for 6" ceramic wall tile. The upper counter is 44" (elbow height) a perfect height for "leaning". This allows your guests to "lean" on the counter (out of the kitchen) and talk with you while you're preparing food (in the kitchen). It's also a good height for serving food or for tall stools as a breakfast bar. Not all of the upper counters have to be the some width. Some sections may be 9" wide (just a top to the kitchen partition, while other sections of the upper counter can be 24'' wide, for serving food or as a breakfast bar.

Now...I'm discussing this portion last because different clients use their kitchens differently, and every person has their own taste. I'm not talking about the size (although it's related), but how many people they want in a kitchen. Some clients want everyone in the kitchen, including guests and relatives, to help in cooking or processing the meal, which means a larger kitchen to handle the people. Others don't want anyone but a few people in kitchen, so they're not tripping over people to get the meal finished, which means a smaller more efficient kitchen.

Most modern house designs have the kitchen open to the garage or rear door and open to family room and/or other rooms such as breakfast areas, dining rooms, or hallways. This means the kitchen has multiple openings to handle these functions. Some kitchens also have "island" cabinets/countertops with two or more openings. All the openings to the kitchen allows people to come in, stand around, or pass thru the kitchen from Point A to Point B somewhere else in the house. Also, one of the quirks of our human psychology is everyone eventually ends up in the kitchen. This design concept uses the kitchen as a "traffic corridor". These kitchens need a large amount of space to handle the volume of traffic. Again, some clients love the flow of people in and out of the kitchen. They just need a larger kitchen space for all this happen

Other clients think the "traffic corridor" kitchen concept "clogs" up the kitchen with unnecessary and unwanted people. Count me in the "keep-the-unnecessary-people-out-of-the-kitchen" category. I like to keep the kitchen open and inviting, I just don't want the extra bodies while the meal is being prepared. By keeping the extra bodies out, the kitchen can be smaller and more efficient, meaning fewer steps between the refrigerator, cooktop and sink.

Keeping people out of the kitchen is very easy to do in your design, just make it difficult for them to get in. Use a wrapping countertop with just one (1) countertop opening into the kitchen, and locate that opening in the most difficult spot to enter the kitchen. This, along with the "open floor plan" is the most effective way to prevent unwanted kitchen traffic. The single kitchen entrance will psychologically keep them out of the kitchen zone, while the open floor plan (no walls) allows you to communicate with family and guests, while keeping them out of the kitchen.

With the tidbits I've discussed above and by keeping the people out of a kitchen, a kitchen size of 16'x10' or 12'x12' is very effective, with tons of storage. Making the kitchen a "traffic corridor" for people to pass through, the kitchen would need to double in size, and you're not gaining storage space with that size because all the openings to the kitchen are eating up what could have been used for cabinets.

In regards to lighting, most kitchens have a few main way of lighting (or combination of these)

A. Light in the ceiling fan
B. "Can" lights in the ceiling
C. Under-cabinet lighting (usually puck lights or fluorescent strips)

I generally reject all of these lighting concepts. With a light in the ceiling fan, you always have the light at your back, meaning you're casting shadows onto everything you do on the countertop. Can lights are "energy hogs" because they cut large holes in your insulation, and use inefficient incandescent lighting (usually 75 watt). I don't use overhead cabinets so therefore eliminate under-cabinet lighting, which is sometimes expensive

With the tall ceilings of a scissors truss, I like to use MR16 adjustable light fixtures, not "can" lights. The MR16's are usually know as "strip" lighting. However, you'll want to use a "plate" instead of a "strip" for the fixture connection. By using a plate, the MR16 uses a standard electrical box, so a smaller hole in your insulation blanket compared to a "can" light, and they pump out twice as much light for less wattage (usually 50 watts) than a "can" light. MR16 fixtures can be very small (so you don't see them) and not very costly (around $20). MR16's are adjustable, meaning you can point the light where you want it. A "can" light points light perpendicular to the ceiling. In a sloped ceiling, that's not good. Locate your lights above the countertop to eliminate shadows, along your major work areas (sinks, cooktop, cutting and prep areas) and then distribute evenly along the rest of the countertops. You really don't need lights elsewhere other than for accent lighting. The lights above the counters will be more than enough, assuming you're keeping the kitchen smaller.

If you want to look at some examples, you can go to my website http://youngarchitectureservices.com/home-architect-indiana.html and click on any of the floor plans, and zoom in on the kitchen area. There are also pictures of kitchen in the "Interior Design" section of the website. Larger scale pictures of a kitchen are located on the "Home Page" under "View More House Photos"

Talk to you later
Brian

By Jocelyn O Iyog

Kitchen is the place in our home that usually some people take for granted. However this place must be the cleanest and because this is where we prepare our foods.

A properly designed kitchen is one that makes preparing and serving meals as pleasant and stress free as possible. Rule number one in kitchen design - there is no such thing as too much counter space. It is also a good idea to provide shelf space for cook books, recipe files, etc.

It is best to store items used for cooking - pots, pans, cooking utensils, spices, herbs, etc. close to the stove so the cook does not have to step away from the task at hand to fetch the salt. The refrigerator and sink should not be more than a few steps from the stove, making it easy for cooks to retrieve items needed for meal preparation. Microwave ovens should also be located in the same vicinity as the stove. Small electric appliances - toasters, blenders, coffee makers, mixers - can be stored in drawers or pantries eliminating clutter on counter tops providing they are not used on a regular basis. If, however, any of these items are used consistently, they should be close at hand.

Cabinets containing serving dishes and the like are best located close to the stove, while dishes, glasses, tableware, etc., are ideally located near the sink and dishwasher to facilitate clean-up.Always keep in mind that the best kitchen is the one that has everything in order.