The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home, so designing your kitchen represent a significant long-term investment for your property, and one of the deciding factors potential buyers will look at to decide whether a home will be suitable to their needs.
People often regret not giving more careful consideration toward the kitchen design and how they will use it as a family. To avoid buyer's remorse, we look at 7 things to avoid when remodeling your kitchen that will give you a better space to spend time with family.
Thinking small about Kitchen Design
Avoid designing your kitchen without giving thought to how it ties into adjoining rooms or the rest of your home. Adjoining your kitchen to a family room or converting unused garden space into a breakfast patio can greatly increase the use and enjoyment of your kitchen. When surrounding areas support a room with a primary function, it promotes shared activity and draw other family members closer. Linking to the outside is also a great way to bring sunshine and light into your kitchen to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Underutilizing natural lighting and ventilation
Don't neglect natural light and Ventilation. The need to try and maximize kitchen gadgets, cupboards and storage can sometimes blind you to other opportunities to create a great living environment. Regardless how great the design of your kitchen looks; a dark and cold kitchen will reduce the time you and your family are willing to spend there.
Creating a poor user experience
Don't allow "nice to haves" to dictate the design of your kitchen. You will get the most enjoyment from a Kitchen that is functional and well organized. Once you have an outline design concept for the functional use of your kitchen, it is much easier to shape the look and feel you want to achieve.
Judging materials on their looks
Avoid setting your heart on unsuitable materials to achieve certain look or aesthetic. Poorly chosen finishes can date extremely quickly in the harsh environment of your kitchen. High gloss surfaces will quickly show every splash of water, fingerprint and micro scratch. Expensive timber counter tops will deteriorate quickly around basins steamy pots, etc.
Sticking to your vision
Avoid must-have preconceived ideas. Nothing kills creativity quicker that forcing ideas onto a problem. Kitchens are concentrated areas of organized space and the outcome that blows you away is often the result of innovative thinking and compromise.
Being blinded by light
Avoid washing the space with harsh task lighting. Creating a balanced layering of different lighting will create a much better aesthetic and more value and enjoyment to use the space. Consider offsetting task lighting with Ambient and Feature lighting to create an overall mood and draw attention to feature elements. Create flexibility with lighting controls to manage the depth and ambience of the space.
Thumb sucking your budget
Don’t design without a well-planned budget. Draw up a budget that outlines what you anticipate spending for different components and stick to it. Things don't always work out as planned and it's easy to substitute something nicer at a higher price without thinking about where the money will come from. Having a kitchen that looks expensive will quickly lose its charm if it has poor quality fittings such as sticky drawer runners and doors that become misaligned due to low quality gear.
Conclusion
Remodelling your kitchen is not just about creating a visually appealing space; it's about crafting a functional, welcoming environment that enhances daily living. By steering clear of these seven common pitfalls, you can ensure your kitchen remodel is both satisfying and enduring.
Prioritizing thoughtful design choices, innovative solutions, and a balanced approach to aesthetics and practicality will help you create a kitchen that truly becomes the heart of your home.
Remember, a well-planned kitchen not only improves your enjoyment of the space but also adds lasting value to your property.
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Kindly note that posts created on our website and social media accounts is for entertainment purposes and does not constitute professional advice. Any conclusions drawn from this post or use derived is at the discretion of the reader and at their own risk.
This post was created by Wilko le Roux for Rossouw Le Roux Architects, all rights reserved. Rossouw Le Roux Architects are Registered Professional Architects in Cape Town, South Africa.
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