Space Saving Design Concepts
for Your Dream Kitchen
"The Dishwasher died!" said my wife.
Those words led to the complete renovation of my kitchen several years ago. I got out the sledge hammer, banged away at the early 70's avocado green dishwasher, and embarked upon the long weekends-only project to create a new kitchen using space saving design concepts to bring it into the 21st century.
The old kitchen was an L design which was completely inefficient since we had loads of space in the center of the room. I redesigned the space to utilize a C design and added various elements throughout.
When embarking on a kitchen remodel, I recommend thinking through how you would like to utilize your kitchen.
- Are you a gourmet chef?
- Is there one chef or two in your household?
- Do you both prepare food at the same time?
- Do you use a lot of vegetables in your preparation necessitating a second sink?
- Do you need one oven or two?
- Are you a wine connoisseur?
Here's a handy list to help you think about tools and perks you may want to use in your kitchen design:
- Built in Spice Rack – my wife loves to use spices in her recipes and thus this was a very important perk. The space rack is located next to the stove and is an easy pullout drawer.
- Pull out Built-in Trash Area – the small trash can under the sink was always inefficient, so a built in trash area was in the cards.
- Corner Cabinet - to utilize space more efficiently – our seventy's kitchen contractor had cut off access to a good section of useable storage space in one corner. We added a lazy Susan to maximize access.
- Built in Garage for the Coffee Maker – in years past it may have been OK to have all your mini appliances out in the open, but these days, having them stored away behind a "garage" makes real sense.
- Built in Garage for the Toaster Oven – same as above. Why look at the toaster oven if you don't need to?
- Wine Glass Storage - by using a hidden rack, we can hang wine glasses under our counter thus freeing up storage space for other things.
- Built In Wine Rack – by using a built in wine rack, we can just reach up and pull out a bottle of wine as needed.
- Custom Pantry – this was by far the best use of space. We calculated the types of pantry food items we customarily store and built a great pantry to store everything we need.
When your dishwasher conks out and it's time to redo your kitchen, don't go for the low quality home store in-stock kitchen. Take the time to decide what your dream kitchen would include. It's not that much more expensive to design custom cabinets which allow you to maximize space according to the way you use your kitchen. You can actually draw everything you want on paper, or you can hire a professional. The choice is yours.
©Copyright 2009 | Dana W. Ball | All Rights Reserved
Dana W. Ball, The Art Guy, is the creator of The Visual Home™, a design process that allows clients to visualize their home for suitability, comfort, and style before it is built using three dimensional (3D) design technology. Dana creates custom designs for kitchens, master bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices, outdoor spaces and patios, as well as new home designs from concept through construction.
Dana, a licensed General Contractor and Architectural Designer, uses sustainable and green design concepts to create custom spaces for clients from California to Virginia and Idaho to Arizona. Contact Dana and start designing your dream home today!
Three ways to contact us:
Call Dana, the Art Guy at: 480-235-4532
Email: dana@artguydesign.com
Snail Mail: 6350 N. 78th St Suite 259, Scottsdale Arizona 85250 |
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