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Home » Real Estate Investing Tips » Five Tips For Designing Your Dream Kitchen

Real Estate Investing Tips

Five Tips For Designing Your Dream Kitchen

If you are planning a kitchen remodel, there are a lot of major and minor details that you need to think about before even starting. By thinking of all the details and design elements that go into a kitchen, it will ensure you end up with a beautiful and well-functioning kitchen that is perfect for you and your family.

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when you’re thinking about the big picture and planning your kitchen – How do you want to feel in your space? What is your design style? Do you want your kitchen to be clean and modern, warm and lived in, or somewhere in-between? How can your kitchen help your family function better? It’s good to have an idea in your head of how you want your space to feel, as well as find some inspiration pictures to narrow down any details. I’m going to give you my top five elements to consider when planning your kitchen design, to help you create the kitchen of your dreams.

Five tips for designing your dream kitchen. Kitchen design tips to create a functional and beautiful kitchen

1. Functional Kitchen Layout

One of the most important elements to consider when designing a kitchen is the layout. Even if you have beautiful cabinetry and finishes, if they layout doesn’t work according to the needs of you and your family, you’re not going to love your kitchen as much as you should.

To increase efficiency, reduce the distance between your sink, refrigerator, and stove. Consider how you work in your kitchen and create different zones for each task, including a meal prep area, a cleanup area, and a cooking area.

Kitchen layout work triangle for functional kitchen design

You should also keep your layout in mind when considering your focal point. When you walk into the kitchen, what is the first thing you see? Do you want to see the stove first? Do you want your sink or a window to be the focal point?

2. Stunning Cabinetry

Cabinetry can often be the focal point of a kitchen. When you walk into a room, where is your eye drawn first? Stunning cabinetry can be the centerpiece of an incredible kitchen remodel. There are so many styles and colors, the options are endless and fit within any budget. You can upgrade your cabinetry budget by including a custom range hood, decorative finishes, and various storage solutions, and really create a spectacular focal point with the cabinetry alone. For our kitchen, we chose a shaker style door with clean lines, and a dark stain to really make the cabinetry stand out.

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3. Layered Lighting

In a kitchen, it’s a good idea to create several layers of lighting for different tasks. Lighting in a kitchen includes ceiling lighting, task or pendant lights, and under cabinet lights to make sure you have sufficient lighting in all areas. If you’re going to hang pendants over an island, make sure you know where they will be in relation to your cabinets during the planning stage. Lighting is usually done first, so by the time your cabinets are installed it will be much more difficult to install or move light fixtures. For our kitchen lighting, we chose to go with five pot-lights as the main light source, two island pendants, and we will still install valence lighting.

adding layered lighting to create a cohesive kitchen design

4. Beautiful and Practical Appliances

Appliances are the most hardworking aspects of any kitchen. You want to make sure you have appliances that fit the needs of your family, but that also appeal to your design aesthetic. You will need to consider the size of the appliances when you plan the layout, but also consider the color and finish to fit within the overall design.

Before even starting to design our kitchen, we chose to buy the biggest fridge we could. With four kids, we knew we would need a large fridge full of food for many, many years. Then we planned our cabinetry around the appliances to accommodate their dimensions. With two tall pantries flanking the fridge, it brings the fridge into proportion and doesn’t make it stand out or appear too large. Usually appliances come in standard sizes, but if you want something different you need to make that decision before planning the cabinetry.

dark stained shaker kitchen cabinets

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5. Finishing Touches

The hardware, countertop and backsplash are the jewelry of the kitchen. This is where you can really bring in your own style. There are so many different styles and finishes for cabinet hardware, and it all really just depends on your tastes, your budget, and the types of finishes you have in the rest of your home. You can either match your cabinet hardware with other metals present in the room, or mix things up by throwing in a different finish.

using hardware as a finishing touch in your kitchen design. Top knobs dakota pull antique pewter

The countertop and backsplash are a great way to complement your cabinets. You can choose to go with a contrasting color, or create a cohesive look with similar shades.

choosing countertops for a great kitchen design

Great Kitchen Design

There’s so much to think about when designing a kitchen, but with careful thought and planning you will end up with a great kitchen design. If you have an idea of what you want, and think about my five top tips for planning a kitchen, you will end up with a beautiful and functional kitchen of your dreams.

*This is a sponsored post, however all thoughts and opinions are my own*

 

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21 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gail Vanderveen says

    September 19, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    I love your kitchen!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 23, 2017 at 6:42 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. John says

    September 22, 2017 at 11:18 pm

    Great points. I struggled so much with the layout design that I had to bring in a pro. Your kitchen looks awesome

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 23, 2017 at 9:16 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  3. Familyearthtrek says

    September 24, 2017 at 5:27 am

    Ohh I dream of having my own house but its now our third time spending our saved money on round the world trip! Hopefully when we get back next time we will be in that situation where your helpful tips will come in handy!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 24, 2017 at 6:35 pm

      That’s amazing you have travelled the world!

      Reply
  4. nbosken says

    September 24, 2017 at 10:52 am

    When you have a well-designed kitchen, you just want to cook more. You want to make meals at home, which is better for your health and budget. Proper lighting is so key, like you said. You want to be able to see what you’re making!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 24, 2017 at 6:36 pm

      Yes it definitely makes cooking easier

      Reply
  5. lidialidiaca says

    September 24, 2017 at 2:05 pm

    Great tips! Refreshing to see a non-white kitchen too!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 24, 2017 at 6:37 pm

      Maybe in 30 years when dark cabinets are out, we’ll paint it white 🙂

      Reply
  6. Enjoyfreebies says

    September 24, 2017 at 6:08 pm

    I love this look. It’s contemporary while not being too stark. It feels very homey. We are remodelling our kitchen right now so these tips are really handy!

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 24, 2017 at 6:38 pm

      Glad you found some use with these tips!

      Reply
  7. jadoreledecor says

    September 25, 2017 at 10:26 am

    I absolutely LOVE your kitchen Jessica. The cabinets you’ve chosen are a classic style. I also agree with the point about layering the lights.

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      September 25, 2017 at 10:38 am

      Thanks Ola!

      Reply
  8. aniahalama says

    September 25, 2017 at 11:33 am

    I dream of the day that I can design my own house and kitchen. These are some iportant things to remember. Thanks.

    Reply
  9. Sophie says

    September 26, 2017 at 1:51 am

    I can’t wait until I’m able to design my own kitchen. It truly makes a home. And love the idea of layered lighting for the ambience!

    Reply
  10. neelam says

    September 26, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Great tips. Layout is so important! It’s so easy to get caught up in the fun and pretty details, but the functional details are just as important. I am so jealous of your gorgeous white island!
    xx
    Neelam

    Reply
  11. Jojo Hua says

    September 28, 2017 at 4:09 pm

    This is going to be so useful when I get my own place! Thanks for this!

    Reply
  12. Shell says

    September 28, 2017 at 8:56 pm

    Your kitchen is stunning!!!! I absolutely love it!! I just built A new home last year and used a lot of these tips … selling and building another this next year and will definitely do the same…

    Reply
  13. enannylink1 says

    October 2, 2017 at 9:08 pm

    So, so, gorgeous ♥

    Reply
    • jessvanderveen@gmail.com says

      October 2, 2017 at 9:09 pm

      Aw thank you so much!

      Reply

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Welcome! We are Tony and Jessica Vanderveen, and are accidental real estate investors in Ontario. Find out how you too can create long term wealth, while maintaining your work life balance. Find out more...

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