Creating the perfect kitchen is only an option once you’ve bought your first home and you can take the reins of any projects intended to improve and personalize your property.
While kitchen design is obviously subjective depending on your requirements, tastes and preferences, there are some dos and don’ts that are universal. Here are just a few considerations and caveats to keep in mind when putting your plans together.
Work Out What You Actually Want
First and foremost you have to actually sit down and plot out the must-have features of your dream kitchen because up until this point you might not have got together a formal plan for this space.
This will then allow you to compare your ideal kitchen against the constraints that reality places upon you, whether these are dictated by the dimensions of the room or your budget.
If you’re stuck for inspiration or you don’t know where to start, checking out the latest trends in design is sensible.
Think About How Your Kitchen Will be Used
There are a lot of things for a first home buyer to weigh up when picking a property in the first place, and you need to establish the role that rooms like the kitchen will play in the day-to-day life of your household.
For example, do you want the kitchen to be the heart of the home; not just a place which is for cooking, but one where meals are shared and socializing takes place? If so, how will this play into the decisions you make regarding layout?
Get Accurate Measurements
You can’t move forward with any kind of kitchen design scheme if you don’t have a precise idea of how much room you’ve got to work with.
Don’t just rely on the measurements that the realtor provided, but make your own measurements and double-check everything to guarantee accuracy.
You need to think in three dimensions here, as the floorplan is only the start. Check things like counter heights, and compare these against the dimensions of any appliances you want to add, as well as furniture and other objects which will take up space.
Use Logic to Your Advantage
Most kitchens have the same basic elements to them, but not all will have these organized in a logical way. Make sure your designs aren’t solely focused on aesthetics, but also have a practical purpose.
For instance, there’s no point putting the refrigerator or the oven a long way from surfaces that will be used for preparing food, or else you’ll be doing a lot of back-and-forth journeys for even the simplest meals.
It’s all about making a kitchen that’s ergonomic and uncluttered, rather than one which is easy on the eye but not easy to live with from day to day.
Reuse and Upcycle Where Possible
For first-time home buyers, the likelihood of having a lot of money to work with when designing a kitchen is limited.
Instead, if you already have a kitchen in place in the property, see if you can incorporate the existing elements into your revised design.
A little bit of upcycling, such as repainting cabinets or just swapping out the old-fashioned handles for more modern equivalents, can go a long way.
Another good option is to see if you can buy kitchen units second-hand, rather than picking brand new ones. There are lots of ways to make your money go further, while still getting the kitchen of your dreams in your brand new home that you own outright!
