Roberta Oswald
Roberta Oswald, Valley Property Sales & ManagementPhone: (707) 339-0233
Email: [email protected]

5 Common Kitchen Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

by Roberta Oswald 03/13/2022

 

When you have a custom home, you’re able to set your kitchen up in almost any way you want. While this gives you a lot of freedom during the design process, there are some common mistakes that creep up. These mistakes can make your kitchen less functional overall, which can affect your home’s value and your day-to-day life. Here are the most common kitchen design mistakes to avoid:

Overlooking the Work Triangle

One basic principle of kitchen design is the work triangle, which refers to your fridge, sink and stove. You should be able to get to any part of the work triangle and move between these components with no obstruction. This helps ensure you can prepare meals, wash dishes or handle other kitchen tasks with ease. When designing your kitchen, keep in mind that the work triangle should be separate from the main foot traffic area. This helps prevent family members from getting in your way while you’re trying to make dinner or do other tasks. The parts of your work triangle should also be close to each other for easy access rather than separated farther apart.

Ignoring Vertical Space

Kitchen design focuses on horizontal spaces, such as rows of cabinets and cupboards, but you shouldn’t ignore vertical space. Making use of vertical space can provide you with additional storage, which can come in handy in smaller kitchens. You can have cabinets and cupboards reach all the way to the ceiling instead of leaving space above them. You might also add open shelves to the walls for extra storage space. If you have enough room, you can do a combination of open shelves and closed cabinets to maximize storage space.

Creating a Crowded Kitchen

Your kitchen should offer plenty of space for you and your family to move around easily. For example, avoid putting an island in the middle of a smaller kitchen. Even in larger kitchens, you’ll still need to make sure there is enough room on either side of the island for people to walk around. If you want to offer seating in a kitchen with limited space, consider extending one end of the counter and placing a couple of stools by it.

Forgetting to Measure

Kitchens often have more features than other rooms because of cabinets and cupboards, so it’s important to measure carefully. Make sure you get cabinets and cupboards in the right size for your kitchen. Having ones that are too small can throw off the look of your kitchen and reduce storage space. Having ones that are too big means they’ll be taking up more wall space than needed. You might also have to either switch to smaller ones or cut back on the number of cabinets and cupboards you have. When measuring, you’ll also need to make sure your appliances will fit between cabinets and cupboards.

Not Having Enough Light

Kitchens need more light than other areas in homes. When planning your kitchen design, include windows for natural light, overhead lights for added brightness and task lighting to illuminate specific areas, such as sinks or counters. Keep in mind that you can add more lighting later on if needed.

About the Author
Author

Roberta Oswald

An enthusiastic polo player, aviatrix and fourth generation member of one of the oldest winery families in the Napa Valley, Roberta has lived in the Bay Area her entire life. She has over thirty years of experience in buying, selling and managing real estate in the residential, investment and commercial markets. Not content to just “get the job done”, she wants to exceed your expectations. Roberta believes in service with commitment. Utilizing the kind of knowledge that is obtained only through extensive life experience and an in-depth understanding of the area and local market, she works with you to provide maximum results. During her accomplished career, Roberta has refined important skills in communication, negotiation, attention to detail and sound business practices, all of which are vital to the success of her clients today. Please call Roberta directly at 707.339.0233 to discuss your real estate needs.