You can choose the most stylish fixtures and attractive finishes for your kitchen, but if you get the layout wrong, the space won’t function as smoothly and efficiently as you want it to. In this blog, home remodel experts at DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen share a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when planning your kitchen layout.

Do’s

• Consider vertical storage. Instead of focusing all of your energy on selecting cabinets and drawers for storage, put a little emphasis on utilizing the vertical space in your kitchen: the walls. With open shelves, wall hooks, and even overhead pot racks, you can incorporate small appliances, baking accessories, and other cooking-related items into your kitchen without crowding the space.

• Install the kitchen island in the right location. If your brand-new kitchen layout includes a kitchen island, make sure that the island will not interfere with the traffic flow around large appliances such as the oven, dishwasher and refrigerator. At the same time, you don’t want the island to be too far from these fixtures as it can make meal preparation a bit more inconvenient than it should be.

• Minimize the flow of traffic. In most homes, the kitchen is one of the rooms that sees the most traffic throughout the day. That said, make sure the main pathway to the room is unobstructed by the refrigerator or the oven door when open. A kitchen renovation expert suggests creating a mudroom where you can leave messy shoes or heavy bags before entering the kitchen.

Don’ts

• Utilize lighting incorrectly. Bubble pendant lights with opal finishes are lovely to look at. But if they don’t shine enough light over your counter space, they won’t have many purposes beyond their aesthetics. After all, nobody wants to prepare food and clean up the kitchen in the shadows. For optimal lighting in the kitchen, position the lighting in front of you rather than directly above your head.

• Assume an entirely different layout is needed. Don’t automatically dismiss the current layout of your kitchen. Sometimes a simple tweak to the space, such as adding a breakfast bar or tearing down an unnecessary wall, is all that is needed to enhance the look and feel of your kitchen. However, always think about the work triangle — the fridge, sink, and cooktop — and allow sufficient space between these areas.

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DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen is here to help you create the kitchen of your dreams! Our kitchen remodel team is committed to providing the highest quality of workmanship and customer service in every project that we do. To get in touch with an experienced bathroom contractor, use our “Location Finder” to get in contact with the closest DreamMaker team to you.