Kitchen design is a lot more complicated than you would appreciate. Placing your cupboards, sink and Kitchen furniture can be a difficult balancing act. I have come up with a list of do and don'ts that may just help you keep your sanity.

Kitchen Work Space Issues

You must first take note of the actual working space that you have to start with and then you need to decide what you want from your kitchen. This may seem a strange idea but a kitchen means different things to different people. For some it is a place to cook and clean and therefore it needs to be practical and service that function. For other people it can be a place to seek refuge, a private place where you can meet with and socialise with friends or relatives.

The space you design will have to take these living conditions into consideration. But once you have sorted this out you can get down to the nitty gritty of designing your kitchen.

DO's of Kitchen Design

· Do use the working Triangle. This is a method that allows you to place your kitchen equipment (cooker, fridge, sink, worktops) so that you can reach each item or perform activities within a short run of each other so that you do not have to spend half your time walking back and forth unnecessarily. (Especially useful when designing a large kitchen.)

· Do think about whether you are going to incorporate a utility space into your kitchen or keep it separate. Power points and drainage points will need to be located and placed prior to pouring of floors.

· Do leave plenty of worktop space to either side of the cooker and the sink. Think about leaving a special area where you will do most of your chopping or mixing. A central island unit can often be a useful item to have in the kitchen.

· Do locate your sinks, and drainage outlets on an external wall. You can locate them on an internal wall if you have no option but this does increase your costs slightly.

· Do leave plenty of space for extra plug sockets 150mm above the worktop surface. You never know when you will need an additional socket.

DO NOT's of Kitchen Design

· Do not place any of your main kitchen furniture items in a corner area: placing a cooker, fridge or sink unit in the corner is both awkward expensive and totally unpractical unless you have taken a considerable amount to time to address the issues and found a suitable design solution. Cupboard corner spaces are also highly unpractical.

· Do not place items such as a fridge, freezer or ice box beside any kind of heating appliance (cookers, radiators, open stoves, boilers)

· Do not place a boiler in your kitchen if you have an alternative space. If you do not have any other options place the boiler in a position that allows for practical extraction of the flue. Remember that boilers do give off fumes and are also a heat-generating appliance.

· Do not place kitchen cupboards over the top of a sink unit. This is a highly impractical working solution. Most sink units are usually placed under a window opening as a matter of tradition. Do not allow anyone to tell you that this is a practical solution even if you decide not to follow this convention or find that you have no window to place a sink under.

· Do not allow any kitchen sales man to deter you from having what you truly desire. It is in their best interest to sell you what they have in stock or items that may be more expensive than you require. Be aware of what you really want from you kitchen, then go and get it.

Arthor and Source: Ed Gordon

Kitchen Design, where to begin...

Your kitchen is the most multifunctional room in your house. Of course, you cook in it, and probably eat in it; you store food, wares and utensils; it's probably where you spend the most time with your family - the family schedule is on the fridge; and when people come over, no matter how much you want them to see the new entertainment centre, they will end up in the kitchen. Even while it is such a popular place, sometimes you just need to pass through quickly because you're late. It's a lot of responsibility for one room to handle.

The Beginning Steps of Kitchen Design

Dream Kitchen Designs

Kitchen remodeling is one of the best ways to add value to your house, as it tends to have a high rate of return on investment.  In most cases, it will pay for itself and then some when it's tiime to sell your home.  However, remodeling your kitchen is also a very difficult practice with many factors to bear in mind, especially if you’re planning on living in the house and using the kitchen during building construction.  The home remodeling process must be carefully planned out to efficiently schedule construction.

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