How To Avoid These Common Kitchen Design Mistakes

5 Common Kitchen Design Mistakes

Designing or redesigning any room in your house is a chore, but kitchens have an extra challenge because of their nature as a multi-purpose space. Certain design elements (and flaws) are more noticeable in the kitchen. Here are 5 common kitchen design mistakes to avoid making when designing or remodeling.

Layout & Flow Issues

The layout of your kitchen directly affects the function and flow of the space.

Have you ever been in a kitchen with a bad layout? Some tell-tale signs include searching for and failing to find outlets where you need them, appliance crowding (e.g. refrigerator is too close to the sink or dishwasher, which creates a cramped feeling), and other issues that are present when you are moving through the room.

Layout and flow issues are kitchen design mistakes that are hard to rectify once you’ve gotten into the construction of the space, so it’s important to take your time and not rush through the design process.

The best practice for circulation and flow in your kitchen is to have about 4 feet of space between countertops, to give the room enough open areas to work in, which also helps the space feel less cramped.

Planning Appliances around the Cabinetry

Another kitchen design mistake is planning your appliances around your cabinetry. There are typically two approaches that work best here – choosing the appliances and then building the cabinets around them, or leaning toward a more open concept to leave room for replacement appliances that may differ in size.

Think of it this way – a living room entertainment center is built around a certain size and shape of television. We don’t typically choose an entertainment center we like, and then find a TV to fit. Those appliances are the reason we need the cabinets and countertops, which means they should be chosen and planned before you start working on cabinet design and construction.

Putting an Island Where It Doesn’t Belong

Islands can create more counter space and work areas, but it also has the potential to disrupt the flow of the kitchen, or create a bottleneck by taking up valuable space in a smaller kitchen.

When planning your kitchen, take note of the available space and make sure your design layout can accommodate an island, and adequate movement around it.

Starting from Scratch on Your Layout

If you are remodeling a kitchen to update appliances, storage, or other elements, many people want to start fresh. But before you scrap every element of your previous layout, take a moment to consider why the previous layout was in place and if there are any elements that would be best kept in place.

Doorways, cabinet doors and the directions in which they open, drawer angles, and more can be part of an existing plan, for better or worse. Taking note of these things in your existing layout could create a better kitchen experience in the end, even if you don’t completely reconfigure the flow.

Using the Wrong Materials

Just because something looks beautiful or is trendy right now, doesn’t mean it will work well in your kitchen. Using the wrong paint and countertop materials will only create more work for yourself later.

For example, marble countertops are gorgeous but are prone to stains and scratches. And flat paint is in style right now, but using semi-gloss or glossy paint will hold up better to scrubbing and cleaning. Be sure to think about the maintenance that goes into the materials you are considering, your kitchen is already a high-maintenance area, and no one wants more work for themselves after a gorgeous remodel!