10 Steps to Your Dream Kitchen

It’s a project you’ve been dying to tackle—but it’s also daunting. A kitchen remodel takes skill, planning and design. Whether you’re building from scratch or your current home’s kitchen is in need of a major makeover, these steps will help you as you work with your design team.

1. List the elements you want in your kitchen. The first step in any kitchen design is to assess your current kitchen. What do you love about your kitchen? What do you wish you could add, change or modify to make it better? This will help you discover your must-have elements.

2. Create a detailed kitchen floor and wall plan. To create your kitchen outline, you need to have a good understanding of your current floor plan. Working with a kitchen design company to provide you with a 3-D rendering will help you see your existing floor, walls, windows and doors. From here, you can make a copy of your outline and begin planning things like removing a wall or adding a kitchen island. Using your existing outline will give you an idea of how much space you have to work with.

3. Research appliances and fixtures. Check out the sizes you prefer, brands you like and types of finishes you prefer. You can also begin to create your bushiest based off the pricing of the products you choose.

4. Decide on the best layout for your kitchen design. Do you keep your present layout or do you want to undertake major structural changes? Do you want an island or a peninsula? There are many different design layouts to choose from and your design team can help you decide which one is best for your space.

5. Plan storage solutions. Make a list of what you currently store in your kitchen, then make a list where your kitchen is lacking in storage. Include non-refrigerator food items, storable appliances, cooking equipment/utensils and anything you keep on top of your counters. There are different cabinet and drawer storage solutions, so having an idea of what you have to store will make it easier to decide on a solution. Think about adding a skinny spice rack to make use of small spaces between cabinets or appliances or a bookshelf in the end of an island to store favorite cookbooks.

6. Brainstorm your kitchen design look. Do you like modern clean finishes or are you classic and traditional? Are you going to complement the style of your kitchen with the rest of your home? What colors and textures would you like to showcase? Do you prefer lots of color or more muted tones. These questions and more should all be considered when you’re brainstorming kitchen ideas.

7. Choose the best color scheme. This is the fun part! Once you’ve decided on the style of your kitchen, you can decide on a color scheme that will coordinate best with your style. This will help you decide on all major kitchen design elements, like cabinets, hardware, countertops and light fixtures.

8. Pick your countertop material. Granite countertops are an excellent choice for a traditional kitchen and feature a neutral color palette and come in many patterns from detailed to muted. For a more affordable price, look at laminate and solid surface materials. Quartz is by far the most popular countertop material in any modern kitchen and is often featured in a contemporary kitchen design. No matter what you choose, be sure the material can hold up to your lifestyle. Marble, for example, is very soft and can show stains, so be sure you pick a surface that can stand up to anything you put on top of it.

9. Bring in the light! Light fixtures are like adding a piece of jewelry to an outfit—they are pretty and complete the look! The right light fixture can take your design to the next level.

10. Dress up your windows. From blinds to shutters, shades to curtains, there are a plethora of ways to finish out your windows. Decide which look is the best for your space and offers you the most choices in light control.