Selecting The Right Kitchen Plan For Your Needs

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When you are remodeling a kitchen, the issue is not finding a kitchen plan; it’s selecting the plan you can best adapt to your specific needs. Whether your kitchen is small or spacious, you’ll find no shortage of kitchen plans from which to choose. However, there is no law that decrees that kitchen plans must be reproduced exactly as they are. In fact, they rarely are because people prefer to customize the rooms in their home to their specific tastes and requirements. When you work with a kitchen plan, the point is to adapt the general ideas in an appropriate plan so that it complements the other rooms in your home and your life style in general. Your choice will be guided mainly by the size of your kitchen. Plans for small kitchens generally maximize on wall cabinets and countertops, for instance, while those for spacious kitchens typically incorporate additional amenities such as kitchen islands and dining nooks.  

Before you even look at a kitchen plan, you should have a rough image of the type of kitchen you want. When you are ready to begin working on your kitchen, remember to start with the ceiling first, followed by the walls, then the flooring and finally kitchen accessories (cabinetry, worktops etc). If you don’t work from top to bottom, you’ll end up having to do much more work cleaning debris from the ceiling off of brand new worktops and floors. Kitchen ceilings usually require less work than the remainder of the room. In many cases, the ceiling needs no more than a new coat of paint to spruce it up. Many people use glossy paint for a nice, stylish mirror finish.

It is best to install lighting while working on the ceiling. Entrust this job to a professional electrician and be sure to let him know beforehand exactly what type of lighting fixtures you plan to install, and where, so that he can fix the wiring accordingly. Consider installing separate lighting above the sink, underneath upper cabinets, above your dining table and kitchen island etc. 

After the ceiling, start working on your kitchen walls. You may simply apply paint to kitchen walls, or you may want use tiles. Tiles don’t just look stylish; they are also easier to clean. However, tiling kitchen walls from floor to ceiling is not at all necessary. Ceramic tile and other kitchen wall coverings are not cheap, and you could probably use the money for something more useful. Tiles are best used for backlashes (to protect walls from grease and food splatters etc). The height of backlashes is usually about 40 cm above the worktops. Use the same tiles on the wall behind your stove, but increase the height all the way up to the air vent.

Once you have completed the ceiling and walls of your kitchen, start installing cabinetry, sink and worktops. First, choose the sink you want; the worktop will have to be cut according to its shape and size. Next, select the color, material, size and shape of your upper and / or lower cabinets and shelves, as well as the color and material you will be using for your countertops.

Many of your choices will be restricted by both the size of your kitchen and the budget you can afford. Do not get carried away, and aim for a functional kitchen that serves your specific everyday needs.