If you want to give your kitchen a sparkling new look then a kitchen makeover may be perfect for you. When deciding on a new design for your kitchen your budget will largely decide how far you can go. However, even if you can just afford to do some basic upgrades, you will still need good ideas to get started.
Here are some small changes you can make to your kitchen that will not ost too much and can still alter your kitchen dramatically:
• Add new hardware to your kitchen cabinets. Things like new handles can transform your old cabinets. • Replace rusty faucets with new ones. This can add a lot of new shine to your kitchen. • Add refinished kitchen cabinet doors to your cabinet section. This can give the impression that you installed all new ones. • Add new lighting and use it to highlight new items in your kitchen.
Adding some basic trendy aspects will also do wonders. Some added texture and color can go a long way. Adding some extra storage can also improve your kitchen´s look, besides providing more storage space for your appliances and cookware.
With just a few small changes you can turn your boring old kitchen into a great looking new room. If you can make your kitchen look attractive this will make improve the overall feel of your home a lot. It will even improve your home´s value.
A kitchen makeover does not have to be expensive. By being creative and using your imagination you can achieve great results.
When it comes to remodeling a small kitchen, it needs a few different ways to go about it as opposed to when redesigning a large kitchen. There are a few questions that you need to answer beforehand so you really make the best use of your available space in the cooking area.
For example you need to be clear about your available budget and you also need to take into account the actual space you have to work with. Clearly a small place needs less money to renovate than a large one, however you might consider adding some expensive and modern appliances or furniture that will cost you more money than you’ve first anticipated.
First things first, check the space available in your cooking area and see if you actually have enough place for everything including furniture and kitchen appliances. You want to avoid ending up with a place that is overcrowded due to lack of walking space. The most commonly used appliances, including the fridge, sink and oven should be close to each other for easy reach. If you have a breakfast table in the room, see if you can easily fit an undercounter cabinet underneath it for gaining extra space in there. Also you can add some flush ceiling lights for better kitchen illumination when working in the cooking area.
There are two aspects of each kitchen: functionality and design. If your cooking space fulfills the functionality aspect, it is time to look into the decor of the room. A small kitchen needs a lighter color palette to seem larger, while a huge room with big bare walls can better use those walls for adding various hangers and cooking utensil holders for holding various tools and gadgets that can save your space on the countertop or other working surfaces.
Each small kitchen remodeling needs to follow some carefully laid plans that will ensure that the final results is pleasing to the eyes, welcoming and also has a trendy aspect of functionality.
Check out these home interior lighting ideas for more ideas on making the best space in your home. Visit Lamps to learn more.
Country Kitchen Design – Tips for Creating Unique Country Kitchens
Creating a country kitchen design means having a casual, friendly kitchen space with some antiques or reproductions where family and friends can gather to enjoy wonderful dinners and great conversation. No longer just a place to prepare meals, the kitchen may function as the most popular room in your home.
When creating a country kitchen design, you should feature natural materials and colors and have comfortable furnishings that are warm and welcoming. Country kitchen examples are to use open shelves, plate racks and cupboards for storage for items such as stoneware pots, glazed earthenware, baskets and glass jars. Your antique or reproduction plates and dinnerware collections can also be displayed on open shelving. Pots should be made of copper, cast iron or stainless steel without ornamentation.
Cabinets can be made with aged planked surfaces, natural materials with a rough or distressed finish and round or ceramic knobs that will add to the country style. Cabinets or furniture made of a painted, distressed or naturally-finished pine can be a beautiful key element in country kitchen design.
The materials and their colors used for the floor and countertop are important elements to have a country look. For the countertops, use ceramic tiles, hand-painted tiles, slate, stone or marble. If you decide to use laminate countertop materials, select plain colors for coverings. Terracotta tiles, brick, stone and wood are popular flooring materials in country kitchen floors.
Since most home buyers consider kitchen islands an essential part of a desirable kitchen, be sure to include one in your country kitchen design. The island in the kitchen reminds us of the farmhouse kitchen where the work table was used to do most of the food preparation work. If space is very limited, consider choosing a rolling butcher block that can be moved to the most convenient location as needed.
If there is space for kitchen furniture, consider using some antiques or reproductions in your kitchen. And the antiques do not have to be perfect. If chips and scratches exist, all the better since these imperfections only will add to the charm and unrestored look of the furniture. Having some wear and tear to maintain the country kitchen design flavor is fun and it works!
The country look is always rustic, old and warm and colors used in this style of home decor must be selected carefully. Neutral colors such as white or bone can work well as can earth tones, red barn, blues and greens. All are appropriate colors for country-style home decor.
Country home decorating frequently uses stenciling and wallpaper. Stenciling can be used around windows, in the areas where the walls and ceiling meet or even on the floors. Stenciling also can be used effectively on furniture to add charm to a country-style home decor.
To really create a great look, you can even add a fireplace to your kitchen for a charming country-style home decor look. You will find you have many to choose from including free-standing ventless fireplaces that can be simply positioned where you want.
Planning is an important part of country kitchen design before you actually do the work. Organize your ideas in a notebook as you accumulate them. Have fun as you go through books and magazines, visit local showrooms and search online for country kitchen examples and ideas that you like.
Well-designed unique country kitchens add value to homes. Even if you do not intend to sell your home anytime soon, having a country kitchen design that reflects your personal style means you will have a very special place to enjoy for many years to come.
Kitchen Backsplash Design: Tips, Trends and Techniques for Creating Your Unique Style
A new kitchen backslpash design can revitalize an otherwise out-dated or tired style without remodeling your entire kitchen. Turn your kitchen backsplash into an eye-catching, one-of-a-kind design with exotic pieces, murals, mosaics, marble or metal tile. Backsplash ideas are endless, so good planning is important.
Follow these style tips and ideas to create that perfect backsplash design that you’ve been dreaming of.
Kitchen Backsplash Styles and Themes
I’m sure you’ve been in kitchens that you really loved and some you didn’t. Also, you’ve seen enough pictures to have a good idea of the “look” you want to create. Adhering to a central theme will help you avoid a mish-mash style and turn your kitchen backsplash idea into a design that you enjoy for years to come.
Old World: This look is cozy and comfortable and easy to achieve. A classic style. Use tumbled marble, chipped or worn kitchen backsplash tile, cobblestone or generally any aged material in the subtle earth tones of beige, gold and light brown. Dark browns are out.
Hand-painted tiles, murals and mosaics are also right at home with this style. And although not traditional, a copper backsplash or tin backsplash could be interesting too.
Mediterranean: Colorful, hand-painted tiles in seaside colors of blue and green are what create this fresh, vibrant and comfortable look. The boldly colored tiles can be used as accents, or as a distinct kitchen tile design in a particular section or for the whole backsplash. This look works best when paired with light earth toned countertops and cabinets.
Contemporary: Clean, sleek lines and smooth surfaces are the keys here. No complex tile designs, rough textures or a busy stone. Polished granite on both the countertop and backsplash is perfect for achieving this look. But also consider a glass backsplash, metal backsplash or stainless steel backsplash for that ultra-urban appeal.
Metals are HOT! Copper, tin and especially stainless steel backsplashes and countertops are quickly gaining popularity with many new tiles and designs on the market.
Uniquely Yours: Don’t be afraid to take elements of style, but not too many, from different themes to create a design that looks and feels good to you.
Just remember a simple, elegant backsplash design will be most pleasing. So, plan it all out first, have a clear picture in your mind what the finished product should be like and play with the design a bit.
Putting It All Together: Colors, Textures & Patterns
Your goal of course, is to integrate the backsplash with all the other elements and structures in your kitchen to establish the them you desire.
The colors of your backsplash material should be chosen to complement the countertops and cabinets.
Bits and splashes of non-complementary colors can be integrated if they don’t compete for attention, but start by picking colors that are represented in your countertop.
The texture of the backsplash materials should be consistent with the style or theme of your kitchen. Rough and uneven for “Old-World” or smooth and sleek for contemprorary.
Avoid creating a busy pattern or using too many textures, colors or intense colors if your countertop has a lot of movement or veins. Creating harmony is the key and you don’t want to confuse the eye with an
intricate backsplash design on top of a dramatic countertop.
More Fun Backsplash Ideas
Murals and mosaics in general will look better when paired with a countertop that has a uniform or subtle color and pattern.
Niches and ledges can be interesting and useful elements to add to your kitchen backsplash design. Place these above the sink or behind the cooktop to display a collection of colorful bottles, ceramics, plants or all your spices!
Picture frame designs are often added above the cooktop if space allows creating a focal point for a mural, mosaic or a more elaborate tile pattern.
Choose Your Countertops Before The Backsplash
You want to choose your countertop material prior to designing your backsplash for a few reasons.
First, the countertop is generally the
centerpiece of the kitchen and should be the first material chosen or matched to an existing color scheme.
Second, the countertop material is
going to cost you more than the backsplash, unless you are using the countertop material for a backsplash as well, which for most of us makes it a higher priority.
Lastly and probably the best reason to pick your
countertop first is that the design possibilities for your backsplash are virtually infinite; therefore, it is much easier to match the backsplash to the countertop rather than the reverse.
Designing Your Backsplash Space
First off, you need to determine the space you have available and whether you can or want to change it.
Measurements of a typical backsplash are 16 to 18 inches between the countertop and cabinets. Now, the countertops must be installed before adding the backsplash so, the countertop will be at a fixed
height.
The top cabinets, however, can be moved increasing available backsplash space to 20 inches or even 24 inches allowing more room for your design.
Of course, moving your current cabinets higher or installing new cabinets means that it will be more difficult to reach the top shelves and you may
lose space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling, which is often a nice space for displaying plants, glassware, ceramics or other personal
treasures.
Before you decide, consider the size of your kitchen. A 24 inch backsplash may be overwhelming in an intimate kitchen, but if your kitchen is large and open with tall ceilings then the bigger space expands the
design possibilities and adds to the dramatic appeal of the backsplash.
Outlets and switches are an important consideration too. In most homes the outlets are right in the middle of the backsplash and will interfere with your design.
If you’re only replacing the countertops and backsplash then it’s probably not worth the trouble to have them moved.
If this is the case, you can faux paint the cover plates to match the backsplash, use stainless
steel cover plates if you have appliances to match or buy cover plates that are a close color match to the backsplash.
If you are doing a big kitchen remodel or building from scratch, then consider placing the outlets under the cabinets.
Other options are an outlet strip installed at the top of the splash or turn the outlet horizontal and place
them just above the countertop surface at the bottom of the backsplash where they are more likely to be hidden from view by all the stuff on your countertops.
Also, installing under-cabinet lighting will help showcase your backsplash and provide additional workspace light. Of course, messing with the electricity means you’ll need to get a permit and adhere to building codes.
Creating a kitchen backsplash design is an exciting project since even simple designs are unique reflecting your personal taste and style. So have fun and good luck!
Ryan Burden publishes CountertopSpecialty.com, which provides information on custom countertops AND . . . produces a nice income. Perhaps YOU have a business or passion that you’d like to turn into online profits. Discover the right tools at My SBI Story.
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Kitchen Design Plans, Tips on Small Kitchen Designs
The kitchen is often the focal point of any house, as well as a place for cooking and eating it is often a meeting place where the whole family gather. Therefore it is important to have a kitchen that is both functional and pleasant to be in. If you thought that it was too difficult to design your own kitchen, then think again. There are many different kitchen design plans and with a few tips you can have the kitchen that you have always wanted.
SMALL KITCHEN DESIGNS
If you have a small room for a kitchen it may at first seem to be very difficult when you want to design your own kitchen to your personal preferences. But remember that a functional kitchen does not rely just on the kitchen floor design, where everything has to fit into tight corners to make the most of the available space.
One simple but effective idea is to put an island in or near the centre of the room. These provide great storage as well a convenient and handy workspace. Kitchen island designs automatically create more space, as they are usually placed in the centre of the kitchen it also gives you easy access all the way around.
With a little thought you could even incorporate something like a breakfast bar as part of your kitchen island design. And donât forget that you are not just limited to a square or rectangle for your kitchen island, it could be round or oval or any shape that will fit into your kitchen floor design.
As well as the actual design there are also many kitchen appliances available these days that come in smaller sizes, especially designed for the smaller kitchen. Things like refrigerators are available that are only twenty four inches deep as apposed to the usual thirty inch deep models. And donât forget things like microwave ovens that will fit easily onto a worktop below overhead cabinets.
Also think about hanging your pots and pans on a rack over your kitchen island. This not only makes them more accessible and easier to get at when needed but will also drastically cut down on the amount of cupboard space that they take up. And its not just pots and pans that can be hung on racks, you can also hang up things like cooking utensils, oven gloves, and anything else that you use often. This way you donât have to go searching through cluttered drawers just to find one item.
These are just some of the basic tips for small kitchen designs. When you come to design your own kitchen make sure you think it through properly so you get exactly what you want. Whether you want an old world kitchen design, or if you are after a great island kitchen design, remember that its your kitchen so its worth getting it right, as its you who will be using it.
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