If you're someone who cooks a lot, planning your kitchen renovations can seem like a daunting task. Never fear, though--it's easier than you might imagine to put together a kitchen that will give you a beautiful space to indulge yourself in. You just need to do a little advance planning!

Think about who will be using the kitchen and what they'll be using it for.

If you're a single person living alone who cooks for yourself daily and enjoys entertaining and preparing the occasional elaborate dinner party, you're going to need the right kitchen for the job--but your needs will be very different if you have a family with several children and you all like to eat homecooked food together as often as you can. If you're always getting enthused about the latest kitchen gadget, you're going to need to concentrate on having as much counter space as possible and figure out where to install a few extra powerpoints. Anyone who has children living at home will have to put some thought into keeping knives and similarly dangerous utensils out of reach, as well as make sure there's enough cupboard space for all the extra things necessary for family life. If someone living in your home has coeliac disease or another serious food intolerance, a kitchen renovation can be the perfect opportunity to create a 'safe zone' - an area of the kitchen that will never be used for anything containing gluten, for example. 

Come up with new ways to get around your kitchen's more "unique" features and maximise storage space.

All homes have their own quirks and foibles. If your kitchen has a lot of inaccessible corners, you can maximise their utility by installing cupboards with rotating shelves. Pull-out drawers are a fantastic way to keep your cupboards under control; when you can see everything you've got, you'll find that you end up with far fewer unused tins languishing at the backs of shelves! Open-plan kitchens can be re-imagined as perfect candidates for floating islands, while alcoves that might otherwise seem inconvenient are often the perfect place to have a romantic breakfast nook for two installed.

Don't feel limited by traditional, conservative colour schemes.

There are a few colour schemes that seem to be remarkably popular in kitchens. Whites, taupes and beiges of all kinds come up time and again; warm earth tones like terracotta and mustard are also popular, as are bright minty greens and blues. There's no need to stick to those shades if they don't feel like a good match for you, though! Jewel toned kitchens are often gorgeous and go very well with wood tones. Bright, primary colours make a marvellous family kitchen. When used carefully, even black can be a wonderful choice for the right person. 

Share