The kitchen fulfils many of the essential functions needed to run a successful home and is probably, along with the living room and bedroom, the space in which people spend most of their time in their home. Unlike the aforementioned rooms however, the kitchen is a workspace meaning that good design and planning is key to its functionality. You can’t work in a cluttered kitchen after all, unless you rely on the microwave.

Kitchens are also subject to some of the most drastic innovations in the design world, meaning that keeping your kitchen up-to-date often takes more work than other areas of the home. Keeping your kitchen looking stylish is vital in today’s housing market, as an outdated, cluttered kitchen can significantly damage the value of your house.

Here are some quick tips to consider if you’re planning a new kitchen.

Be Aware of Space

Kitchens come in all shapes and sizes; some are large enough to house a dining table whereas others are only just big enough to accommodate the essential triumvirate of the cooker, sink and fridge. Before you plan your kitchen, make sure you know what you’re working with. You measure yourself or get professionals in to do this for you and draw up a floorplan. Also make considerations for plumbing, power sockets and windows as moving these is expensive and time-consuming!

Budget

Budget considerations are especially relevant in these austere times as we all struggle a bit for money. This makes carefully planning your budget essential.

Decide exactly what you’re going to need before you commit to any purchase – it’s difficult to go back once you’ve made a large financial commitment. Consider labour costs too, and leave a little money spare as things can, and often do, go wrong and require a bit more work than you planned! One thing people often forget to consider is the value of their home. While a new kitchen can add value to a home, if your house is relatively small and not worth much it’s simply not worth splashing out thousands of pounds – the value added won’t outweigh your outlay.

Get A Visualisation Of Your New Kitchen Before You Commit

If you’re planning a new kitchen, the chances are that you have a good idea of what you want it to look like already. However, it can be very difficult to get an accurate visualisation of your ideal kitchen without actually ripping out your old kitchen and installing the new one.

Nevertheless, it’s sometimes the only way to be certain that of a design and can also help to point out changes you may not have considered before. One of the best ways to get a good visualisation of your design is through kitchen planner software, which has been widely adapted by kitchen retailers. Through this software, you can generate an accurate floorplan of your kitchen and design away – change the units, materials and layout as much as you like!

Of course, there are far too many considerations to make to cover in one article when planning a new kitchen (enough to fill a novel, at least!) but hopefully these three basics will help you on your way!

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Nexus Design Software, developers of 3D CAD planning software, including 3D Kitchen Planner software.

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Nexus Design Software (http://www.nexusdesignsoftware.com), developers of 3D CAD planning software, including kitchen planner software.

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Nexus Design Software, developers of 3D CAD planning software, including 3D Kitchen Planner software.

Category: Home Management
Keywords: kitchen planning, kitchen planner software