The cost of designing a kitchen ranges between $4,500 and $22,350 or $160 per hour. Be ready to pay more for complex or high-end kitchen designs, according to data on HomeAdvisor. The kitchen is an essential part of any home. It’s the place where families spend quality time while preparing and enjoying their favorite meals. It also serves as a space for entertaining friends or guests. More interestingly, a kitchen can significantly increase property value if it’s well designed and equipped. That’s why many homeowners invest more in building beautiful culinary spaces in their homes. So, how do you decide about kitchen designs for your home? Below are tips for designing a perfect kitchen in your custom home.
Start With The Layout
Picking a suitable layout is key to creating the perfect design for your culinary space. Your ultimate goal is to ensure visitors can walk in and out of the kitchen with ease. You also want to have enough room for prepping meals and gatherings. With this in mind, decide whether an L-shaped, U-shaped, or gallery layout is ideal for your cooking area. To ensure you make the right choice, you’ll need to consider some things. Traffic flow, island size, cabinet design and color, cooktop, and countertop materials are key factors that will help you choose a perfect layout. Other options worth considering include butler’s pantries, traditional sculleries, and large outdoor planters to improve curb appeal. These layouts have become trendy as they provide luxury homeowners with ample space to prepare and stage food while reducing clutter in the kitchen.
Create A Detailed Floor Plan
Once you’ve identified a layout that fits your unique taste and kitchen functionality, think about your floor plan. While you can draw a floor plan by yourself, it’s wise to hire a custom home builder to guide you. That way, you can create the best flow between your cooking space, interior, and outside space. Marking the kitchen floor plan also helps you determine where to fit cabinets and appliances. Experts recommend using small paper cuts to highlight areas you want your appliances and cabinetry installed. Knowing how much space you have available will help you focus on a design that perfectly matches your needs and budget. If you’re working on an open-floor layout, don’t forget to specify your zones.
Choose Your Cabinetry Wisely
Your cabinet design will have a significant impact on the overall style of the kitchen. Therefore, choose your options carefully to enhance efficiency and elegance in your culinary space. Start by selecting a perfect height for your cabinets and internal shelves. You want to make sure you can reach them with ease. Think of the door style and opening direction of your cabinets. Convenience should be the top priority. For example, if you have ample floor space, pick double-door cabinets with handles facing each other. Nonetheless, you can choose cabinets that open towards the nearest focus point. For instance, cabinets placed to the right or left of the stove should open towards it. Another vital factor to consider when choosing your ideal cabinets is color. Instead of going with white, try bold colors like sage green, gray, or blue. As odd as it may sound, you can choose black cabinetry paired with gold hardware or wood finish. This style lightens the atmosphere, bringing in the glamor of city lifestyle or the airy feel of springtime in a cottage. Ideally, bold colored cabinets appear trendy, and if you’re afraid of filling your room with color, try the two-tone design. This entails painting darker colors on low cabinets and choosing light shades for upper cabinets.
Splurge On Statement Backsplashes
In modern homes, backsplashes aren’t just conspicuous spaces above the stove area. They are more than target areas for grease, steam, and water. For many homeowners, the backsplash serves as a wow factor in the kitchen. If you’re looking to impress guests when they walk into your kitchen, think beyond the average backsplash ideas. There are plenty of unique backsplash design ideas for any home, from stainless steel to Calcutta marble, vertical, and stripe. You may even opt for ombre backsplashes, brick, reclaimed wood, warm textures, and mirrored options. Remember, you don’t have to settle for the above-the-stove backsplash idea only. You can choose to go sky-high. You may also experiment with whimsical patterns around the coffee station or under open shelves.
Don’t Skimp on Lighting
When it comes to lighting fixtures, your kitchen requires the right mix of under-cabinet LED lights, recessed downlighting, and above-island pendant lighting. Balancing light fixtures in the kitchen ensures you and your family accomplish tasks with ease. For instance, fitting ambient or task lights over the islands illuminates your workspace, allowing you to read recipes and prep meals effortlessly. Consider installing pendants or linear suspension lights if your ceilings are high. For under-cabinets, go with task and accent lighting fixtures like LED strips. LEDs are versatile and ideal for brightening lower cabinet interiors, as they don’t receive a lot of ambient lighting. Alternatively, you can install puck lights to illuminate countertops. These round and oval lighting fixtures light up spaces as a spot, scallop, or pool of light. In addition to artificial Lighting, maximize the flow of natural light. Try fitting large windows and ensure they’re facing a direction with enough sunlight. Also, add narrow windows between shelves and upper cabinets or add a window backsplash instead of removing upper cabinets.
Designing a perfect kitchen in your custom home shouldn’t be difficult. All you need to do is research into different kitchen designs and then choose one that fits your preferences and budget. It could be a modern, rustic, or traditional kitchen design. Next, pick a layout, mark your floor plan, choose the right lighting fixtures, and invest in unique backsplashes. Make sure to select elegant cabinet designs, colors, and finishes, and splurge on up-to-date appliances.