Kitchens are often referred to as the heart of the home for a good reason. It is one of the most used spaces in a home and it is where everyone seems to congregate. It is where you make cookies with Grandma, work on late night school projects, and entertain friends and family members. From traditional to modern and small to large, a Kitchen most importantly needs to be functional. For the next two weeks, we will be sharing some of our favorite kitchen trends and tips. Important topics such as function, style, finishes, focal points, and so much more!

Layout:

You have to start at the beginning to get it right. If a kitchen doesn’t have a practical layout, it can throw everything else off. Our client’s kitchen was nice looking but moving around in it was nearly impossible. Loading and unloading the dishwasher was a nightmare, the sink location wasn’t practical, and there was a lot of wasted storage space. With her newly remodeled space she can actually enjoy using her kitchen now. The sink location was moved to a more central location and new cabinetry grants her easier access to the items she needs on a daily basis.

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After:

Style:

If the heart of the home doesn’t fit your style then most likely nothing else does. Today’s kitchens are mostly open to the family and dining spaces. This provides more space for entertaining and helps keep a family more connected even if they aren’t all in the room. Moms can keep an eye on the kids playing and the cook doesn’t have to be separated from the party. With these open concepts comes the growing need for a consistent flow throughout the joined spaces. If you don’t like a feature of your kitchen chances are you have to stare at it from everywhere! If you need to update your home but don’t know where to start… we would recommend the kitchen. Your kitchen will give you your biggest return of investment and it just makes sense that the space most frequently used should be the place to start.

Islands:

At RSVP Design Services we love love love a great island! The extra counter space and storage provided by and island can go a long way into make a kitchen fabulous! We like painting the island a contrasting color or introducing a different material on the top. Utilize a different edge detail or shape. Consider the advantages of having space for tucked away bars stools, cookbooks, and seasonal dishes.

Display:

Once again you have to be practical when it comes to display areas in your kitchen. If you have beautiful matching dishes and you are an organized person then by all means… yes lets show it off and light it up. However, if you are a family of six with four members being under the age of ten you most likely have a lot of mix matched sippy cups and are more concerned with keeping the ever growing piles of dirty dishes under control over having everything neatly in its place. If this is the case then keep open display areas to a minimum and use a decorative glass or frosted glass instead of a clear. 

Floating Shelves:

Having floating shelving that is completely open is a growing kitchen trend. It looks great and it makes putting dishes up convenient, but there are a couple of things to consider. If your dishes have a lot of pattern or bright colors keep the other finishes in your kitchen softer and more neutral. Open shelving means odors, grease, and dust will settle its way onto your dishes so be prepared to have to re-clean pieces before using them.

Focal Point:

Just like you wouldn’t want to have more then one accent wall in a bedroom, you also don’t want to have too many focal points in a kitchen. Pick one main thing such as your backsplash, countertops, or a custom vent hood to be the main thing you notice then let everything else harmonize with it. Having to many competing elements just makes your eyes restless and can lead to an already busy area feeling crowded and overwhelming. If you go with a bold backsplash make sure you will be staying there for a while. While it could be a wow factor for you, a potential buyer could be turned off by it.

Having A Great Kitchen Part 1

We hope you have found this weeks tips helpful and inspirational. Next week we will discuss kitchen lighting, finishes, hardware and whether you should go painted or stained. Need help with your kitchen remodel or are you building a new home and want to make sure every detail of your custom kitchen is well thought out and planned? We would love to help you. Contact us today at 972.458.7787!

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