Top 16 points: remodelling a kitchen

Kitchen remodeling made easy

Remodeling a kitchen can be a daunting endeavor and aside from bathroom renovations, the kitchen is near the most expensive of home renovating tasks. Whether you wield the mighty hammer on the weekends or get a professional in to do the job, it is important to do it right.. The first time. Points to consider..

The Kitchen Sink:

1. Keep the sink near or in front of a window. This provides light, and something for the person washing the dishes to look at. It is also much easier with the plumbing. Avoid jamming it into a corner as this limits the sinks access and makes it difficult for anybody to help with the washing up.

Define Worktop Areas:

2. If possible, make sure that there is a workplace on either side of the stove top and sink. This allows for the flow of the room between worktop, stove top, worktop, sink, worktop. There is space for ingredients before they go on the stove on one side, and pots or dirty dishes on the other side of the stove before they go into the sink to be washed up. Then, on the other end of the sink, there is space for a dish rack for dishes that are drying right after being washed.

The Stove:

3. If you are planning on using a hood or extractor fan above the stove, then it would be ideal to have the stove against an exterior wall.

4. Never put a stove beneath a window where there is risk of curtains catching fire, or there is a risk of accidents when leaning across the hotplate to open or close the window.

5. For a similar reason, avoid placing a stovetop near a door. There is a risk of pan handles being knocked by people entering or leaving through the door.

6. Wherever possible, do not shove a stove into a corner. If you have to, lay it across a corner as this allows for workspace on either side of the stove.

Kitchen Storage Space:

7. Allow for frequently used foodstuffs and utensils to be stored near the cooking area. Some of these frequently used ingredients include salt, flour, herbs, stock cubes etc. Tea, Coffee and sugar should have a space near the kettle.

8. Create a hanging space for utensils on the wall above the stove or near the stove. This provides quick and easy access to the utensils while cooking. It also prevents the utensils from cluttering up drawers or counter space.

9. Make use of "weird space" in the kitchen. For example, sometimes cupboards come in specific sizes and you may be left with a 20cm gap between the cupboard and the wall. It is a great idea to leave the gap between two cupboards instead of at the edge of the room. This will allow you to build the counter top over the extra space, which you can then use for a dustbin, to store trays or even hang kitchen towels.

Freezers and Refrigerators:

10. Avoid putting a freezer or refrigerator in a place that gets direct sunlight. The fridge/freezer will need to work overtime (and waste electricity) to keep cool.

11. For similar reasons, avoid putting a fridge/freezer next to the stove.

Keeping things economical:

12. Try to keep the placements of stoves, sinks and electrical outlets as close to their original places as possible. This will greatly reduce the renovation costs. Can you imagine the difference in expense between moving the plumbing 30cm versus moving the plumbing to the opposite side of the room?

13. Make all plumbing and electrical changes to the kitchen first, it is cheaper to have these in their places before building cupboards into place, than it is to move them afterwards.

Making more space:

14. If you need more space in the kitchen, consider removing a dividing wall into another room and making it "open plan" with a counter separating the two rooms.

15. Alternatively, if your kitchen is very small, you could consider moving the kitchen into another room. The current kitchen can easily be converted into a laundry room. You could also consider extending the kitchen into the yard.

16. Check the local building regulations before making any large renovations to your home, and always get professional electricians, plumbers, carpenters and builders to make the renovations.