Top 3 Kitchen Design Complaints

No matter how comfortable you make the other rooms in your house feel, most people still congregate to the sweet smells and bright atmosphere of the kitchen.  It’s no secret that it’s one of the most used rooms in any dwelling, as it often houses multiple conversations, homework, family meals and a multitude of other activities.  Therefore, it’s important to have a well-designed kitchen in order to keep up with the daily chaos and maintain the beauty and functionality of your home.  The following are the top 3 kitchen design complaints I always hear from homeowners and some ways you can fix them.

1.    No open flow to the rest of the house.
Especially with older houses, the kitchen was its own closed off room, as was the dining room, living room, etc.  Whether it actually is closed off from the other main rooms in your house, or if it just simply feels like a separate space, here are a few ways you can fix the issue:
•    Knock down walls! This could be as complicated as tearing out an existing load-bearing wall and beaming it, but sometimes it’s as simple as cutting an opening above the counter through to a dining room or enlarging an existing doorway.
•    Blend the kitchen paint colors in with the rest of the house.
•    Make flooring consistent from kitchen to adjacent rooms.

2.    The Kitchen Triangle isn’t functional
Even though today’s kitchen serves as a place to entertain, organize one’s day, and communicate with family and friends, it is above all else still a place to cook.  The “kitchen triangle” is the path between the refrigerator, sink and stove.  Here are some ideal kitchen triangle paramaters:
•    Each “leg”  should be between 4 and 9 feet
•    The total of all three legs should be between 12 and 26 feet
•    The household traffic flow should not cross through the triangle
•    No obstructions should intersect a leg of the triangle, bringing us to…

3.    The island is in the way.
Kitchen islands are great for increasing workspace, storage or providing extra seating, but not when it interferes with the aforementioned kitchen triangle.  Ways to improve your layout woes include:
•    Reducing the size of the island, moving if space permits, or loosing it all together.
•    Rearranging the work triangle around the island.  You may be able to install a sink or stove in the island, making your triangle more user-friendly.

Have your friends and family heard you complaining about any one of these?  Are you dissatisfied with your kitchen layout, but unable to pinpoint a solution?  Browse through our kitchen remodeling before and after photos to get some inspiration, or take a look at my list of 5 easy kitchen upgrades.  Still stuck? Contact Tracy Tesmer Remodeling for a risk-free consultation today!

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