7 Kitchen Design Ideas

In deciding on how to design your kitchen, you must take into consideration such things as: will your kitchen have an island? Will it be of a modern or traditional design? What kinds of appliances will you need for your new kitchen design? What kind of lighting design? Kitchen design ideas include a kitchen canopy, color of cabinets to set the tone of the kitchen, selecting the right lighting design, and type or material used for countertops.




1. Kitchen as 'Great Room'

Whether you are redesigning an existing kitchen or planning a new kitchen in a new home there are some design considerations to keep in mind, such as including in an island or peninsula as part of the kitchen design. These can be used to connect the kitchen to a nearby dining area or family room thereby creating a 'great room'. A kitchen island or peninsula will allow the cook to keep in visual and conversational contact with family members or guests in the adjoining family or dining room.




2. Create a Kitchen Canopy

To give the kitchen some visible borders without blocking views create a kitchen canopy. Also a high ceiling in the kitchen can create the perception of spaciousness.




3. Using Kitchen Cabinet Color to Set Tone of Kitchen Design

Kitchen cabinets will help set the tone for the whole room. The choice of wood will influence the overall look of your cabinets. To create a light look, use a light wood such as ash, beech, birch, oak, maple, or chestnut. For medium range, select cherry. To darker kitchens, choose wood that has some color to it.




4. Plan Out Use of Cabinets and Drawers in The New Kitchen Design

Plan out in the kitchen design blueprint just how your cabinets and drawers will be used and how much space and storage you will need before you start your new kitchen design. The first thing to examine is the counter surface area. Look at where you put everything in your existing kitchen and where in your new kitchen design will these things will go in the new space. Will there be more than one person cooking at a time. If so, will there be enough room for two cooks in the kitchen to work together?




5. Use The Galley-Type Kitchen Design

As for counter arrangements, many kitchen designers agree the galley-type design to be the best in terms of efficiency with it's single aisle and counters to either side, making it easy to turn around to go from sink to cooking range.




6. Under-Cabinet Kitchen Lighting

kitchen lighting can be an overlooked area of kitchen design. Even if the kitchen has generally good lighting, the counter areas can be somewhat dark. For these areas under-cabinet lighting can help provide more light to work in. By using simple spots or fluorescent lights a smaller kitchen can be made to look larger.




7. Looking at Countertops

Granite, marble, and limestone are all popular natural materials for use in countertops are available in many colors. Ceramic tile kitchen countertops are versatile, practical, and also available in many colors, as well as many shapes, patterns, and finishes. Solid surface countertops provide seamless acrylic faces. Solid surfaces also come in almost limitless colors, patterns, and styles, and are stain and heat resistant. Laminate countertops are more affordable but not built to last. Concrete countertops are known for versatility, as well as strength. Wood countertops are long lasting and easy to clean and repair but the wood will not withstand exposure to water and household chemicals. Stainless steel countertops lack the elegance of granite or tile. These countertops do not absorb stains, but tends to scratch easily.




To create kitchen plans that are easy and fun requires a good software program that can let you simply snap in cabinets, dishwashers, countertops, cook tops and refrigerators. One that can provide you with hundreds of wood finishes, tiles, Formicas, linoleums, paints, wallpapers, and trims a to get a look that is just right. Click to learn more about "plan3D". Get 2 months FREE when you sign up for a year!

how to design kitchen

Post Title

→

7 Kitchen Design Ideas

Post URL

→

http://countryhousedesign.blogspot.com/2010/12/7-kitchen-design-ideas.html

Visit Country House Design for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

Small Balcony Ideas

I have a really small balcony (1m x 4m) which faces north and it’s lovely to sit with a cup of coffee, read the paper or munch on a piece of toast in the morning sunshine – if only I could fit! No matter how many different ways I have tried to organise that balcony, it has been a constant decorating challenge. Small tables and chairs always over-crowd the space making it impractical to move around and walk down to the yard - until I discovered the Hanging Balcony Table.


It looked pretty ridiculous online, but for $59.95 it was worth giving it a try.When it arrived, it was a little larger than I thought and solved the problem perfectly. Coupled with a bench seat from IKEA and these cute little pink and scarlet outdoor cushions, I have the perfect place to sit in the mornings to watch the birds and enjoy the sunshine.

Here are a few other small balcony ideas I have uncovered while researching my own little project… Urban Balcony has some great furniture ideas including these ones for small spaces:


Burkes Backyard featured a small balcony makeover one episode including converting aluminium toolboxes into bench seats that also double as storage. I’m not too keen on the look personally, but I was originally thinking of having a piece of furniture custom made to fit in this space which could act as a kind of small daybed and storage box at the same time. They also featured another balcony makeoverwhich looks much better including custom designs furniture and wooden deck tiles.

Post Title

→

Small Balcony Ideas

Post URL

→

http://countryhousedesign.blogspot.com/2010/11/small-balcony-ideas.html

Visit Country House Design for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection

12 Ideas For Small Bathroom Design

Every person that has a small bathroom is interested in ways of making their bathroom appear larger.  Remodeling the bathroom is not always an option and in many cases, remodeling the bathroom would be very expensive.  There are a number of ways that a person can use to make their small bathroom seem larger without having to undertake any heavy construction. Pedal Sink, Mirror, and Lighting to Enhance Small Bathroom 1. Soft Color for Walls One of the easiest ways that a person can alter their small bathroom design to make it appear larger is to choose light soft colors for the décor of the bathroom.   2. Accent with Color Bright, bold colors can be used in small bathrooms, assuming you reserve them for accents only. Going overboard with bold or dark colorstend to make the bathroom appear tighter and more intimate.   3. Visual Accents If your bathroom has wallpaper, avoid using large prints or busy pattern. Instead, choose very subtle wallpaper patterns. Better yet, keep one wall free from any pattern at all. Consider making the largest wall in the small bathroom into a mural of an open space.   4. Light Tones of Bathroom Flooring Just like light colors on the walls, light colors on the flooring of the small bathroom will help make the bathroom appear roomier and more open.  The most popular colors for a light bathroom floor are tans, light grays, and light blues.  By incorporating these colors into the flooring of your small bathroom design, you will have the basis for a light colored decorating scheme that will make your bathroom appear more open. 5. Pedestal Sink Another small bathroom design that can be used to make a bathroom appear larger is to replace a large vanity or countertop with a slimmer, pedestal sink.  A pedestal sink can be found in many different styles, colors, and materials, allowing them to be matched to any décor.  By placing a pedestal sink in the small bathroom, you can open up the bathroom space by another ten percent. 6. Classic Fixtures When selecting fixtures for your bathroom, keep in mind they are going into a small space. Choose simple designs made from smooth surfaces, such as ceramic and marble, and opt for light, neutral tones.  Additional Lighting Opens a Small Space 7. Additional Lighting Fixtures Additional lighting in a small bathroom can make a world of difference in the way the space in the bathroom is perceived.  Consider adding additional light fixtures or using higher wattage bulbs, as appropriate. By making the bathroom brighter and more inviting, it seems that the space has opened up and the walls are farther apart.   8. Increase Natural Light There are a variety of ways that additional lighting can be added to the small bathroom without taking up more space than is already used, including installing a new window, or even putting in a skylight. 9. Limit Items in Bathroom Many people choose to open up the amount of space available in their small bathroom by greatly reducing the amount of items that they place into the bathroom.  Items such as storage shelves, hampers, and decorative items all take up valuable space in a small bathroom and the bathroom will appear much larger if these items are removed and the things that they hold are stored somewhere else.   Keep Clutter at Bay 10. Consider Storage Outside the Bathroom Some people choose to place a small storage cabinet in their hallway near the bathroom as a place to put all of the things that they would normally keep in their bathrooms. It's also a good idea to consider putting laundry hampers in the bedrooms instead of in the bathroom. Extra supplies and paper products can even be stored in the pantry. 11. Adding Mirrors Adding additional mirrors to the bathroom will also help the bathroom appear bigger than it really is.  Placing additional mirrors in the bathroom will help to capture all of the available light and reflect it back into the room to make it brighter.  Adding extra mirrors to the room will also add depth to the room, as the mirrors reflect each other and make the walls appear farther away.   12. De-Clutter Other ways you can use to make a small bathroom design appear larger include removing clutter and extra items. Instead of storing all of your beauty items on the counter, place them in a cabinet or in the medicine chest when not in use. The more items are visible in a small bathroom, the more cramped the space will look and feel. Using these subtle design changes to modify the look of your small bathroom is easy, inexpensive, and most of these design changes can be completed in a few hours.  By changing your small bathroom design, you can make your small bathroom appear larger within the space of a day.

Post Title

→

12 Ideas For Small Bathroom Design

Post URL

→

http://countryhousedesign.blogspot.com/2010/05/12-ideas-for-small-bathroom-design.html

Visit Country House Design for Daily Updated Wedding Dresses Collection