The 7 Questions to ask before designing your kitchen will help you get the kitchen that works for you. Whether you’re doing a full gut renovation or updating the cabinets, asking the right questions upfront can save you thousands of dollars, prevent regret, and help you end up with a kitchen that truly works for you.
Designing a new kitchen isn’t just about picking a pretty door style. Think about what makes everyday life in your kitchen easier. What would make your kitchen more enjoyable to use?Before you get attached to a specific look, it helps to step back and think through how you cook, how you store items, and what’s not working in your current space. These seven questions will guide you through the key decisions, so you can design cabinets that fit your home, your habits, and your future plans.
1. How long do you plan to Stay in Your home?
This is the first question because it shapes many of the decisions that follow. If you’re staying short-term (under 5 years), you’ll want to consider resale value and a broad appeal; such as, neutral colors, classic finishes, and smart upgrades that give you a good return on investment. This will matter more than personal preferences. Over-customizing can actually hurt you when it’s time to sell.
If you’re staying long-term (10+ years), you have more freedom to design to your taste. Therefore, you can add for your specific habits, your aesthetic, your lifestyle. It also makes it easier to justify splurging on quality materials that will hold up over time, since you’ll actually get to enjoy them.
It also affects your budget. A forever home warrants a bigger investment because you’ll recoup the value through years of daily enjoyment. A short-term home calls for a more strategic spend.
2. How Do you actually use your kitchen?
Before looking at door styles, it helps to know how you live in your kitchen. Here are some questions to ask yourself. They will help you get started with thinking about how you use your kitchen.
- How often do you cook at home during a typical week?
- How many people are usually in the kitchen at the same?
- Where do your guest usually gather?
- Do you like to entertain?
- What ends up cluttering your countertops?
- Do you shop in bulk, need extra pantry space?
- What appliances need an easy access spot?
- Do you have mobility or reach concerns?
- How often do you bake? Where do you roll and mix?
- Do you prefer items hidden away? Instead of glass cabinet and floating shelves.
When you think about your answers to these questions, you can start to see the kind of kitchen that will actually work for you. Not just a kitchen that looks good in a photo.
3. How many cooks?
This sounds like a funny question, but the number of people using your kitchen at the same time makes a big difference in your cabinet layout. If it’s one cook, you can focus on a clear and efficient work zone. If two or more people like to cook together, you’ll want wider walkways between for instance the island and range. You might want to consider an additional prep area with a sink. Storage options can be considered so everyone isn’t bumping into each other.
Think about who else uses the kitchen. Do you have children that get their own snacks?Consider putting an area lower for them. Knowing how many cooks and helpers lets your designer plan cabinet placement, trash and recycling locations, and landing zones so the space feels comfortable and roomy.
4.What storage problems drive you crazy right now?
We have all been there. You’re in the middle of putting together your ingredients and the stove is beeping, it’s warmed up. You’re digging through your spice cabinet looking for a spice and not finding what you’re looking for. Perhaps you’re looking for a lid and all the lids fall out of the cabinet.
Most of the aggravation we have about our kitchens is caused by poor storage. List out your storage areas that need help. Don’t forget the pots and pans puzzle or the black hole in the corner. Once, you have identified your problem areas, the good news is you can let your designer know so you incorporate fixes for your storage wars. In the meantime, if you want to look at storage options, Rev-A-Shelf has great storage solution ideas.
5. Are there any must haves on your wish list?
When you’re planning for your new kitchen, it’s easy to get distracted by the ‘jewelry’ of the kitchen. Such as the backsplash, designer faucet and hardware. The features that make you fall in love with your kitchen are the items that do the bulk of the work and the hidden gems.
For example, the double trash pull-out with recycling. Spice drawers or spice pull-outs, tray pull-outs for cookie sheets. The cabinets on the back of your island that look like door panels, but are actually cabinets for storage. Drawers instead of regular lower cabinets. Charging station in the countertop or in a drawer.
Before you make your wish list take an inventory of all the awkward items. The Crockpot, that 15lb mixer, the extra long bread board and see how these items can be incorporated.
6. What style feels like you?
It’s easy to get swept up in what you see on HGTV, Instagram or Pinterest, but the best kitchen cabinet style is the one that feels right to you when you look back at your kitchen 10 years from now. Instead of starting with what’s popular, think about the mood you want to set in your kitchen: cozy, classic, clean and simple, or sleek and modern. The cabinet door is a huge part of the overall feel, so it should match your home’s personality.
Look around the rest of your house for clues. Are your furnishings more traditional with details and curves, or does your house lean toward minimal decor? Do you love the warmth of natural wood, or are you drawn to crisp paint finishes?
If you’re not sure where you land, it can help to compare a few of the most popular cabinet door styles side by side. In my first blog post, I break down Shaker, Slab and Raised Panel cabinets -you can read it here. Just remember the Shaker door style can bridge the traditional and modern without being trendy.
7. When should you talk to a designer?
If you’ve been picturing a better layout for your kitchen, now is the perfect time to consult a professional designer. We can transform your ideas into a precise cabinet plan and generate 3D renderings, allowing you to visualize every detail before you place your order.
If you’re in the South Jersey or Philadelphia area, schedule your design consultation today. Don’t let storage frustrations win—I’ll help you navigate your options and build a space that fits your unique lifestyle. Call now!“