KITCHEN DESIGNING

The design of your kitchen starts with the three-dimensional space and how it flows as a work and social environment. We'll tell you how to plan on paper and build a design file. We'll look again at systems, this time from a design point of view. And we'll look in detail at appliances, cabinetry, and materials, along with how they all work together to create a functional and attractive kitchen. We'll also examine the influence of architecture and explore ways to create a coordinated color and texture palette you can use to choose everything from a counter surface to a cabinet finish. Part 3 looks at the construction process you'll go through while building a new kitchen.

This is often the most stressful aspect of the kitchen-design process, in large part because of poor planning, confusion as to what's going on, and the large sums of money involved. We'll walk you through scheduling, dealing with contractors, buying materials, resolving problems, and putting your new kitchen together again after the dust settles. We suggest you first use Kitchens That Work as a source of inspiration. Look through it and start to consider what you have to work with and what you want from your new kitchen. Then read more thoroughly and start measuring, sketching, and planning. Get out and start looking at the many choices you have in materials, cabinetry, and appliances. Start a design file filled with clippings, samples, and ideas. Consider using a reference model like the ones in Chapter 10 to help you make decisions. Once you have a design and know what you want, use Part 3 to help you get started with the construction of your new kitchen.
If you don't feel up to designing your own kitchen, this book will help you choose and work with a professional kitchen designer or architect. The more informed you are, the better communication you'll have with design professionals, and the more likely you'll be to get what you want. And if you are a designer, we hope you'll share this book with your clients as a tool and inspiration. We wrote this book because we are fascinated and challenged by kitchen design. Both of us are avid cooks who enjoy entertaining. We've never been able to keep our guests out of the kitchen, nor would we want to. After all, it's where the action is, where the food and drink flow, and where the conversation is the best.