Designing your IKEA kitchen
We are out the additional end of our IKEA kitchen design & install along with hindsight, as you know, can be a wonderful thing. Our family joke can be currently we are ready to tackle an IKEA kitchen. This specific can be the first of a series of posts around the design along with installation of our brand-new kitchen.
Without Great design any reno can be throwing Great money after bad. If you haven't truly thought out how you want to work in your kitchen, along with how you want the item to look overall, no matter how well you install the item, you won't be happy.
I desire some of my musings, along with what I learned as I worked through the design process, will be helpful to you if you are planning an IKEA kitchen as a renovation project.
Know what's hidden
Know the bones of your kitchen so there'll be no surprises. We wanted 0 inch pantry units along with had a bulkhead with pot lights within the item. I kept nagging my husband to have a look, along with I was so glad because to our surprise we found vent work. Just enough to cause me to move to 80 inch pantries. Not a happy camper letting go of my floor to ceiling pantries, along with needing more filler pieces to accommodate what was available in which height pantry.
We were also planning to keep our current footprint along with we knew which the flooring did not extend under our cabinets.
which meant we had to get all our cabinet measurements correct along with use fillers to make the item come out even. If you have an island or peninsula along with are keeping your existing flooring, the item can be even more important to do careful measurement in terms of depth. We found out we could not have a toe kick on the back of the peninsula so the cover panel had to extend to the floor.
Moving appliances meant hiring an electrician, yet the item was worth the item.
Everyone expected me to move my sink under the window, yet which might have meant a very squat prep area if the stove moved to where the fridge was. When I stand at my sink currently I have a view of two prominent St. John's landmarks - Signal Hill along with Cape Spear. Why might I want to exchange which for a view of my neighbour's house? currently I have a huge prep area along with I can make all the mess I want when I entertain. Perfect planning!
Several friends brought up the idea of "updating" to an island. I like my kitchen to myself when I cook, even when I entertain. No island for me, along with the item could have happened within the space without too much effort. Personal choices are important in design. I made an entertaining hang out area by removing the half wall in pic below along with opening the item up to the family room.
Another big problem for us was a bottleneck area at the end of the peninsula because of a contractor error within the initial construction. The wall by the oven was built 10 inches too long along with changing the item was complicated along with expensive because the item contained pipes, heating along with air exchanger vent work, plus light switches. When we redesigned we took three inches off the length of the peninsula to open up the walkway. which was possible because we had floor tile left over.
Visit an IKEA store
By chance we ended up grounded for 24 hours in Toronto when returning via a trip. We took advantage of which time ( a year before our reno) to check out everything kitchen related. I took over a 100 pics of things which interested me, along with I kept referring to them as I designed. If you can't do which, find someone who has designed along with installed an IKEA kitchen along with go for a chat. I managed to find two people who were obliging, along with the item was helpful even after the store visit.
Start a reno board on Pinterest
Look at various IKEA kitchen layouts along with cabinet styles online. Think about improving storage options especially if you have a smallish kitchen. Pinterest can be a great resource along with you can pin everything you see on one board. Consider a secret board so you can make comments along with track ideas or a shared secret board if you have a design partner. Check out my Kitchen reno board here along that has a previous post about Finding your decor style.
Find inspiration pictures
Your kitchen should meet your needs in style along with function. Make the item yours. Here are two pics which helped me refine the look I wanted. They are not everyone's cup of tea!
After all the cabinets along with gray horizontal lines in my old kitchen I wanted something visually quieter This specific time around.
The two photos above illustrate "the feel" I wanted : uncluttered, quiet, airy, bright, calm along with minimal, yet with elements of warmth along with nature. These are the words I kept in my head throughout the design process. I wrote them down along with checked my decisions against them constantly. You will probably have additional words entirely, yet have descriptive words as benchmarks for decisions.
I truly wanted a kitchen which flowed via the rest of our house along with reflected our arty, organic along with calm decor style.
Stick to your vision
A reno can be a headache in many ways, along with you will reach a point where you are fed up along with want to take the easy way out. Don't. Take a break via the item along with look at the problem with fresh eyes. Make all decisions based on your initial concepts for the space.
Perhaps the item's my age along with my visual art training, yet I begin everything with paper along with pencil. I found the kitchen booklet we picked up at IKEA a great help when doing This specific because all cabinet sizes were listed along with you could plainly see what was inside each one. There can be an online type. I didn't spend a lot of time at This specific stage, just enough to decide on the flow along with placement of drawers or doors.
I work with design apps all the time, yet I found the IKEA kitchen planner very frustrating. the item had lots of little glitches, along with if you have an island or peninsula as I did, the cabinets kept wanting to line up by a wall. I was also working on a MAC. within the end I refined the plan enough to send to IKEA along with get the order made, yet the item never looked pretty.
Once you have a preliminary design in mind, consider the item the next time you bring home groceries. can be there a place for everything. If you are entertaining, can be there a place for all those things you only use every currently along with then? Prepare an imaginary meal along with clean up. Are your movements efficient? Have you solved all the design issues in your previous kitchen?
Explain your design to someone outside your family
Walk through your design with someone outside the family along with explain your format decisions. This specific truly helped me confirm which I wanted things the way I thought. You also have an opportunity to question the IKEA staff when you order your kitchen. They were super helpful when I called.
along with yes, you will have more than one design.
I'm happy to answer any questions or hear your comments about your IKEA kitchen design suggestions.
Design can be key
I desire some of my musings, along with what I learned as I worked through the design process, will be helpful to you if you are planning an IKEA kitchen as a renovation project.
 |
| Get what you want by designing well |
Know what's hidden
Know the bones of your kitchen so there'll be no surprises. We wanted 0 inch pantry units along with had a bulkhead with pot lights within the item. I kept nagging my husband to have a look, along with I was so glad because to our surprise we found vent work. Just enough to cause me to move to 80 inch pantries. Not a happy camper letting go of my floor to ceiling pantries, along with needing more filler pieces to accommodate what was available in which height pantry.
We were also planning to keep our current footprint along with we knew which the flooring did not extend under our cabinets.
which meant we had to get all our cabinet measurements correct along with use fillers to make the item come out even. If you have an island or peninsula along with are keeping your existing flooring, the item can be even more important to do careful measurement in terms of depth. We found out we could not have a toe kick on the back of the peninsula so the cover panel had to extend to the floor.
Analyze your current kitchen
Make a list of what works along with what annoys you in your current kitchen format. For everything which annoys you, you should try to come up that has a solution if possible. the item can be easier along with more cost effective to keep appliances where they are, yet sometimes their placement can be part of the inefficiency. Our cooktop along with oven were in a major traffic area, along with the item was downright dangerous when we entertained. You could also see the stove top via the dining room; I am not a tidy cook. We chose to flip the refrigerator to the cooking area, along with make which area into a wall of pantries with the refrigerator centred. The perfect solution to storage in a walkway.
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| 80s cooking area |
 |
| Standard sizes for pantries |
 |
| Fridge along with pantries |
 |
| 80s format of kitchen across via cooking area |
Moving appliances meant hiring an electrician, yet the item was worth the item.
Everyone expected me to move my sink under the window, yet which might have meant a very squat prep area if the stove moved to where the fridge was. When I stand at my sink currently I have a view of two prominent St. John's landmarks - Signal Hill along with Cape Spear. Why might I want to exchange which for a view of my neighbour's house? currently I have a huge prep area along with I can make all the mess I want when I entertain. Perfect planning!
Several friends brought up the idea of "updating" to an island. I like my kitchen to myself when I cook, even when I entertain. No island for me, along with the item could have happened within the space without too much effort. Personal choices are important in design. I made an entertaining hang out area by removing the half wall in pic below along with opening the item up to the family room.
Another big problem for us was a bottleneck area at the end of the peninsula because of a contractor error within the initial construction. The wall by the oven was built 10 inches too long along with changing the item was complicated along with expensive because the item contained pipes, heating along with air exchanger vent work, plus light switches. When we redesigned we took three inches off the length of the peninsula to open up the walkway. which was possible because we had floor tile left over.
Visit an IKEA store
By chance we ended up grounded for 24 hours in Toronto when returning via a trip. We took advantage of which time ( a year before our reno) to check out everything kitchen related. I took over a 100 pics of things which interested me, along with I kept referring to them as I designed. If you can't do which, find someone who has designed along with installed an IKEA kitchen along with go for a chat. I managed to find two people who were obliging, along with the item was helpful even after the store visit.
Start a reno board on Pinterest
Look at various IKEA kitchen layouts along with cabinet styles online. Think about improving storage options especially if you have a smallish kitchen. Pinterest can be a great resource along with you can pin everything you see on one board. Consider a secret board so you can make comments along with track ideas or a shared secret board if you have a design partner. Check out my Kitchen reno board here along that has a previous post about Finding your decor style.
Find inspiration pictures
Your kitchen should meet your needs in style along with function. Make the item yours. Here are two pics which helped me refine the look I wanted. They are not everyone's cup of tea!
Create a vision
Many people just go headlong into a reno along with don't stop to think about their design aesthetic. What kind of feel do you want within the space? What style of cabinets along with format suits which feel? What can be the rest of your home like? Are there Indoor aspects of the cabinets which will add to how you want to feel in your space?
After all the cabinets along with gray horizontal lines in my old kitchen I wanted something visually quieter This specific time around.
The two photos above illustrate "the feel" I wanted : uncluttered, quiet, airy, bright, calm along with minimal, yet with elements of warmth along with nature. These are the words I kept in my head throughout the design process. I wrote them down along with checked my decisions against them constantly. You will probably have additional words entirely, yet have descriptive words as benchmarks for decisions.
I truly wanted a kitchen which flowed via the rest of our house along with reflected our arty, organic along with calm decor style.
- Uncluttered ...lots of thought to Indoor storage options along with eliminating "stuff" you don't need
- Airy ... an absence of upper cabinets so your eye moved around the space
- Calm along with bright... via colour along with style choices along with format
- Warm along with quiet ... no laminate, granite, or additional hard surface counters
- Organic... via natural products like wood, cork, plants etc.
Stick to your vision
Work out a rough sketch on paper
Refine your sketch within the kitchen planner
I work with design apps all the time, yet I found the IKEA kitchen planner very frustrating. the item had lots of little glitches, along with if you have an island or peninsula as I did, the cabinets kept wanting to line up by a wall. I was also working on a MAC. within the end I refined the plan enough to send to IKEA along with get the order made, yet the item never looked pretty.
Imagine working in your brand-new kitchen
Explain your design to someone outside your family
Walk through your design with someone outside the family along with explain your format decisions. This specific truly helped me confirm which I wanted things the way I thought. You also have an opportunity to question the IKEA staff when you order your kitchen. They were super helpful when I called.
Record your questions before IKEA ordering
I had at least ten questions recorded for clarification when I called to place my order. Many of them were of a confirmation type, creating sure I had interpreted the cabinets properly along with which I could do what I wanted to do.
along with yes, you will have more than one design.
I'm happy to answer any questions or hear your comments about your IKEA kitchen design suggestions.
The big reveal can be coming up within the next post along with yes, the item was worth all the thought, frustration along with mess....
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