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How To Make Your Kitchen Your Favorite Room of the House

October 21, 2010
Is your kitchen the most used space in the house? If so, you are not alone. The kitchen is often the hub of a home—whether your family sits together to eat at meals or everyone just grazes, odds are it’s a central meeting spot several times a day. In addition to family, invited guests may spend much time standing around the countertops or table, enjoying each other’s company while you eat and drink. Did you know that a beautiful, functioning kitchen is also one of the spaces in a home that can help sell a home? As such an important part of your home, special care should be taken in choosing selections, designing your kitchen, or remodeling. To maximize your enjoyment of that important space, we’ve put together these simple tips: Create a design scrapbook. We usually recommend to our clients to look through some design magazines, online photos, and model homes to get a feel for your tastes. You can even put pictures you like together in a binder to help you remember what you love and to show your designer or builder. This should also help you narrow what kind of style you like best–modern, contemporary, classic/traditional, rustic–and will help make all of the decisions easier, as you can plan around a theme.

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Declutter. When designing your kitchen, plan for as much storage as possible so you can keep things off the counters. Yes, your counter tops should be empty. Once you are in the space, make the most of however much counter space you have by removing any unnecessary items. Pack the toaster in a cabinet when it’s not in use, and use an in the door rack for your paper towels—anything to hide away what you can. This will give you plenty of room to work with when cooking and hosting parties, as well as give your space a clean, fresh lift. Organize. It may be helpful to take the drastic step of take everything out of all your closets and drawers and putting them on a kitchen or dining room table. You can then see clearly what you have. Sort your items according to use and then place them back in the closets in a spot most convenient to their purpose. Stop by Lowe's or Target and pick up some organizers to help you fit more items in your cabinets. They have an organizer for everything! The more efficient you can make your cabinet space the more you can keep in your kitchen. But you want some extra space left when you're done minimizing and organizing to accommodate the next step. If you need some help with this step visit some of the many web sites, e.g. www.onlineorganizing.com Create a seated workspace. Create a space in your kitchen, if there’s room, for the kids to do their homework or a person to sit on a laptop. This will allow your family to share more moments together during times of multi-tasking. As someone cooks or puts together a snack, you can enjoy each other’s company.

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Floor. To make your kitchen appear larger, a light color floor will also do wonders. If you choose ceramic, go with something without a pattern and use a matching grout color. If you like linoleum, again minimize the pattern and design as well as the color. If you can't afford to re-do your dark floors, try covering them with light colored throw rugs. Choose one main focus. If you are remodeling or making your selections in a new home, often the kitchen options can add up and become costly. If you are watching your budget, choose one main element that you would love your kitchen to have, whether it’s granite countertops, a top-notch appliance, or a stunning pot and pan ceiling rack, and stick with that. Even one small upgrade can make a big difference. Decorate. Choose paler colors for decorating, which will brighten and enlarge your space You want to keep things as simple as possible. Leave the window over the sink curtain-less or use a rod sleeve made of a fabric with a very open print or a solid preferably lighter than your walls. Keep in mind a patterned print will make your room look smaller and busier. Let the light in. A light, bright space will be warm and welcoming to the whole family as well as guests. Use as much natural light as possible by doing what you can to prevent cabinets and appliances from blocking the windows. Also, add as much lighting as possible, including track lighting or recessed bulbs on the ceiling and under-cabinet halogen bulbs to make your kitchen as appealing as possible. Is your kitchen your favorite place in your home? What is your favorite part of your kitchen? And how do you recommend making a kitchen a family space?

While Bob and I have worked with CL Design Build, the experience has been positive, professional, and one we would pursue again. Our dream home was creatively designed balancing practicality and cost. Cheryl’s attention to detail will make our home a focal point of the neighborhood. Thanks to all at CL Design Build!

~ Bob and Ann Elwood

We met with 5 different local builders when we started this custom build adventure. Cheryl Lee, hands down, left the best impression. She was knowledgeable, open to and interested in our ideas. They were always timely and attentive to any and all questions that we had and patient and informative when we were chewing over a decision. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience than working with the CL Design-Build team! Danielle Brown

~ Danielle Brown

We enjoyed working with CL Design Build to build our 100% custom dream home. Starting with a blank piece of paper, we were able to build our home from bottom to top using our own ideas and concepts. We are really enjoying our home today.

~ Doug and Cinda Coyne

That teamwork between Brad and Cheryl ensured that we received the best that is available. There is a trust and bond between CL Design-Build and their clients that gave us peace of mind. The numerous compliments that we receive on our beautiful home are tremendous!

~ Richard and Kristine Christie