The following is a guest post:
My favorite part of kitchen design is that it is built for function more than comfort. You want a comfortable living room where you can lounge; you want a comfortable bedroom where you can sleep and relax. You want a functional, versatile kitchen where you can cook and entertain.
Hardwood Laminate
Flooring type can make or break your kitchen. Dark wood laminate is my pick. It has a cleaner appearance than white floors, and when you are going the rout of laminate, the darker range looks more genuinely like wood.
The kitchen will be one of the highest-traffic areas of the home and may experience water spills from the sink or dishwasher. Laminate takes the cake over hardwood in durability and water resistance.
All considerations aside my preference would be wood, but I have a two year old, an overweight Labrador, and a whole lot of dishes. Laminate gives the same appearance, but is far more fitting for my lifestyle.
I love bar stools and eating at the counter. I used to be the type to eat looming over the sink, but the wife nixed that shortly after we began dating.
Kitchen Bar via onekinddesign
I don’t know what it is about eating at the counter that I find so satisfying. Perhaps it makes me feel like I’m actually at a bar, maybe it’s just physically more comfortable to be sitting in a taller chair.
Maybe it’s that I want my dinner mess condensed to the smallest area possible. Who needs to dirty the kitchen and the dining room?
Having a bar is great for small, intimate parties, and is also great for a quick meal on the go.
No bright colors—I don’t do bright colors, but I love color contrast. If the floors are white, the cabinets should be a dark wood. If the floors are dark, the cabinets should be a light maple or cherry.
Metallic appliances and accents are my preference as they are fairly neutral, yet still stylish. Lighting is also important. I tend to like the look of a dark kitchen with dramatic spotlights, but you have to consider what is functional.
Having a variety of lights independent to one another is a good choice because you can choose to cook in bright lighting, but if you are entertaining at the bar, you can dim them to set a more sophisticated mood.
Space is important in the kitchen. I shouldn’t have to dig through a mess to get to what I’m looking for, and I shouldn’t have to worry about fitting something new in.
I need cupboard or pantry space for my dry foods. I eat mostly whole foods so I need space for jars of various beans, lentils, and grains. I don’t like having to push past my son’s gummy snack packs to get to the flour or oats.
Additionally, you will need space for your dishes, pots and pans, and small appliances.
The kitchen is a room you will use multiple times every day. You will grab a quick snack, cook a nice meal for a date night in, or create a whole feast for a gaggle of friends. For this reason versatility is key in the design of your kitchen.
Jonathon Ensor, a writer for Empire Today, is a home design expert. When his house isn’t entirely torn apart he enjoys throwing dinner parties and BBQ’s with family and friends.