BEST LOOKING KITCHENS DESIGN IDEAS

If you want to have a home with maximum resale value, having a great looking kitchen will go a long way. Have you ever noticed that when you go into a new model home they all seem to have the best looking kitchens you have ever seen?

Great kitchen design does not only apply to big kitchens. Even if you have a smaller kitchen you need one that is designed with a good layout where you can effectively use it. Kitchen counters and sink along with the stovetop should all be arranged so that you can prepare meals with ease. In other words, you don't want the stovetop to be on the other side of the kitchen from the sink where you would have to carry boiling water for a long distance.

Refrigerators are so big that there is usually only one optimal place for them but you might want to make sure your refrigerator is located near the sink. In fact, everything that has anything to do with food preparation should be as near the sink as possible. This is a quality of all the best looking kitchens. This is because of all the liquid and waste that will need to be disposed of. Something like the pantry closet is something that does not need to be in proximity to the sink.

Some kitchens are very open and almost part of the dining room. If you have a long extending dining table, you need to have a dining room that is big enough for it. If your kitchen opens to that dining room, you should take all these design elements into consideration. Sometimes you need to think about the kitchen's surrounding area to help figure out what kitchen design might be best.

Other things which should go into your kitchen design ideas are lighting and cabinets. Kitchen lighting ideas are varied now with things such as track lighting and hanging lights gaining popularity. Kitchen lighting will play a very big part of the look of your kitchen and the funtionality of it as well. A poorly lit kichen will not only look dark and dreary but it will also be hard to cook in as well. Great kitchen lighting adds to the safety of your kitchen as well as its design.

Kitchen cabinets come in all colours and materials and they round out the look of all best looking kitchens. Kitchens are defined by their cabinets and much thought should be put into the type of cabinets you get. If your kitchen cabinets colour is off, the whole look of the kitchen will be off as well. The cabinets in your kitchen must go well with both the kitchen floors and countertops.

KITCHEN DESIGN ONLINE TOOL / KITCHEN DESIGN SOFTWARE

If you are looking for a kitchen design online software tool, this is a greate choice. The Punch! Interior Design Suite allows you to renew or redo your entire home from kitchen and bath design to basement remodeling, you have the power at your fingertips.

You can do thesee things: Design your own storage with the Cabinet Wizard, Layout your rooms easily with the Room Wizard, Make moldings and baseboards with the Trim Designer, Frame your outdoor view with the Window Designer, Build a hearth for your home with the Fireplace Wizard, Try new treatments with Decorator Theme Palettes, Get help when you need it with the Help Tutorials, Take a view through your roof by designing skylights, Make your furniture fit with object resizing, and much, much, more.

Design your kitchen interior using image libraries from top home design and improvement companies that have partnered with Punch! For example, choose from more than 2,200 Sherwin-Williams paint colors to design your new kitchen. Then, when you're finished, go to the store and pick it up . . . it is that easy!

KITCHEN SINK DESIGN IDEAS

The kitchen has become a central meeting and gathering place in many homes and the kitchen sink is the busiest spot in the kitchen. If you have a kitchen sink, you know the heavy workout it gets and how important it is to know how to clean grout. Any new kitchen sink design ideas are going to have to take that into account. You need to find a sink that looks great and matches your kitchen style while knowing that it can not break down with the heavy use.

Kitchen sinks today are different from kitchen sinks of yesteryear. In fact, kitchen sinks in America are very different from their counterparts in some European countries. Almost all US kitchen sinks come with a disposal while sinks in Finland don't.

Any new kitchen sink design must now be both attractive and match the kitchen colors along with being being efficient and easy to maintain. New kitchens are now being built with many different types of sink configurations and many different accessories included. Modern kitchen sink ideas include style and shapes that were unheard of before and they can come with things such as soap dispensers, purified water taps, sprayers, cutting boards and drainers included. Some new kitchen sinks look amazingly different from what a "normal" sink looked like years ago.

Kitchen sinks typically are made from stainless steel, fire clay, ceramic, and there are even copper sinks. Stainless steel has remained the "classic" choice for many homeowners who feel it looks modern and trendsetting. If you want to add colour to your kitchen sink, you might decide to go with the fire clay or ceramic choices. Adding a kitchen sink with a distinctive color can add a lot of pizazz to your kitchen,

A relatively new development in kitchen sink design is their inclusion on kitchen islands. More and more new houses are being builtwith kitchen islands and the kitchen sink is being placed on those islands. This sometimes allows a bigger workspace around the sink because the whole island can be used.



Pots and pans are being made in larger sized now than they used to and as a result kitchen sinks need to be made larger as well. Some kitchen sink ideas have just one very large sink and others go as far as having three sink bowls.

Kitchen design ideas are ever evolving and the kitchen sink is an integral part of any kitchen design. Whatever type of kitchen sink you install today may very well look outdated 10 years from now. Nevertheless, it is fun to explore all the new and innovative kitchen sink colors and designs to make your kitchen look fantastic.

KITCHEN CABINET DESIGNS IDEAS

Kitchen cabinet designs play a huge part in the overall look and feel of your kitchen. The kitchen is always a central area of any home and the look and condition of your kitchen cabinets sets the tone for the whole house.

When you set out to choose your kitchen cabinets, you will most likely be looking for the best kitchen design advice. Choosing between cabinets that are stock, semi custom, or custom will be a big decision. Stock cabinets are what most people have and are usually the least expensive with the shortest wait. That doesn't mean, however, that you cannot find very nice stock kitchen cabinets that will do wonders to beautify your kitchen,

If you want something very specific and unique for your house then you will want to go with semi-custom or custom made kitchen cabinets. This type of cabinet will make your kitchen stand out from all the others and give it a personality all its own. While you will have to wait weeks or even months for your custom kichen cabinets to be designed and built, the good news is that once installed they will help raise the value of your home. They will cost more than stock cabinets but someday when you sell you should recoup some of your money.

The kitchen cabinet materials you choose will affect their prices greatly. For example, hardwood kitchen cabinets are the most expensive and cabinets made out of other woods will be cheaper. How much detailing you put into your kitchen cabinet design will also affect their price. You might even have kitchen cabinets that have glass in the front so that you can see into each cabinet but you must make sure that glass style suits the kitchen design.

Kitchen cabinetry is a major investment in any kitchen and you must remember that you will always be looking at them. If you skimp on the cost of your kitchen cabinets it will lower the decor and value of the kitchen as a whole. Kitchen cabinet design ideas are something that you should think about carefully and not make hasty decisions about.

BEST KITCHEN GRANITE COUNTERTOP IDEAS

Is it a good idea to get kitchen granite contertops for your kitchen? For sanitary reason, granite is one of the best surfaces you can choose to use for your kitchen.

Not only is granite one of the cleanest surfaces you can choose for your kithcen, it is one of the best looking as well. There are many different styles and colors of granite you can use and any one of them will make a great looking kitchen. Granite is a stone that has many different variations of clolor, tone, pattern, and texture. Even if you go into a showroom and pick out the granite you want, that is no guarantee that the granite delivered will look exactly the same. This is because no two slabs of granite look exactly alike and there are always minor differences in the colour.

Granite countertop ideas should take into consideration what kind of a kitchen you have. Not all kitchens design ideas will look good with granite countertops. Granite is a stone that most new houses are being built with and homes from twenty years ago and older never had granite kitchens. The kitchen design of older homes will not always look right if you try to update the kitchen with granite. If you are thinking of updating your old kitchen, it is best to make sure that granite countertops will look right in your new kitchen and not look out of place.

Kitchen granite countertops won't help you learn how to cook but they will add a touch of class to any kitchen. They are a great idea if you are looking for a kitchen update. Many new homes also now come with kitchen islands and those have granite kitchen countertops as well. If you do decide to install a new kitchen island in your kitchen, make sure that there is enough room for the island. Granite kitchen counters are easy to clean and maintain which is one reason why they have become so popular. If you live in the Orange County area you might check out Orange County Home Remodeling for granite countertops and more.

KITCHEN LCD TV'S IDEAS - KITCHEN UNDER CABINET TV'S

One of the newer kitchen design idea of the last 5 years or so is to get a color TV for the kitchen. Very popular are under-cabinet mounted TV units that combine a small LCD panel with a built-in DVD player, NTSC cable-ready tuner, and FM/AM radio. Most of these units are limited to a screen size of to 7-10 inches. These types of kitchen LCD TV's are great because of the advantages of not consuming counter space with a free-standing TV, not needing to stick a DVD player inside a cabinet and run A/V cables, etc. The under counter kitchen TV's are made for the kitchen so they are easy to install.

***For the best selection from Amazon of kitchen under cabinet TV'slike the one you see below click the link or the picture.


The other choice is to mount a kitchen TV on the wall somewhere. The big advantage here with a kitchen flat panel TV is that you can put in a larger size than the under cabinet TV and you can have more choices where you mount it. You might then have a bit of a problem with the cords and connections to the cable and have to do some drilling into the walls. These TV's are not specifically made for the kitchen and so they might be more of a challenge to design. With the wall mounted kitchen TV though, you have more kitchen design options and can become more creative with your ideas.

KITCHEN LIGHTING IDEAS

In today's big homes, the kitchen has become the center of activity. This is because the modern kitchen is being built much larger than kitchens of yesteryear. Kitchen lighting has become an important consideration knowing that much time will be spent in this room.

Kitchen lighting design does not have to be museum quality but it does have to be thought out carefully. As the kitchen is the busiest room in the house, the lighting needs to be able to accomodate all activities. It needs to be bright enough to cook and to maybe do homework on the kitchen counter and it also needs to be right for gatherings and parties.

Of all the kitchen design ideas, the lighting might be the most important because it sets the mood for your kitchen. You will have to decide whether you want track lighting, flourescent tube lighting, or some other type of lighting to produce the desired effect. In addition, lights may be placed under countertops and over sink areas to make the lighting functional.

The main light source in most kitchens is flourescent lighting but that may not produce the warm feel to your kitchen that you desire. In that case, you may want to replace the flourescent tubes with some sort of track lighting that will look much better and give the kitchen and updated look. LED lighting is becoming popular even though it is more expensive at the outset. Home LED lighting will indeed save you money and the case for LED lights become more compelling as energy prices rise and governments make new laws.

Accent lighting can be used strategically to highlight different parts of the kitchen that you would like to bring attention to. All sources of lighting must work together to create a great kitchen ambience. Proper and creative lighting is one of the kitchen design ideas that you should spend a fair amount of time on to make sure you get it just right.

EVERY KITCHEN NEEDS AN ISLAND

Out of all the kitchen design ideas to come along in the last 20 years, the kitchen island is by far the most popular. If you go house hunting, it will be very hard for you to find a new construction home with no kitchen island.

In order to have an island, the kitchen must be big enough or else it will just look silly. However, for kitchen areas that are big, the island adds depth and functionality. The kitchen island gives you more work space as well as more storage area. It allows you to have more room on the other counter tops along the walls as some of the appliances might be either stored in the island or put on top of it.

The kitchen island also just looks good, if done right. Probably the most important aspect of installing a island in your kitchen is making sure you have enough room to not only make it look right, but also to have enough room to maneuver. If it is in too small a place will end up being a disaster as it will look strange and take away room to work. You also have to have room for the kitchen stools you will want to put around the island so that people can sit and enjoy themselves.

When deciding what kind of island you would like to have, you need to decide whether you want something elaborate and custom built or something on the simple side. The more expensive kitchen islands now come with sinks, stove tops, small refrigerators, and washing machines. If you want all of those your kitchen should be quite large and it should look like it fits in and is not forced in.

A simple island with just a surface can still be one of the better kitchen design ideas if you don't have the room or budget to go with something more fancy. If your kitchen is not a "Martha Stewart" kitchen, don't feel like you have to get the whole deal. Something simple is often the thing that looks the best.

KITCHEN DESIGN IDEAS - GREAT KITCHENS

If you are looking for great kitchen design ideas the this book is a must read. The color photographs in Great Kitchens are beautiful and have great detail. The book maps out each kitchen as well, and gives the reader remarkable ideas for first-rate kitchen design, fixtures, appliances, storage , cabinets, ect. from each chefs personal home kitchen.



Great Kitchens has great inspiration on how to think about your kitchen space and how you use it. It's got some great ideas on how to think about your kitchen arrangement and storage options from people who KNOW what can get irritating very quickly. This book retails for $27.95 but you can get a cheaper price here - Great Kitchens
.

KITCHEN FLOOR IDEAS

The type of kitchen floor you choose will go far in determining the overall look and feel of your new kitchen. Different floor types make the kitchen look darker or lighter and that will contribute greatly to the ambiance of your kitchen.

When you start searching for kitchen design ideas, make sure you choose between floor styles that work with the rest of your kitchen. You want to make sure that the floor colour and style goes with the style of your cabinets, counter tops, appliances, and fixtures. Since the kitchen floor is such a big decision and project, it is probably best to decide on it right at the start. Your kitchen floor will help determine many of choices you face after that.

A great place to start all kitchen remodeling ideas is at your local library where you will find an array of kitchen design magazines that will help you get ideas of what you like and don't like. Do you prefer marble or hardwood floors and what are your choices with each of these? What types of counter tops do you like and what colors do you prefer? These and many of the other questions you must answer might be answered by looking at magazines.

Another way to get ideas is to start going to homes that are for sale that have open houses. There you can see and walk into many different kitchens which will greatly help you get an idea of what you like and don't like. Unlike the magazines, here you will be able to see what the real floors looks like. This exercise should give you lots of kitchen design ideas.

Kitchen floor choices range between hardwood and laminate floors to granite and stone floors. Your budget may be the determining factor in what you ultimately choose but you must also consider such things as how much wear and tear will your kitchen floors get and what style is important to you. Some types of floors are easier to install than others and this may also influence your choice. Once you pick your kitchen floor material, it is then time to start making other decisions for the rest of the kitchen design so that everything looks right together.

KITCHEN DESIGN COLOR IDEAS

Are you planning on redesigning your kitchen? If so, you are probably anxious to pick the right colors for your new kitchen. Picking the right color might be the most important decision you make because it sets the tone for the room. Picking the right colour may mean the difference between a great kitchen design idea that will give you pleasure for years to come or a poorly accentuated kitchen that never looks quite right.

When you start to plan all those kitchen design ideas, you should think about these ways we respond to the different colors:

Black
Black is usually associated with darkness and despair. It is also often associated with death so you might think twice before using this color. The color black will absorb light and unless you want your kitchen to be a depressing place, black should be used sparingly.

White
Very much the opposite of black, white works to reflect about 85% of light. White seems to make rooms seem brighter and larger. Unfortunately, white walls are vulnerable to scraping and marking and a kitchen environment might not be the best place for white with food flying all around.

Red
Darker shades of red will create a sense of warmth. Red will also act to stimulate and energize so it can be a very exciting and vibrant color for a kitchen. Afterall, the kitchen is an exciting place where many wonderful foods are created. Brighter reds may counterbalance neutral colors and add lexcitement to the kitchen.

Orange
Orange has some of the same characteristics of red and may work well with a kitchen. The brighter the orange you use, the more lively the room will become. A softer orange will tend to make the room more warm and welcoming.

Green
Green works will to balance red and orange. For a kitchen, a darker shade of green may work the same as black. It is probably best to stay away from the darker greens and and stick with the lighter shades.

Blue
It is said that blue works to calm the nervous system. It can soften bright rooms but is not too ofen used in a kitchen. Very similar to green, if a dark shade of blue is used it may end up with the same effect as black. The lighter shades of blue make people feel peaceful and comforted.

Yellow
Yellow is a fantastic color that is often used in kitchens. It is a cheery and stimulating color. Lighter yellows will work to make the kitchen feel larger. It is a powerful color though that is best not overused. Yellow is best used in combination with another color.

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