Choosing the material and style you want for your kitchen cabinets can be overwhelming and time-consuming. The choices might seem endless, so it’s a good idea to do your homework and plan out what you need before embarking on a trip to the home renovation store. First off, be honest with yourself – if the idea of ripping out your old cabinets and installing new ones seems too daunting, consider avoiding the stress and potential mess of it all by getting a professional to install the cabinets for you. Keep in mind that while this solution obviously creates less work for you, the price of your remodeling project will be considerably higher. In the end the decision is yours on how much time, effort and money you’re willing to invest in the project.
When you’re planning, try mapping out your new kitchen on a sheet of paper with scaled measurements of your actual kitchen. This will give you a good idea of how much room you have to play with and where things will fit best. If you are planning to install a kitchen island, make sure you allow yourself enough room to move around your kitchen with ease.
When creating a space for your stove, make it at minimum 30 inches wide, even if your stove is only 27 inches wide. The new standard stove size is 30 inches, so by creating an opening that will accommodate one this size, you eliminate the need to do it later when you have to buy a replacement.
The design or layout of your kitchen cabinets will be based on the space you have available. When designing your cabinets, keep in mind the kitchen appliances that will be or are already installed such as a fridge, stove, dishwasher or even a washer and a dryer. Small appliances installed on the counter such as a microwave, toaster oven, rice cooker or blender can also affect your layout.
The basic design for kitchen cabinets is a straight line across the longest wall. It’s the easiest to build, but isn’t the most creative layout. Other popular shapes are the L and the U, but the shape you choose will ultimately depend on the space you have available. Regardless of which design you decide on, it is generally a good idea to plan to have the fridge and stove a fair distance away from each other – the heat from the stove could affect how well your refrigerator works.
When deciding on installing or renovating your kitchen cabinets, there are several
