You can contact an interior designer or just search kitchen/bath magazines, which can provide you with plenty of kitchen decorating ideas. Only you really know your family’s needs. Before you make any definite plans, sit down with all your family members and ask them what they would like in a remodeled kitchen.
Once you have had your family’s input, the two key points to consider are the activities done entirely in the kitchen, such as cooking, eating, washing dishes, entertaining, etc., and traffic patterns through the kitchen. They are often at odds with one another, so expect to make some compromises.
A commonly used kitchen design concept is the kitchen triangle. This refers to the three most often used locations: the refrigerator/freezer, sink, and cooktop/range. When cooking, preparing, and serving foods, you will spend the majority of your time at or moving back and forth among these three areas.
These areas should form a triangle with no more than six to eight feet distance from one to another. The closer to each other they are, the more convenient it is for you. For example, if the range is a long distance from the sink, you may burn yourself carrying a pot to the sink to pour off some boiling water or meat juices.
If you are also replacing all your kitchen cabinets, you will have more flexibility in locating the refrigerator. Since it is the tallest appliance, its location will be limited by the existing cabinets.
Once you think you have it all planned for your cooking and serving convenience, next, consider the traffic patterns. You don’t want to have people coming in from the garage with their hands full when you are carrying hot pots to and from the range. Also, pay attention to how the refrigerator door will open, and don’t forget the additional space needed for the person opening its door.
You will want to have adequate counter space adjacent to each of the three major work areas. Counter space on each side of the range and sink is a must. You can get by with space only on one side of the refrigerator since the opened door blocks access to the other side. A counter width of 16 inches is ideal.
When you have arrived at a reasonable kitchen layout concept, use some graph paper and draw a scale layout of it with all the appliances. This will give you a much better feel for distances and clearance for traffic.
The final consideration is lighting. You will probably want to have fairly intense task lighting over the counter areas near the sink. Some track lighting with halogen bulbs will give the foods a more natural look. Low-intensity uplighting along the cabinet tops will produce soft reflected light from the ceiling. This is good for entertaining and dining.
