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Kitchen Planning Guide
Here's a starting place for planning a new or remodeled kitchen. These will lead to still more questions.
How big a project?
- Do you plan to do some remodeling to your present kitchen or tear it out and start over?
- Do you want to work with/are you working with an architect?
- Have you already lined up a contractor? Would you like help finding one?
- What is your budget range for this project?
- What factors in your life might influence the project? (Work or travel schedules, needs of people living there, other work being done on your home, etc.)
How will you use your kitchen?
- Do you cook alone or with others? How many people will work in your kitchen at the same time?
- Do people gather in your kitchen to visit while you cook?
- Is your kitchen the place where everyone winds up when you entertain?
- What kinds of cooking activities consume most of your time in the kitchen: chopping, mixing, baking, short-order, stovetop preparation, reheating?
- Will you keep your present appliances or get new ones?
- What food preparation equipment do you use most: food processor, blender, stand mixer, hand mixer, coffeemaker, coffee grinder, toaster, toaster oven, popcorn popper, mixing bowls, chopping block, specialized pans?
- What are your kitchen habits: clean as you go, make big messes and clean it all at the end, experiment with new recipes/foods/equipment, toss things into the sink and fill it up?
- Do you have special interests or collections that need display or storage space: wine, antique spoons, cookbooks, potted plants, handmade soup bowls by your favorite ceramist?
- What are your storage needs? Do you have more than one set of dishes, glasses for every type of beverage, multiple storage or food prep containers? Do you buy food in large quantities?
- How is your kitchen used other than for cooking? Do you eat meals or snacks there? Do the kids do homework and projects? Does the kitchen double as a crafts center?
- Do you want a space for planning menus, keeping the calendar, paying bills, talking on the phone? Do you want a computer in your kitchen?
What makes you happy?
- What do you enjoy about your current kitchen? What annoys you about it?
- What personality traits do you want your kitchen to have: sophisticated, homey, elegant, efficient, funky, welcoming, hands-off?
- What styles, colors, wood tones, and materials appeal to you?
- What do you want others to experience when they come into your kitchen?
- Do you want music or a TV in your kitchen?
- Are quiet appliances important to you?