10 Steps to Planning a Kitchen in Your Custom Home – Part 2

If you have not read Part 1, click here.

Step 3: Sketch Your Floor Plan

I am going to make the suggestion that you invest in floor plan software at this point. You can use graph paper and do it by hand if you like, but you can get a decent program off Amazon for under $50, and it will be far more effective (and you won’t wear out the eraser on your pencil).

First, you will need to lay out the square footage and shape of the room. From there, start to work in doorways and windows. Once you have the perimeter figured out, you can start to drop in the different elements you want to incorporate into the kitchen. Remember to incorporate every aspect, from appliances to counters to cabinets. This will give you a far better idea of how much space you will need and exactly what you can fit into the planned kitchen size for your construction.

Step 4: Get Creative Ideas

This is where things really start to get fun. First, decide if you want the kitchen to complement the rest of the home if you want to use it as a contrasting room. Once you have the actual narrative in mind, it is time to start to do some research. When I designed my kitchen, magazines and the internet were great, but the best ideas I got were from looking for homes for sale in the area and going to open houses. Nothing beats seeing it in person to get a feel if you really like it not. I bet I visited five or six dozen homes before I settled in a final design for my kitchen.

Step 5: Choose Your Materials for Cabinets

Now that you have a basic idea of what you want, you need to start thinking about the materials for some of the elements of the kitchen. I would avoid particleboard and wood veneer. They may be affordable, but they are not going to last long and will end up costing you more over the long haul. Fiberboard, hardwood, and plywood are going to be three of the more popular materials used for cabinets today.

Step 6: Choose Your Cabinet Color Scheme

Again, think if we are going to complement or contrast with your cabinet color. Your cabinets are likely the first thing people will notice when they walk in, so this is one of the more important choices you are going to make. White is popular, but it is also boring. I prefer shades of grey and darker greens for my cabinets (my current cabinets are a medium shade of grey).

Darker kitchens are very trendy, but be careful because trends fade very quickly. This is not to say that darker color cabinets will not work, because they can be offset by a lighter-colored backsplash and countertops. Just be careful in how dark you go because if you choose something too trendy, resale could be a problem down the road.

To continue to Part 3, click here.