Kitchen Remodel Do's & Don'ts

TOP 5 KITCHEN LAYOUTS FOR FLIPS

One of the most popular rooms in a home for your buyers and a crucial room that can make or break your return on investment is the kitchen. The kitchen is the room that can make the biggest direct impact on both first impressions and in your renovation budget, which is why we decided to help you pick the 5 best kitchen layouts that can help you increase the value of your investment and make home buyers fall in love with house.

Design and Style

Not every kitchen is created equal and therefore you must design your kitchen making sure that it matches your house's style and not the other way around. Remember, this is an investment and removing emotion and your individual taste is probably one of the best things you can do. You are trying to appeal to the masses and not everyone likes what you like so be careful with what you choose. Also, unless you are willing to match the style of the kitchen throughout the house and spend the money that it takes to do so, then you are better off staying with a more conservative and traditional style and design to keep your project under budget. Many buyers like modern-contemporary kitchens but mixing different styles such as contemporary, traditional, rustic, craftsman and others throughout will not always work well so make sure you stay consistent in the style you choose.

Main Workstations

Most kitchens follow a simple three stage design that fit as workstations for the main activities going on in the kitchen which are cooking, eating and cleaning. The top 5 layouts that we have picked, are ideal for these three stage design and fit these main activities.

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1) L-Shape Kitchen

The L-Shape Kitchen layout, is a great solution that can help you maximize corner spaces where 2 adjoining walls meet. These design also helps open up the floor plan where a breakfast nook or table can meet the cabinets. This is a great kitchen layout for entertaining and to help the kitchen feel bigger than it actually is. Larger L-Shaped kitchens can often accommodate an island where either a sink or additional seating area can be arranged.






2) Peninsula Kitchen

A Peninsula kitchen is one that starts as a L-shape kitchen but a connected island turns this kitchen layout into a horse shoe. The connected island or peninsula work just like a regular island but for smaller spaces where a regular stand alone island may not fit. This is a great layout for small spaces such as condos or small homes where the peninsula can be used to expand the entertainment area of the kitchen without jeopardizing the limited space.






3) Horseshoe Kitchen

A horseshoe or U-shaped kitchen has 3 walls of cabinets and appliances. Today, this design has evolved with the use of islands in the kitchen using 2 walls and an island to make the Horseshoe layout while allowing for traffic in and out of the kitchen by going around the island. This design works very well for small spaces where you may need more than one cook in the kitchen.







4) Kitchen with Islands

Kitchen islands are the most popular and most used kitchens today as it always adds additional storage and more surface area for those cooking or eating. Kitchen islands can be used for cooking by adding a cook-top in the middle of the island, for cleaning by adding a sink to wash the dishes at or for eating by adding bar like stools around it to entertain your guests. These kitchen layouts are very functional but the reality is that not every kitchen has enough space to include this feature.





5) One-Wall Kitchen

A single-wall kitchen also known as the Pullman kitchen work very well for limited space. Single-wall kitchens with long running counter tops often open up to other rooms such as the great room. Often, homeowners like to add a generous island that can serve multiple functions, including more storage, cooking, eating and seating area. Although One-Wall kitchens were originally designed for small narrow rooms, these are now often employed in sizable food preparation areas to add a special design feature to most kitchens.




There are many other kitchen layouts that can work for you depending on the shape you use to align your cabinets while you maximize space. These other layouts include the galley, wedge shape, curvilinear and many more.  Make sure you draw out your plan before you commit to a specific layout that can help you visualize the end result and remember to remove emotion and personal taste out of the equation if you want to stay within budget.

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