If you intend to do any kitchen makeover/renovation, getting inspiration from accomplished designers will help make your venture a sure success. One place where you can get useful design ideas is the 2013 KBDi Designer Awards, organized by the Kitchen & Bathroom Designers Institute.
In addition to being inspired by the design of the best designers, you should also keep in mind the main objective of your kitchen makeover. Do you intend to transform a messy room into a spacious and simple design; Will it be a glamorous and sophisticated kitchen space? Or do you just want to rearrange the furniture? If you don’t have a clear goal in mind, you could end up with a much worse design than you originally had, since you’ll get confused along the way.
Create a spacious and simple design within a small kitchen
Darren Genner’s winning design in the 2013 KBDi Designer Awards – Small Kitchen category represents a prime example of spaciousness and simplicity within a small kitchen space. You can easily choose some useful ideas to implement within your own kitchen makeover.
A simple, well-designed kitchen table would serve the same purpose as an extravagant kitchen island. In fact, for a small kitchen, I would prefer to replace the kitchen island with a kitchen table that does the double duty of preparing food and eating. Just make sure that the height of this table is at the level of a normal kitchen island.
All surfaces, including walls, cabinets, and floors, require light colors. This will create an illusion of extra space, as light can better reflect off such surfaces. It would be even better if it had large windows to let in natural light during the day. Avoid placing obstructions near this important light source.
You may also need to remove unnecessary cabinets, if they take up too much space. Alternatively, you can replace the large cabinets with smaller ones. Also be sure to only install low cabinets. Installing a pull-out pantry instead of cabinets would also save more space and increase utensil accessibility. To avoid the appearance of a cluttered space, you can hide some appliances inside specially designed cabinets.
A captivating and impressive kitchen design
Harris Bahtiyarov’s design, winner of the 2013 KBDi Designer Awards – Small Kitchen category, represents truly captivating and impressive design. This stunning look is largely achieved by two separate aspects: a relatively uniform background and an interesting focal point.
The relatively uniform background is achieved by applying two different shades of gray to the walls and cabinet surfaces to create a sleek look. This look goes well with appliances that have a stainless steel or black surface.
On the other hand, the kitchen island becomes an interesting focal point that stands out from the rest of the lights. You can accomplish this by resurfacing a plain, light-colored kitchen island with pressure-sensitive wood veneer or laminate. The robust color of natural wood grain will instantly stand out and add a captivating aura to the room.
To enhance the overall design, you can add attractive cabinets with glass doors to display utensils, ornately designed faucets and granite countertops. Don’t forget to apply wood laminate to the floor to complete the whole picture (use a lighter shade than the kitchen island so it doesn’t become the center of attention).
