Use the following kitchen design tips only as a guide.

To get a good idea on all the possibilities, visit builder's show homes. Not only will you see the latest in layouts and finishes, you'll also get a pretty good idea of what's popular. That popularity usually translates to higher resale value later on. You can also get ideas from remodeling and home fashion magazines. Home shows offer another opportunity to get ideas.

As you find ideas you like, place sketches, notes, brochures, photocopies, etc. in an idea file. Later, a designer can help you try to work all your favorite features into a good kitchen plan. Bear in mind that basically, contractors tend to be strong on construction but weak on design. Architects are of little use unless they specialize in kitchens and in remodeling rather than new construction. While their designs are often glorious, they are famous for designing things that cost much more than the budget allows. There are, of course, exceptions to all these generalities.

Counter Space: Even large kitchens are difficult to work in if there isn't enough counter space. Plan to cover as much of the area not occupied with appliances with counter tops. 

Choosing Countertops

Countertops are generally made from materials that are durable and, in most cases, easy to maintain. If you're looking at countertops, the material you choose will depend on your budget and the appearance and serviceable qualities you want.

Stone Types

Natural stone, such as granite, is considered to be the height of elegance and will last longer than most kitchens. Stone, however, is very expensive and requires some care. 

Storage: Squeeze as many cabinets into your design as possible. You should also think about the placement of cabinets in relation to appliances. Deep cabinets that can hold plates should be located near the dishwasher, and large cabinets with slide-out drawers should be placed near the oven. The fewer unnecessary steps needed to complete a task, the smoother the function of your kitchen will be.

Built-Ins: Built-in ovens, microwaves and storage for small appliances will make your kitchen appear less cluttered. Waist high sliding shelves that hold mixers and toasters can quickly get small appliances out of sight, but keep them easily at hand. Built-in storage for foods like potatoes and onions, and bread storage cabinets will also give the kitchen a cleaner look.

Roll-Out Pantry: If there isn't enough room for a closet pantry, many cabinet manufacturers now make roll-out pantries. These can be pulled out to view the items you have, but rolled back again. If there isn't room for any type of pantry, consider converting a closet outside of the kitchen to a storage area for fine china, large pots and infrequently used items.

Lighting: An easily overlooked design element is good lighting. Under counter lighting and clean halogen lights can make the space appear larger and more comfortable.

Sinks: A small kitchen does not have to have a small sink! A large sink will make it easier for you to clean large pots and pans, and is a great place to stash the dirty pots before you have a chance to rinse them. If you are in an apartment or a small house, a large sink in the kitchen can serve double duty as a utility sink.

Here are some kitchen 'Do's and 'Don'ts

The following list covers a number of the considerations that should go into the final decisions about kitchen design layout and implementation. It is not meant to be a list of absolutes. Sometimes you'll want to compromise because an item simply won't fit with the plan you really want and sometimes because you've got your own pet idea that's counter to the item in the list. The decisions are a very personal thing with you and your house will reflect that.

1. DO put the dishwasher adjacent to the sink. While there isn't as much rinsing of dishes needed before they go into the dishwasher as there was a few years ago, it's hard to imagine loading a dishwasher where nothing gets a preliminary rinse or scrubbing. When they're wet and there's a separation between dishwasher and sink, it means extra attention to keep from dripping on the floor. And most of us would like to be able to scrape the dishes into the sink and then not have to take steps to reach the dishwasher.

   You'll often see dishwashers in the same counter as the sink but separated by a metre or so. That's just plain unfriendly and unthinking. And you'll see them in a cabinet at 90 degrees, which is a way to avoid putting them in a corner but it still doesn't solve the drip problem nor the need to take a step to load the dishwasher.

2. DON'T put a dishwasher in a corner. It is a common unfriendly thing to have in a kitchen. You'll find this in an unbelievably large number of kitchen designs. The problem is that when the dishwasher door is open there are cupboards and cabinets that are unreachable so that when the dishwasher is unloaded you have to handle dishes and pots and pans twice to put them away...once to set them on the counter and then, after you've closed the door, to store them in the cupboards that were blocked before.

3. DON'T put a refrigerator in a corner. Often when a refrigerator is in a corner, its' door won't swing past straight out - it will hit the wall. There are shelves on refrigerator doors and these will limit access to the interior of the refrigerator when the door is only as open as it can get when it hits a wall. If this is on the freezer side of a side-by-side refrigerator, the door shelves will not let you pull the inside bins or shelves out more than part way.

4. DO leave space in front of an oven door so that you can stand there when you're taking something in or out. If you haven't had the experience of trying to take a large roast out of a hot oven when you have to stand to one side, don't start now. It doesn't work. You should be able to stand in front of the oven, open the door, lean over and reach whatever's inside.

   The same problem of getting something out of an oven also happens when it's mounted too close to the floor.

5. DO have convenient landing areas for the stove top, the ovens and the refrigerator. Ones where you don't have to walk around a door to set things down.

   For the stove top this is usually easy, the adjacent counter is convenient. For ovens it may take a little more planning to be sure that there's a counter next to the cabinet that has the oven in it.

   The same goes for the microwave oven. But you may have another out here if you put a pullout shelf just below it where you can set things you're putting into or taking out of the oven.

   For a refrigerator things can be more complex. An adjacent counter won't work for a side-by-side refrigerator (you would have to walk around an open door to reach it). A counter, which is in front of the refrigerator and no more than a step away, is ideal. 

6. DO keep the distances short:

   • between the sink work area and the cooking area,

   • between the sink work area and the refrigerator and

   • between the sink work area and the microwave oven.

   And don't have an island or peninsula you have to go around. The distance from the refrigerator to the cooking area or the refrigerator to the microwave oven are not as critical because you move food between them less frequently. Having any of them separated from the sink by an island or peninsula is most unfriendly.

7. DO remember smaller kitchen appliances. We are getting and using them more and more. Do make sure there is room on the countertop for them when they're in use and, if you want them stored off the counter when not in use, be sure you have a place for that.

8. DO, if space is available, have a kitchen desk-type area where you can keep cookbooks, recipes, and appliance instruction information. And don't forget a place for the telephone and perhaps even for a computer. The latter, in today's cyber environment, could well be a part of a larger system which provides the means of high-speed Internet connections to every room in the house as well as home-wide intercommunications and alarm systems.

9. DO watch kitchen corners where above-the-counter cupboards and below-the-counter cabinets will go. In both cases a little planning can avoid virtually inaccessible corners that plague so many homes. Cupboards shaped like trapezoids can fit into a corner and have 45-degree doors that allow easy access. If you plan properly you may well be able to use the bottom of such cupboards for small appliance storage.

10. DO carefully consider the kitchen layout in terms of traffic, both within the kitchen and between the kitchen and the rest of the house - there should be no through traffic where people are working. Look at the work areas discussed earlier and add to those another consideration, people collecting dirty dishes from the eating area and carrying them to the sink and dishwasher. This eating area may be an island, a peninsula, a table in an adjacent breakfast nook, or of course the dining room.

11. DO consider cabinet access carefully. You may want a walk-in pantry and, if you have room, go for it. And do take a hard look at using pullout shelves in cabinets wherever you can. They just make it so much easier in accessing whatever is stored in them.

12. DO remember lighting. It should be substantial and not an after thought. Can-type floodlights work fine, whether in a flat or a sloped ceiling. Don't forget the kitchen sink, it deserves a light of its own and do consider what you can put under cabinets over the counter work areas. There are unobtrusive lights that make a much more enjoyable workplace.

13. DON'T forget switches and outlets. You decide what to have and where they should go, don't leave it solely to the electrician. He might or might not give you what you want if you don't speak up. He will know about codes and be sure that you're ideas are OK in that respect. It's worth taking the time to plan ahead.