Create your dream kitchen—5 kitchen interior design tips from an expert!
Follow Interior Designer and Owner of The Cabinetry, Marlene Ketchen MacDonald's expert tips:
1. START THE PLANNING PROCESS EARLY
Starting early when planning a kitchen design can help to ensure that your project is successful, stays within budget, and meets your functional and aesthetic needs. We know that a kitchen design project is a big one and we will take the time together to answer your questions, thoughtfully select the design details, and prepare for and execute the renovation for you. If you have a kitchen design project in your future, now is a great time to schedule a consult to get your planning underway.
2. GATHER INSPIRATION PHOTOS AND IDEAS
We love seeing your inspiration photos and hearing your ideas about what you like (and don’t like). Start a Pinterest or Houzz board or just start saving the images in a folder so we can review them together. After we review your ideas, we’ll present our recommendations to you. We’ll do the heavy lifting for you and pull all the information together to serve as a starting point for our project. We’ll then work together and make tweaks along the way.
We also have clients who don’t gravitate toward design research and prefer to talk through it together—and that’s ok too! We have lots of inspiration photos we can review together to get your input and to facilitate the discussion around what you love. If you want to explore some fun inspiration images, our kitchen portfolio is a great place to start.
3. THINK THROUGH HOW YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL UTILIZE THE SPACE
The kitchen is often the center of activity in a home but every family uses it differently. Think through how your unique family uses the kitchen—or would like to use it.
Does one specific person do most of the cooking or do multiple people help out?
Do you entertain often?
Do you need a homework station or a home message center?
Would a beverage and snack fridge on the edge of the kitchen help keep the kitchen clear from little ones during the busy cooking moments?
We suggest keeping a notebook in the kitchen and inviting the entire family to think about how the kitchen can work better and ways your family would like to use space in the kitchen. Thinking about how your family will grow in the coming years is helpful too. It’s hard to imagine your toddler being a teenager or your future grandchildren requesting homemade cookies from you—but it’s possible!
4. TAKE AN INVENTORY OF WHAT YOU’LL WANT TO STORE
Think about the items you want to have close at hand in your dream kitchen and what items you want to have special storage for.
Are you a smoothie junkie who needs your Vitamix at the ready (but out of sight)?
Do you need your spice collection at arm’s reach from the cooktop?
Is your coffee station critical in the early hours but you want it hidden after the morning rush?
We love learning about how you and your family use your kitchen and what design features will make your kitchen your favorite place in your home. At The Cabinetry, we’ve been designing and remodeling kitchens for over 20 years, so we have lots of ideas and creative solutions.
5. WORK WITH A PROFESSIONAL + EXPERIENCED DESIGNER
By working with a professional kitchen designer, you’ll reap the benefits of their years of experience as well as their specialized training. They have a deep understanding of the latest trends, materials, and technologies and can offer valuable insight and guidance to help you make informed decisions about your kitchen design. At The Cabinetry, our team of experienced Kitchen Designers have decades of experience that can benefit your next home project.
Working with the Professional Kitchen Designers at The Cabinetry also allow you to:
Feel at ease knowing that your needs and desires have been heard. This gives you the peace of mind that your home remodel is in extremely capable hands from start to finish.
Ensure your end design is beautiful, unique, and customized to suit your style and preferences.
Get innovative design ideas that you may not have considered.
Access our DESIGN + BUILD Process that makes the entire experience easier, more streamlined—and more enjoyable for our clients.
Stay on budget and within your timeline—with no surprises. Our DESIGN + BUILD Process addresses the pain points our clients experienced with the traditional process model. We determine the cost earlier in the process and stick by the price identified so projects are completed faster and less expensively.
At The Cabinetry, we are invested in your project and its overall success. From the design phase to the finished product, you will have a team of experts dedicated to ensuring the process is efficient, clear, and leads to a finished product you will be thrilled with for years to come.
Today The Cabinetry is a robust team of experienced designers and project managers who have completed hundreds of renovations for many very happy (and relieved!) clients. We would be honored to support your next project. Contact us for your complimentary consultation in our showroom where we can learn about your project, discuss your budget, share our process, and discuss next steps.