A Dream Kitchen Remodel For Anyone

Your kitchen is the heart of your home. Gather ideas and inspiration for your dream kitchen from these simple remodel and makeover tips.

Some people consider the kitchen the heart of their home. It’s where food and family come together at the beginning and end of each day. That’s why you want to make sure that everything in your kitchen, from your cookware to your cabinetry, is a tasteful blend of functionality and design perfection.

Here are seven kitchen remodel ideas that will help you make your dream kitchen a reality, whether you’re tweaking things on a budget or tackling a total remodel.
 

Stop the slamming.

If you consider slamming cabinets and drawers a pet peeve, hydraulic hardware is for you. Soft-close cabinets are sure to maintain (relative) peace in your kitchen, and they're easy to close! There's something luxuriously wonderful about drawers that secure gently and quietly.
 

Style your sink.

 

A colorful sink is the best way to add visual interest to a neutral kitchen palette. A muted blue, green or yellow sink is a nice touch that doesn’t overwhelm the senses.

Bonus: Try picking a sink that accents your backsplash for consistency. (You do have a backsplash, don't you?)

If a colorful sink isn’t your style, go the farmhouse-chic route with a traditional apron-front sink. These elegant sinks with deep basins look fantastic and provide amazing practicality to make meal prep and kitchen cleanup that much easier:

"Apron-front sinks have never gone out of style," says interior designer Christine Baumann. "They add a timeless focal point to any kitchen. From a practical standpoint, they're deep enough to hold large pots and platters for easier cleanup—a shorter person can even benefit from better access to the sink."
 

Integrate your appliances.

 

Historically, kitchens were separated from the rest of the home by walls and doors. Modern layouts, however, integrate the kitchen with the rest of the home, so why not make it look more like your other rooms? Appliances, expensive or not, stick out like a sore thumb. Blend them with the rest of the space using wood paneling or matching finishes. "Hiding" your dishwasher, refrigerator and trash bin behind the same facade as the rest of your kitchen adds a layer of elegance and sophistication that houseguests will always remember.
 

Lighten up.

 

Adding bold light fixtures is an easy way to highlight your kitchen’s features. While many kitchens come equipped with canned or fluorescents lights, adding a chandelier or pendant light can bring perceived height to your ceiling and create a bright atmosphere to cook and dine in. Don't consider just one type of light, either. Finding a unique mixture of pendant lights, spotlights, tea lights, uplighting and downlighting can bring a new energy and feel to the room. Hang lights in and under cabinets to shine down onto your counters and backsplash or down onto your floors. Looking for something extra unique? Consider installing lights in your drawers that turn on and off as you slide them open.
 

Maximize storage space.

Whether you’re in a cozy apartment with a galley kitchen or a sprawling house with plenty of counter space, organized storage is a must. Get more out of your space by adding an extra tier to larger drawers, doubling the amount they can hold. If you’re feeling crafty, you can even remove a fake drawer front to create a paper towel holder. These are great ways to keep everything in place, and relieve counter space, so can you have plenty of room for cooking.
 

Quartz is the new granite.

 

Take the look and feel of your entire kitchen to the next level with one sweeping kitchen update: quartz countertops. Heat-resistant and nonporous materials meet durable and flattering colors in quartz, the most popular trend in contemporary kitchen design.
 

Cook like a pro.

You don’t have to work in a restaurant to use commercial-grade appliances. Chefs and parents alike will benefit from adding heavy-duty, high-quality stoves, ovens, microwaves and refrigerators to their kitchens. Take your cooking pedigree to the next level, and your kitchen’s aesthetic will follow right along with it. Doing a quick Internet search for your local restaurant supply store should help point you in the direction of this professional-grade equipment.

If you're looking for bells and whistles, you're in for a treat. Modern appliances come with incredible high-tech features like the ability to control settings from a smart phone app.
 

 

 

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