Simple Kitchen Design Ideas

When you're trying to plan your kitchen, there are so many things that can go wrong. Here are 5 simple kitchen design ideas to keep you on track from start to finish.

Measure everything - you need to get the tape measure out and note down the precise dimensions of every part of your kitchen. These numbers are important at many different stages along the design process. If you choose to use kitchen design software later down the line, having these measurements to hand will help you get things done far quicker.

List everything - write down a list of essential things you must have in your kitchen design. These will be the first things you try to fit in. Once you've got everything you need in there, you can make a list of the things you'd 'like to have' in your kitchen that perhaps aren't essential. Lists are useful in kitchen design and help you keep everything organised.

Keep it together- make sure that all your kitchen design documents are kept together. Otherwise, at some stage you can guarantee that something you need will go missing at the worst possible time and you'll be turning your house upside down to find it. Receipts, bills and other documentation are all important. Invest in a proper file and at the very least throw everything into it. Even if you don't keep things organised, you'll at least know where to look.

Get technical - use kitchen design software to create a detailed 3D image of your kitchen instead of just a crude one dimensional sketch. This will give you a much better idea of how your finished kitchen will look and allow you to change the things that perhaps don't look as you'd originally envisaged.

Enjoy yourself - none of these kitchen design ideas will make a bit of different to you unless you're enthusiastic and pro-active in your design. Take a genuine interest and get involved with everything. Your reward will be a unique kitchen that's every bit as stylish and functional as you'd hoped.

Looking for kitchen design tips that will add character and charm, but won't break the bank? The secret to innovative yet inexpensive kitchen renovation ideas is in the finishing touches. Try these 5 kitchen design tips and see what a lift attention to small details can bring.

1. Open your uppers - Remove the doors on your upper cabinets to give a more contemporary and a more spacious feel...Fill and sand down holes left from the hinge screws...Then paint or finish natural.

Paint or finish the interiors to match the lower cabinets...Or, paint the cabinet interiors an accent color for some extra flair.

2. Splashy Seconds - Transform the look of your kitchen with a new full height tile back-splash. By full height, I mean the space between the top of your lower cabinets to the bottom of your uppers--usually about 18 inches (45 - 46 cm).

Because the area is relatively small, material costs for your back-splash will normally be low...But, you can really cash in on some high-end savings by buying seconds. These are tiles with imperfections--most of them barely noticeable, if at all. I have found great deals on some of the more expensive tiles. Many outfits sell these tiles by the pound...usually 50% to 80% off.

Some clients even request seconds because they feel the flaws and blemishes bring character.

3. Vintage-look Flooring - Add some pizazz with a new floor made of old-school material: linoleum.

Linoleum tiles are easy to install...easy to clean...and, naturally anti-microbial.

4. Hardware Heaven - Update your cabinets by changing out the knobs or pulls as we call them.

If your cabinets have a natural wood finish, you'll probably want to find new hardware with the same "footprint" as your old stuff, so that the new pulls cover the old screw holes. If your cabinets are painted, you can fill and touch up any old holes or marks