How to design your dream kitchen from a professional designer perspective including floor plans, cabinetry, lighting, countertops, and similar. Lots of design tips and tricks!

1. Presented by
Cathy Briskorn & The Master Builders Association
Master Builders Association, NKBA, Remodeler Council of MBA

2. The Way You
Want to Live
 The kitchen is the new family room – the true heart
of the home

3. Making the Kitchen Work
 Who uses it?
 How do you use it?
 When do you use it?
 What do you do there?
 Kids? Pets?
 Entertaining?
 Do you need two dining tables?

4. Create zones: food prep, baking, canning, beverage service, etc.

5. Before: Kitchen had a small island with a cooktop, minimal
counter space, and no room for the family to gather

6. My Office
After: Large island with counter space for the entire family to
eat, socialize, make pizza, or play games

7. Before: Kitchen had cramped work spaces and
didn’t maximize the natural light

8. After: Opened up the wall to the large windows to maximize
light and traffic flow

9. Before:A pantry
After: A bar with
prep sink and
beverage fridge for
entertaining

10. Client wanted a large working island

11. Island includes main sink, prep sink, and cooktop

12. And ample room for multiple people to work

13. Before: Limited workspace for the master chef of the house

14. After: Larger island
with a cooktop …
and room for an
audience, so the
chef can share his
expertise

15. Plan dish storage so you can empty the dishwasher without
taking any steps

16. Put cooking utensils, spices, oils, etc. close to range

17. Make it easy to put away groceries

18. Before: Kitchen didn’t accommodate two cooks … or the fact
that they like to entertain

19. After: Multiple work stations easily accommodate two people

20. The entire space is utilized to enhance their lifestyle

21. … including a bar area for
entertaining

22. What will you use the island for?

23. • Ample counter space for baking and prep work
• Room for family to eat or for kids to do homework
• Wood countertop to make it feel more like a table

24. • Room for food
items, baking
supplies, and
kids’ crafts
• Less time
shopping and
more time
with the kids

25. It doesn’t need to be a walk-in pantry to store a lot
Before:The walk-in pantry cramped the work space

26. After: Room to work, and still plenty of storage

27. There’s even a hidden coffee station and shelves for display

28. Start with a Blank Slate
 Make a priority list
 Forget what’s in the kitchen now
 Sketch out the measurements on a blank sheet of
paper
 Remember that walls can be moved or opened up

29. Before: Clients wanted
to make the kitchen
more central to the
home, without the
wasted space of the
hallway and the long
walk from the entry to
the kitchen
Entry
Hallway
Dining Room
Laundry
Room
Table
Family
Room

30. After: All communal
rooms now stem off
the kitchen
The new plan eliminates
the hallway and opens up
the kitchen to the entry,
creating room for an
island and enhancing
flow for parties and
gatherings
Dining Room
Family
Room
Table
Entry

31. After:The view into the
kitchen from the entry,
with the long hallway
eliminated

32. After: Looking into the kitchen
from the dining room

33. Before: Separate
dining room, small
island, oversized
pantry

34. After: Expand the
kitchen into the
dining room,
create more
entertaining
space, add
cabinets in place
of pantry

35. Take a Test Ride

36. Tape off an area to show the new floor plan

37.  Use boxes for a new island or cabinets so you have to
actually walk around them
 Do normal activities to see how the new floor plan will
work
 Think about where you’ll set your grocery bags or
other items when you walk into the kitchen
 Consider all activities and go through the actual
motions to ensure the new kitchen will function the
way you expect it to

38. Focus on One
 One focal point keeps the room balanced
 Select what you want to be the biggest focus of the
room
 Make sure it’s the only one

39. • The range with dramatic hood is the focal point
• Ornate stucco hood, side spice pullouts and onyx mosaic
backsplash all help balance the scale of the 30” range

40. It needs to relate to the scale of the room

41. Before: No real focal point

42. After:The range is the focal point

43. Before:The island was the focal point

44. After: Another range as the focal point

45. Before:The window was the focal point … and it looked
directly into the neighbor’s house

46. After:The window has
been removed, and the
French-style range is the
focal point

47. Before:The refrigerator was the focal point

48. After:The island is the focal point

49. Before:The posts were the focal point

50. After:The pendant lights are the focal point

51. Think about …
Above & Below
 Don’t forget about the floor and ceiling

52. Before: Low ceiling
After: Raised cathedral
ceiling

53. Before:
Interesting ceiling
beams weren’t
emphasized
After: Added
detailing draws the
eye upward

54. Before
After: Inset tile so
we didn’t have to
fill in the wood
where the
peninsula was
removed

56. Maximize Your Work
Surface

57. Before
After: Island was
lowered to be all
counter height,
with curves
instead of sharp
angles

58. A large flat island can be ideal for prepping, serving,
and socializing

59. Before: Microwave took up
valuable counter space

60. After: Incorporated
microwave with wall
ovens to increase
counter space

61. Another solution: Put a microwave shelf in a pantry cabinet,
or in upper cabinets

62. Even more solutions: Under-counter microwaves or microwave
drawers, and “speed ovens”

63. Light it Up!
 The importance of lighting cannot be emphasized
enough
 Natural light
 General lighting
 Task lighting
 Ambient lighting

64. New windows and rain-sensing skylights open up the nook

65. After: New window offers more
light on the dark side of the house
Before:Taped off the new
window

66. After: A sunny new
expansion lightens up the
whole kitchen
Before:The kitchen was
small and dark

67. After: A large window, a glass door, and a skylight all bring in
natural light

68. Don’t skimp on overhead lighting

69. Add task lighting as needed

70. Consider multiple lighting options, and put everything on dimmers

71. Natural light, overhead light, task light, and ambient light all
work together or separately

72. Use glass shelves to light up glass-front cabinets

73. Outdoor kitchens can use the same lighting techniques

74. Make It Personal
 You should walk into your kitchen and know it’s
yours

75. Slate and glass mosaic
Slate, glass, and
metal mosaic

76. Glass mosaic
Glass subway tile and
mosaic

77. Custom tile mural
Custom stainless steel art

83. From this …

84. … to this!

85. Dream About the Way you
Want To Live
 Who uses it?
 How do you use it?
 When do you use it?
 What do you do there?
 Kids? Pets?
 Entertaining?
 Do you need two dining tables?

86. • Start with a Blank Slate
•Take aTest Ride
• Focus on One
•Above & Below
• MaximizeWork Surface
• Light It Up!
• Make It Personal

87. Thank you!