Kitchen Cabinet Mistakes to Avoid During Your Remodel
A new kitchen is a worthwhile investment for any home. Looks and functionality-wise, it will always add value to your property. However, one thing you don’t want to forget while remodeling your kitchen is the cabinets. The primary function of a kitchen is to cook and prepare food, so it needs to be highly functional. However, if you don’t want to make kitchen remodeling mistakes, you need to avoid these kitchen cabinet mistakes as well.
Furnishing the kitchen, therefore, has a series of parameters to respect. However, sometimes, while fitting kitchen cabinets, one can overlook seemingly essential details and fall victim to kitchen cabinet mistakes which otherwise are easily avoidable.
Here are some common kitchen cabinet mistakes that prevent you from utilizing the space properly and clutter the room too much. Read along to learn in detail about kitchen cabinet mistakes and how to avoid them during your kitchen remodel.
Contents
Not Evaluating The Space
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The first step to remodeling a kitchen is evaluating the space. A perfect kitchen fitted with all the right accessories and storage cabinets starts with a careful evaluation of the space.
Failing to do so may result in design flaws that will hamper the functionality and aesthetics of the kitchen. Opting for storage cabinets without considering the dimensions of the kitchen can prove to be one of the most significant kitchen cabinet mistakes.
Not only will they be impractical, but they will also visually burden the space. Further, instead of ill-fitted bulky or too small kitchen furniture, go with kitchen cabinets representing a functional and super-contemporary solution.
Overlooking the Height
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One of the most overlooked aspects of redesigning a kitchen is the height, which otherwise offers tons of storage options to optimize and utilize space.
It is imperative while designing a kitchen, especially when there is not much space available, to consider the height. The gap between the wall units and the ceiling is a significant space that is often overlooked.
Overlooking height is a great kitchen cabinet mistake that homeowners often commit. The space between the cabinets and the ceiling should not be left empty.
Spending more on purchasing cabinets that develop at greater height will allow you not to waste space and have more area to store kitchen accessories and other utensils.
Not Choosing Sizeable Cabinets
Homeowners mostly think of kitchen furniture as design elements. It surprisingly is a prevalent trend, especially in modern furniture. For this reason, manufacturers design kitchens with light wall units, focussing mainly on the looks. Consequently, it sometimes leaves a lot of space.
However, it’s not practical as day-to-day life is dominated by functionality. A lot of other things find their place inside kitchen cabinets. You have utensils and pots, dishes, glasses, and even the food items which go into kitchen cabinets.
In a nutshell, it is not wise to get overly drawn towards the look and neglect functionality. Avoid emphasizing too much on aesthetics as it sacrifices the capacity of the cabinets.
It is better to insert a series of tall and sizable wall units with a lot of space than to choose some designer cabinets with little space to put anything.
Using Doors in Countertop Cabinetry
While not as much of a kitchen cabinet mistake, cabinet doors usually restrict the movement around the kitchen. Besides, kitchen cabinets with doors require you to kneel to grab something from the cabinet. Moreover, in cabinets with doors, you often end up wasting the space behind the doors.
On the other hand, cabinets with sliding shelves offer much more practicality and ease of access. The contents of the cabinet slide towards you, so you have a perfect overview of the cabinet’s contents right into the deepest corners.
Besides the functionality and ergonomic aspect, cabinets with sliding drawers also increase the storage capacity of your kitchen. It is worth noting that cabinets with moving shelves offer up to 25% more storage space than regular cabinets with doors.
Too Many Small Cabinets
One mistake homeowners generally commit while fitting their kitchen with cabinets is that they opt for too many cabinets with smaller dimensions.
You should not assume that more cabinets mean more storage space. The aim should be to optimize the space for maximum efficiency. Interestingly, fewer separate cabinets of larger dimensions allow you to utilize the space better. Larger cabinets also mean more storage space.
A 90 cm drawer offers 25% more storage space than two 45 cm cabinets if you trust the numbers. Multiple smaller cabinets clutter the space without providing any practical solution. On the other hand, strategically placed larger cabinets open up space while allowing you extra storage capacity.
Overlooking The Quality
While designing the kitchen, you have a budget to stick to. Although, if you want your kitchen to be in good shape for a longer period, you should never compromise on the quality.
The same goes for the kitchen cabinets. The choice of material is one of the fundamental aspects to obtain a valid and functional result.
When furnishing a kitchen, you must avoid a poor-quality product if you want to maintain its structure for a longer duration without losing on functionality.
Therefore, you should always choose sturdy materials even if they cost a bit more. For kitchen cabinets, avoid chipboard, which is often made with poor-quality wood. Instead, opt for solid wood cabinets, which combine both durability and aesthetics.
No Dedicated Pantry Area
The kitchen is where you prepare meals and you need the right space to store everything. Of course, many things could go into the refrigerator, but not all. In the absence of a dedicated pantry area, all these food items go into kitchen cabinets often overly stuffed beforehand.
Therefore, it’s recommended that you arrange kitchen furniture to make some space for the pantry. One way to solve this issue is to install add-on shelves in blind corners of the kitchen.
Furthermore, you don’t these areas much. When you have enough cabinets, make sure to dedicate one to only store food items.