WALKER: Six kitchen layout tips you should know if you are renovating | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kelowna News

WALKER: Six kitchen layout tips you should know if you are renovating

Mark Walker is a real estate agent and the broker/owner of Kelowna’s Walker Real Estate.
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OPINION


If you’re planning a kitchen renovation in your new Kelowna home or you’re sprucing things up before you sell your home, a great layout will never go amiss. A kitchen renovation is one of the most expensive undertakings but it is also the most rewarding. Take it from me, when it comes to real estate, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in any home.

Here are our six tips for a great kitchen layout...

Consider how you engage with your kitchen

What is your family structure? What does the morning routine or evening meal look like? Do you love to entertain and host holiday dinners? Do you need a place for the kids to do homework or to set up your laptop and send out those emails while dinner is in the oven?

Keep a notebook handy for a few months and make a note of the things that you love and hate about the current kitchen. Your kitchen needs to fit your life, not the other way around.

Practice prepping a meal in your new layout

Once you’ve got your new layout sketched, create a mock kitchen that matches the dimensions. This can be as simple as taping out the layout on the garage floor or using string in the backyard. Then practice walking around the space as you “cook” a complex meal. You may find that the kitchen island is just a bit too long!

Give careful thought to your appliances

You don’t have to buy the most expensive fridge on the market, but you certainly don’t want to leave the appliances to chance either. Consider which way the refrigerator door swings and how much room you have to leave for it. Can you leave the dishwasher door open and get something out of the oven at the same time?

Clever storage solutions are your new friend

If you’re going to the trouble of renovating your kitchen, you may as well allow some room for hidden luxuries! There are tons of cool kitchen storage pieces available, including turntables for corner cabinets, flip-out drawers for under sinks, and racks for storing pot lids.

Analyze your traffic flow

It can be easy to get caught up in how you will be using the kitchen, but don’t forget to think of others too. Will guests be in your way if they want to grab a drink from the fridge? Is your oven too easy for tiny hands to get at? If your kitchen is the link between different rooms, have you left enough space for people to walk through without bumping into the cook?

Where is the kitchen located?

Is your kitchen at the back of the house, overlooking the backyard or at the front of the house, facing the street? Which direction does the window face and when does the light stream in? A west-facing window can make the kitchen hotter in the evening so you will want to account for good blinds or consider repositioning the window to a different wall.

If you have any questions about Kelowna real estate, please contact me directly. It would be my pleasure to chat with you and answer any questions that you may have. I can be reached at 250-764-4344 or Mark@KelownaProperties.com.

Mark Walker is a real estate agent and the broker/owner of Kelowna’s Walker Real Estate. His company runs the website KelownaProperties.com - Kelowna’s most comprehensive real estate search tool.


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