<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">An Easy Guide to Remodeling the Kitchen</font></h2><p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">The kitchen is often the nerve center of the home. If it is large enough, you may not only use it for doing your cooking but also as a place to eat in. It is also home to many of your most important appliances, including your refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, and in many cases your washing machine. A kitchen also requires storage space and therefore needs plenty of cupboards.</span></p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">For this reason, your kitchen needs to be designed very well. There is nothing like a badly designed kitchen as an example of unrealized potential. </p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">So how do you remodel your kitchen? What do you need to look for when drawing up your <a href="http://www.design-ideas-for-kitchens.com/kitchen-designs.html" target="_blank">kitchen designs</a>?</p>  <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><span style="font-family: Symbol"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman’">      </span></span></span><span></span>The first thing you need to do is assess the space that you have at your disposal. Measure the size of your actual kitchen and then note down the location of the windows and doors. Where do you have power points and light fittings? And what is the story with water sources and piping?</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman’">      </span></span></span><span></span>Once you have worked this out, take a look practically and work out where you can fit in your refrigerator and other appliances. Where would you like to put your cabinets? Do they fit into the spaces that you have available? Or are you going to need <a href="http://www.design-ideas-for-kitchens.com/corner-kitchen-cabinet.html" target="_blank">corner kitchen cabinets</a>. Obviously, you would need to first find out the sizes of the cabinets and appliances that you wish to fit inside your new, dream kitchen. Once you have worked out all of these sizes and dimensions, it will be a lot easier for you to plan in a concrete, realistic manner.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman’">      </span></span></span><span></span>Another factor to take into account with your design choice is the kind of layout you are looking for – the shape of the kitchen. Would you be interested in an L-shaped kitchen, a one-wall kitchen, or the kind of kitchen where you have plenty of islands floating around? Your decision will depend on the area of the kitchen, the size of your appliances, and the kind of traffic that comes in and out all the time.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-family: Symbol"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman’">      </span></span></span><span></span>Now the time has come to choose your cabinets. Here, you should take a good long look at the various styles on the market and decide what suits you the most. Which kind of material do you want? What about the kind of doors and the way they open? Do you like a country-style wood or do you prefer a more modernist, clinical white kitchen? When making your choice, think about how easy it is fit and also to keep clean.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in" class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-family: Symbol"><span>·<span style="font: 7pt ‘Times New Roman’">      </span></span></span><span></span>Another very important part of the kitchen is the flooring. The best kind of materials don’t only look good but are also durable, resistant to heat and moisture, are easy to clean, and are not slippery when wet. This last factor is particularly important if you have children or senior citizens living with you because a slippery floor can be dangerous.</p>  <div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/2b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/2b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Once you have examined all of the above factors and also worked out which appliances and fittings are best for your kitchen, the next question is money. Before you start, price out what needs to be done and then ask yourself if you have the available funds. If not, would you be able to manage the payments on a loan? If this is not taken into account, you could end up with only some of the work done, which could be disastrous.</p>  <p><span style="line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt; font-size: 10pt">Good luck with your kitchen planning. If you do it sensibly, you will hopefully end up with the kitchen of your dreams.</span></p></span>