How to Design Your Own Kitchen Cabinets

by Meraljane Paras

kitchen pictures
Introduction
Here are some tips for designing your own kitchen cabinet. Based from my experience from the kitchen we built for our house.
Instructions
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You'll Need
Home renovation magazines
Steps
1
Step One
Click to enlargeFirst measure your kitchen. You can either measure it yourself or ask a contractor to measure it for you. At the beginning you don’t need an exact measurement.
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Step Two
Click to enlargeGet inspirational designs from catalogs, kitchen show case, kitchen stores, watch home improvement shows or go to HGTV.COM and take a note what you want to be included in your kitchen. You can either have custom closets, pick your own design, or just do kitchen refacing,or choose from different kitchen cabinet displays available. It is cheaper to pick a stock kitchen cabinet because it is produce in large quantity.
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Step Three
Think about who is going to use the kitchen, how many will cook at the same time, and how you are going to use the kitchen,and do you have a special kitchen cabinet needs you want to be included in your design.
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Step Four
Click to enlargeThink about your kitchen equipment and how you want to store it. Consider the location, space and function. Make sure you have enough storage, especially for the big and bulky kitchen gadgets.
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Step Five
Click to enlargeCreate a sketch of where you want to position your major appliances, the stove, the refrigerator, the sink and the microwave. Ikea has a tool that will help you design your cabinet http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/10470/
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Step Six
Click to enlargeBase on your cooking style, lay out what type of kitchen cabinet you want to use. Imagine how you will store your pantry, your plates and all kitchen equipment. Considering these factors will guide you how to lay out your cabinets. Also think of ways which will help you find and store things easily. You can choose to have a lazy Suzan, pull out cabinets, spice racks, cleaning supplies storage, and big open pantry cabinets.
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Step Seven
The Kitchen is something we use everyday so make sure you use durable materials and handle for your kitchen cabinet. I prefer a knob cabinet handle rather than the traditional one because there is less contact with the kitchen cabinet and leaves less finger marks on the cabinet. In terms of color, consider that kitchen can get worn and get dirty easily due to heavy use.
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Step Eight
Click to enlargeDiscuss your design with your kitchen contractor, shop for cheap materials, consider your budget, make necessary adjustment and start building your kitchen cabinet.

Find this article at: http://www.ehow.com/how_4764678_design-own-kitchen-cabinets.html