Remodeling Your Tacoma Kitchen? 8 Great Remodeling and Design Ideas
If your kitchen is outdated, cramped, or just not meeting your needs, a kitchen remodel might be just the thing. But where should you start? It can be hard to know exactly what your kitchen needs to make it a place where memories are made along with food, where friends and family gather, and where you love to spend time.
When you remodel your kitchen using a design-build company like Massey Remodel + Design, a professional designer will walk you through every step of the process and every decision you need to make, offering guidance, support, and ideas. But it can help to begin thinking through some options and dreaming about what your kitchen remodel might entail. Keep reading for eight great ideas.
Number One: Change the Layout
Changing the orientation of your kitchen, moving cabinets, adding or relocating an island, and moving appliances can make a massive difference in how the space functions. In years past, designers planned kitchens around the kitchen triangle: the sink, fridge, and stove made up the triangle’s three points. Today, kitchens are planned in terms of zones: a food prep zone, a cooking zone, a cleanup zone, and sometimes others as well. Changing the kitchen’s layout and reworking the zones can increase its functionality and improve its flow.
Consider taking down walls to make your kitchen feel more open and connected to the rest of the home. Reorient the kitchen toward a view of the backyard or a patio. Add or rework an island to make it a functional hub of the space, perfect for food prep and gathering. These are just a few options to consider when it comes to changing the layout.
Number Two: Add a Prep Kitchen or Butler’s Pantry
Prep kitchens, sculleries, and butler’s pantries are becoming increasingly popular—and with good reason. They allow more space for storage, food prep, and clean-up, while keeping the main kitchen tidy and clutter-free. These small rooms often have a sink, counter space, cabinets or shelves, and maybe even a second oven or fridge. Especially for homeowners who love to entertain, a kitchen remodel that includes one of these additions is a great idea. Read this blog post for more information.
Number Three: Play with Color
While all-white kitchens will probably always be popular, today’s spaces lean into color. Whether you love deep jewel tones, playful pops of color, calming nature-inspired shades, classic neutrals, or even beautifully patterned wallpaper, a kitchen remodel is a great time to inject a little color into your space.
You can easily add color in the following areas:
The island: Use a contrasting color from your kitchen cabinets to make it a focal point.
The backsplash: Neutral or colorful tiles, or even patterned tiles, add both color and texture and set the kitchen apart.
Cabinets: Paint the kitchen cabinets a deep green, stunning black, or calming light blue. You can paint all the cabinets, or just the lower ones (and keep the uppers white or wood-toned).
Flooring: Wood floors are a beautiful way to add color and texture to your kitchen. Pattered tiles are a bold choice, too! And if you want something more temporary, try rugs that complement your kitchen’s style.
Number Four: Use Lighting to Set the Tone
Layering different types of lighting in your kitchen allows you to use the right type for the right task. It also adds interest and depth to your kitchen, making it a welcoming and visually appealing space.
Use gentle, atmospheric lighting when you’re eating a meal or winding down at the end of the day. Dimmers can be great for this.
Use bright task lighting for food prep and clean-up. This might be under-cabinet lighting or pendant lights over the island.
Use accent lighting to highlight architectural features and areas where you need extra light. Track lighting, puck lights, and lamps meet this need.
Use ambient lighting to light up the whole room. Your overhead light generally provides this.
You can make a stunning light fixture into a focal point and use it to set the tone stylistically for the rest of the space. Visually weighty pendant lights over the kitchen island or sink, or an eye-catching chandelier, are great here.
Number Five: Add More Storage
No one has ever said that their kitchen has too much storage! The addition of thoughtful storage solutions is one of the best reasons to remodel your Tacoma kitchen. Spend some time thinking about how you use the space and where new storage would make the most sense. For example, if you love baking but hate digging around in a cabinet for mixing bowls, try using deep drawers to hold them instead.
Appliance garages give you space to store small appliances like blenders, mixers, coffee makers, and more, keeping them out of sight but easy to access. Pull-out or pull-down shelving allows easier access to hard-to-reach areas like the back of high cabinets. And you can never go wrong with simply adding more drawers and cabinets, a kitchen remodel that might make all the difference for you.
Number Six: Make It Smart
Adding smart appliances to your kitchen is a great idea. They save time, energy, and resources, and the convenience they offer will make you wonder how you ever did without them. Consider some of the following options, or talk with your Pierce or King County kitchen remodeler to help you decide what smart features will make the biggest difference in your life.
Smart ovens: Smart ovens let you preheat your oven remotely, check on the food from your phone, use presets to make sure your food is baked to perfection, and use scan-to-cook technology for frozen food.
Smart dishwashers: With this appliance, you can start or stop cycles from your phone, create customized cycles, get notified if there’s a leak, and use energy-saving features to manage how much water is used.
Smart fridges: Never forget what you need at the store again. Smart fridges allow you to monitor what’s inside with cameras, and even get suggestions on what to cook based on what you already have. Use a touch screen to create a grocery list or even order groceries. And make use of vacation mode settings or other energy-saving features.
These are just some of the most popular smart appliances for kitchens, but the sky is the limit when it comes to making your kitchen smarter and harder working.
Number Seven: Save Some Space
Your South King or Pierce County kitchen remodel wouldn’t be complete without some space-saving ideas put into practice. Talk to your kitchen designer about how you can make the most of every inch of space in your kitchen.
Use a microwave drawer to free up counter space, installed into your island for easy access. Go vertical with a pot rack, magnetic knife strips, hooks, and high shelves (for items you use less often). Use deep drawers for pots, pans, and even dishes, and use a lazy susan in corner cabinets for easy access to that awkward spot. Install a hidden pull-out trash bin. And use a work station sink that can easily transform into more prep or serving space.
And if your kitchen is just too small, consider a bump-out. Adding a few extra square feet might not seem like much, but if it’s carefully designed, it can make a huge difference in the feel and function of your space.
Number Eight: Personalize It
The best thing about a kitchen remodel is the chance to really make the space your own. It should reflect your personality, support your lifestyle, and welcome you and your loved ones in. When it comes to design, the best colors and materials are the ones that you love most. A designer can help you bring your likes and dislikes together into a cohesive design that looks and feels perfect.
Your kitchen should have space for the things you love and the ways you use the room:
A big island if you have kids who need space to do homework.
A place to display precious heirloom dishes.
A coffee or wet bar if you love a good cuppa or glass of wine.
A cozy breakfast nook for when you want a slow Saturday morning.
A counter space with a mixer nearby for your sourdough hobby.
Whatever you want and need your kitchen to be, a well-designed remodel can make it happen. Our design-build team is ready to meet with you, help you design the perfect space, and then bring it to life. Contact us today to get the conversation started.