[interior design ideas for the kitchen: appliances, flooring & countertops] hi, i'm nadia geller, interior designer for homestyler. [nadia geller, interior designer] today i'm going to help you choose floors, appliances and countertops for your kitchen remodel. first things first, start researching. look through magazines and design books. take photos of kitchens you like, and ask questions of your friends. keep everything together in a binder so you can refer to it as you go through the process.
there are so many options that the project may seem overwhelming at first. [www.homestyler.com] this is where a good design program can really help. i like homestyler. it's a free online service that helps you visualize your ideas in a real design layout, so you can actually see how things will look. get going by entering your kitchen's dimensions and placing the cabinets according to your current floorplan. now, start at your feet. what kind of flooring do you like?
tile, wood, laminate, there's even concrete. plug your favorites into your layout, and then switch your view to 3d to see how they look with your cabinets. experiment with different styles and textures. maybe you've always loved the look of pine floors, but will they work with your cabinets? once you have some idea of the floor you want, move on to your countertops. think about what kind of surface you want. there's man-made, stone and tile.
now pick a few and see how they'll look with the floors you liked. next step, appliances. what kind will you need? standard, chef or commercial grade? do you cook a lot of meals? will you host a big family dinner once a year? take stock of both your daily and occasional kitchen needs. the program lets you click on "appliances," even different brand names and finishes. you drag and drop them into your kitchen layouts.
now that you have the basics in, you can start playing with fixtures. look carefully at these. it's an important decision, because you really want them both to look good and function well. there's nothing worse than a tricky faucet. play around; indulge your imagination. and save your designs online so you can come back to them later, or share them and get ideas and feedback from friends. [choosing floors, appliances, countertops] [examine a variety of flooring and countertop styles]
[take stock of your daily and occasional kitchen needs] [make sure fixtures look good and function well] [www.homestyler.com] trying lots of things now will help you be more confident when you do finally make those expensive decisions. i'm nadia geller. to start designing your dream kitchen today, go to homestyler.com. [to start designing today, go to www.homestyler.com]