Kitchen Improvements - Plan, Plan, Plan
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th

Planning is the first step to improving your kitchen. Fail toplan and you could face problems with the new look of thekitchen, not to mention your wallet.

Kitchen Planning

We've come a long way from the old days when kitchen planningconsisted of being sure there was a "work triangle" formed bythe stove, sink, and refrigerator with counter space adjacent toeach point. That's still good logic, but we've come a long waypast that.

There are fashions in everything. It's



now fashionable to be agood cook. Home kitchens frequently reflect the preferences ofprofessional chefs. Ergo. Brushed steel appliances and gasranges with more than four burners abound. It takes someplanning to create a kitchen in which it's easy to picture agood cook at work, even more to actually be that kind of kitchen.

It's necessary to answer some questions in order to plan a goodkitchen. Do you want to be able to socialize there? Will you becooking for frequent dinner parties or large family gatherings?Is there more than one cook in the household? Does someone inthe family like to bake? Are quickie meals for family membersabout to go off to some athletic event a frequent consideration?How many of these activities are likely to happen at the sametime?

A kitchen planner can be a great helper and doesn't have to addto the expense. Home Depot and Lowes have some surprisinglyskillful folks working in their kitchen departments. Upscaleappliances can often be bought at places which employ excellentplanners who will work with you at no extra charge. No matterwhat price range you're in, when you get to the point ofchoosing appliances, it's a good idea to check them out atConsumerReports.org before buying.

Don't Go Wild

The usual caveat of all improvements applies to your kitchenwork. Don't over build the neighborhood. If you live in an oldneighborhood with Formica counter tops, for example, switchingto Corrian probably makes sense. On the other hand, changing togranite or marble probably doesn't. Use the sorts of materialsthat are used in homes currently being built in the same pricerange as your neighborhood.

About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing FSBOhomes For Sale By Owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to list and sell your homefor free for one month. Visithttp://www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.cfm to see homes for sale byowner.

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