Follow these steps to avoid the trouble spots and end up with the kitchen of your dreams

Ensure a happy and successful kitchen remodel by planning ahead, researching features and keeping expectations in check.

1. Take time to plan

Planning is a critical step in any remodeling project, and it is never more important than in the kitchen. The first step toward achieving your “dream” kitchen starts with a critique of your current setup. What works?

What doesn’t? Think about ways you prepare food now, or how you might in the future. Will you have more than one cook preparing meals at one time? Do you prefer cooking a special type of cuisine that requires more counter or storage space? The most effective design accommodates the way you actually work and live in the kitchen.

2. Think task, think foot-friendly

The floor plan is key to great kitchen design. The most efficient layout of elements allows you and your family to cook and use the room with ease and comfort. Traditionally, designers group common elements in a work triangle or station. For example, you could have a preparation/cooking station with a

separate clean-up area. The clean-up work triangle could include a dishwasher, sink, counterspace and recycling center. These elements would be close to one another for maximum efficiency. The goal is to minimize the number of steps between various tasks and to avoid unnecessarily crossing the kitchen. Keep in mind how traffic flows through the room. Kids and family members traipsing through your work triangle reduces the efficiency of the space.

3. Get beyond the blueprints

Refuse to join the “I-Didn’t-Know-It-Would- Look-Like-That” club. It is imperative that you understand what your plans will look like when constructed. Most homeowners have trouble envisioning what a room will look like based on a flat line drawing. A three-dimensional design plan generated on a computer can help. But there’s no substitute for real-life examples. Visit a showroom that has life-size models of various rooms and products. Sketch out a full-scale outline of your kitchen plan in chalk on your garage or basement floor. For colored items, ask to see a large section of the available hues before

ordering. Bold colors can look great on a small scale, but they can quickly overwhelm you when covering a large surface. Don’t rely on your imagination for these important decisions.

4. Collect ideas and options

There’s nothing worse than finishing a remodeling project only to discover the perfect detail you wished you had added. Take the time to research all of your options. Make it your business to know what’s on the market and what’s coming soon. Investigate products. Find out the pros and cons of various options. Clip photos of layouts that inspire or excite you. Allow yourself the luxury of considering a number of design possibilities. You’ll live with your decisions a long time.

5. Don’t skimp on storage

Is your good china stored in a bedroom closet? Are you tired of stuffing those extra plastic containers in odd nooks and corners?
This is the time to inventory the types of items you want to store in the kitchen, including those items you’ve “temporarily” stashed in the attic and basement. Decide what you want to store and where you want to store it. There are many innovative new cabinet accessories designed with efficient storage in mind. For maximum efficiency, link storage with your work stations, placing spice containers, for example, within easy reach of the cooktop.