Notice when you visit someone’s house that the party ends up in the kitchen?   Fighting it doesn’t change the fact that people love the kitchen.  The kitchen is the heart of the home -family and friends gathering to talk, socializing and entertaining.  No wonder kitchen renovations improve the value of your home and your lifestyle.

Here are some easy and ‘almost free’ ideas to get you started in creating your perfect kitchen.

• Most of us can relate to some form of kitchen clutter.  “My cupboards are a mess and I can’t find anything!  Arghh!”  Let’s take back control of our own kitchens.  First step – organize those cupboards.  How many empty yogurt containers do you really need anyway? 

• Take stock of what you need to cook and entertain with– appliances, containers, mixing bowls, cookbooks, pare it down, and then re-organize them in your cupboards by those same categories.  Mixing bowls will now always be in the same place.  Save time and energy and (very likely), create much needed space.   More on this later.

• Show off those counters!  Nothing is more unsightly than a messy kitchen counter covered with every small appliance you own!  As useful as they all are, workspace is probably more desirable.  Remember that cupboard space you just freed up in Step One?  Move everything into all those shelves. Now, look at all that counterspace!

• Good lighting is key.   Think of your kitchen like you do your office.   Create ambiance with task and accent lighting. It can be one of the quickest and  most cost effective changes you’ll make.  Consider the “zones” of your kitchen – zone 1:  work zone 2: entertain.   

Check out our blog on “Extensive Kitchen Makeovers” for more details – it will be published sometime in January. If you can’t wait that long, send us a comment/email with your question.