- Matt finish tiles/stones or anything with open pores should be avoided in back splash or the dado area of the kitchen. No Grouting should be given to avoid the dirt getting stuck in them no matter how well silicone filling you do. Keep some spare matching color silicon if you still somehow want it.
- The golden triangle rule should be followed while designing the hob, sink and the refrigerator to avoid any practical working issues in the kitchen.
- Try and put the refrigerator near to the entry/exit of the kitchen, so that you are not travelling all the way till the end of the kitchen for water or anything from the fridge.
- The cutlery tray should be avoided in getting placed right below the hob as it gets inconvenient for the others to take the cutlery and the chef has to be disturbed every time while cooking. Even for the chef its advised to have everything placed on the right or left(dominant hand) and not right at the bottom of the cooking range.
- Give additional counter sockets well in advance so that you don’t see wires stretching every time you need to plug an appliance. But place them in a designer manner as the disorganized ones might look like an eyesore on the tiles.
- While putting the tiles make sure you measure the wall and divide them equally so that there are on uneven corners on either side of the walls. Better to make a tiling drawing here with the accurate size of the tile that you will be putting.
- List of the appliances to be used should be made well in advance especially the ones that need plumbing as redoing that will require a lot of civil breakage. Dishwasher and garbage crusher.
- Take tall cabinets for the built in oven and microwave and coffee maker to save the counter space and to avoid the hassle to move them.
- The corners are a challenge to be utilized for maximum storage. Options like D’s and L’s , carousels, magic corners come to help big time in these scenarios.
- Keep the shutter as light as you can to avoid the hinges getting loose or them falling. Wide range of materials are available now – HDFs, MDFs , smart glass, acrylics, Pre laminated boards.
- Dual dustbin under the counter to segregate the biodegradable and non bio waste.
- Please consider taking a slightly bigger hood in comparison to the hob that you are putting for better suction keeping in mind the traditional Indian cooking style. Like tadka and all.
- Granite still works as the best counter tops for the Indian kitchens. Now available in wide variety of designs and colors. My favorite from a long time now is the black galaxy. Other options like quartz, tile and marbles can be considered as well.
- While laying the floor, the slope of the kitchen must be kept in mind and should be given towards the sink area. The refrigerator trap should have a slope too.
- Lighter colors and glossy finishes of the shutters to be avoided in lower cabinets due to cleaning issues one might face later. Mopping marks and scratches are quite obvious in the lower cabinets.
- It’s advised to give a dummy skirting/plinth of 4”-5” made in aluminum in the kitchen so that the same can be removed when you want to do a deep cleaning of the kitchen.
- The gas pipeline route to be planned well in advance while designing the kitchen so that there is less breakage at the time of the connection.
- A good suction exhaust fan in addition to a hood is a must.
- Under cabinet lights in the top cabinets to be given to have a lit counter space. The ceiling lights should be having good wattage because the more the better in case of lighting up a kitchen.
- Give a detachable sink mixer so that it can be used to clean the counter, washing the vegetables.
- Always prefer a bigger dual bowl sink for better practical usage and if the space allows have a separate wet are in the kitchen so that all the mess is hidden in a separate corner.
- Having a drip tray above the sink is a life savior. So that all the wet dishes are hidden and the water doesn’t spill on the kitchen counter but falls right into the sink.
- Keep all the storage requirements well written in advance so that while planning the cabinetry one can give dedicated compartments to them. Bigger grain and oil storage cans are always a challenge if not planned in advance.
- Choose the bigger handles for the below cabinets or go handle less and rather have them grooved inside the shutter only.
- Choose the above cabinets with the glass shutter only if you have a beautiful cutlery of container boxes and they might become an eyesore if not well maintained.
- Have an EPT drawing made before starting the civil work will save you a lot of time and design hassles.
- Place marble or granite vertical columns around the sink to avoid any of the internal woodwork from getting spoiled.
- Advised to put a 8 or 10 mm ply at the back of the cabinets for additional support and strength in the above cabinets.
- Advised to have an aluminum frame work done before starting to put your cabinets in the kitchen.
- Pro tip – Make all the grooves in coordination with one another to make it look more beautiful. Example – align the cabinet shutter joint with the tile joint and the counter joint.
- The height of the working counter to be kept keeping in mind the height of the person who will be using it. In case of modular kitchen the same can be achieved with decreasing the plinth height so that no compromise in made on the storage part.
- While designing the kitchen keep few filler margins towards the end of the wall, because there are chances that the wall is not a 90 degree straight wall and the wall tile margin is another factor to be considered here.
- Kitchen should be installed at the end of any project, when the last coat of the paint is only left.
