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Finding Some More Space In many cases, existing kitchens are just too small for any real improvement in space management. Learn where to get more space, or at least the illusion of more space for your new kitchen.

The Design Process If your plans include substantial changes to your kitchen, then a construction plan is required. Learn how your ideas are turned into a concept plan and then a construction blueprint in a three-step process using computer-assisted design.

The Rules of Kitchen Design. In 1944 the University of Illinois conducted a study of kitchen design and developed fundamental design principals that have been modified periodically from time to time, but are still very much in use today. Here are the 31 rules of designing great kitchens.

Cabinet Basics There's oak, maple, hickory, ash, cherry. Faced and unfaced. Framed and frameless. Custom, semi-custom and manufactured. MDF, Melamine®, ThermofoilIreg;, even steel. So many choices. How do you pick the cabinets that are just right for you? Click here to find out.

Flooring Options for Kitchens and Baths Tile, wood, stone, vinyl, ceramic, laminated flooring. What are the pros and cons of each? Learn the fundamentals of kitchen flooring.

New and Traditional Countertop Choices Exciting changes are happening in the world of counter top materials. Options that simply did not exist 10 years ago are in every home store today. Is composite, laminate, stone or tile your best choice? Or maybe something more exotic. Take a look at the incredible selection of modern counter top materials.

Designing Efficient and Effective Kitchen Lighting The kitchen is more than just a place to cook and eat. It usually serves as the administrative and the social hub of the home. The kitchen uses a lot of energy for lighting. That makes this room an important place to use efficient lighting. While remodeling your kitchen, you have the perfect opportunity to create a highly efficient lighting system. Find out how.

For even more good reading, check out our complete articles index. Behind the Scenes - The Hidden Kitchen
For more good reading, check out our complete articles index.

Putting together a new kitchen is not a trivial process. Besides the obvious considerations: new cabinets, appliances, a new floor and paint or wallpaper, there are structural considerations. The structure is invisible, and not very pretty, but very important. Without adequate electricity, lighting, plumbing, heating and venting -- all the new cabinets and The part of the kitchen hidden from view is just as important as the part you see everyday. appliances won't result in a workable or safe kitchen. So let's take a look at structure.

Electrical Requirements Almost all kitchens more than 10 years old are under-powered. Electricians and builders of old simply could not predict the number of large and small appliances found in most kitchens today. Depending on the age of your house, you can expect only one or two receptacle circuits, with illumination pulled from a general lighting circuit powering all ceiling lights. Safety is another important issue, as most older kitchens do not have ground-fault-protected circuits that are absolutely required by safety codes today.

In a complete kitchen overhaul, upgrading the wiring is fairly easy, if there is enough room for new breakers in the service panel. Often the panel is too small. Lacking enough room for expansion, a panel and service upgrade is a must. The job will run $600 to $1200 in most markets, and is always money well spent.

As for powering a new kitchen, large appliances that produce either heat or cold need their own dedicated circuits. This includes the refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher, although in most areas it is permissible to combine a dishwasher and food disposer on one circuit. Avoid plugging a computer into a circuit that is serving a spike producing microwave oven — unless you just like the interesting on-screen effects. Electric ranges, cook-tops and ovens each require their own 220-volt circuit.

If your kitchen is large enough, try to power the above-counter receptacles with two 20-amp circuits. These usually serve small appliances like blenders, coffee makers, and microwaves that will appreciate the extra power — and show their appreciation by not overloading the circuit. Best practice, not always followed, is to power every other outlet above a counter top from a different circuit. This ensures that at least some outlets have power if one circuit fails, something that only seems to happen when you are in the middle of fixing Thanksgiving dinner. Electrical codes now require ground fault interrupter protection within 6 ft. of the sink. Island and peninsula cabinets must also be wired with receptacles, with "wet" islands requiring GFCIs. Best practice, however, is to GFCI-protect all above-counter outlets.

Most electrical codes require an above-counter duplex outlet a minimum of every four feet — closer is better, of course — and it usually costs very little more to install four-plex rather than duplex outlets, doubling your plug-in capacity. As a general rule, when in doubt, and when possible, provide more, not less electricity. There is no such thing as too much.

If you have an appliance garage, include an outlet or two inside the garage. The allows you to leave the appliances plugged in so you need only pull them out to use them. Outlets inside cabinets can power a television and stereo equipment. Consider your lighting needs too. That dark cavern under the sink can be well lit by a 40 watt bulb in a simple pull-chain fixture under the sink.

Lighting Basics Many kitchens are poorly lighted. The light from a single fixture centered overhead is usually blocked by your own body as you work at the counter. Wall cabinets also block head light, leaving the primary food-prep spaces darker than the rest of the room. And it's not just the age of the kitchen that matters — it's also the age of the cook. Experts say that people over the age of 50 require at least 100% more light to read than they did when they were 20. The solution? More versatile, task-oriented light in more places.

A good combination of general and task lighting illuminates this food preparation area. Photo courtesy the Home Store. Fluorescent under cabinet lights can make a big difference and cost very little to install and operate. Expect a typical fixture to cost less than $25. Not every cabinet will need a fluorescent light, but those nearest your primary work spaces should have them.

Recessed CFL fixtures can also brighten a workspace inexpensively and do double duty when controlled by a dimmer switch. At full power, they're task lights, at one-third power they're accent lights. When shopping for recessed fixtures, opt for the slightly more expensive zero-clearance models if you live in a single-story house. These can stand direct contact with attic insulation.

While line voltage (110v) fixtures are still popular, the tiny but mighty low-voltage halogen and xenon alternatives are gaining ground pretty quickly. Used primarily as accent lights, their advantages are compact design, energy efficiency and a certain minimalist understatement. These give off a bright white light and if not placed properly can seem harsh and glaring, so design is important.

Some fixtures are so compact that they fit invisibly beneath wall cabinets and even inside dinnerware and curio cabinets. Some fixtures have their own voltage reducing transformers, while in other cases, several fixtures are ganged together. A 100-watt transformer, for example, could serve five 20-watt lamps. Some of the small fixtures come in strip light form, with lamps in fixed positions, while miniature tracks allow a variety of twist-in lamp holders. Most applications blend exposed spots with concealed puck lights (the shape and size of a hockey puck) for the best coverage.

The disadvantages? These small lights are expensive, often costing two to three times that of standard incandescent fixtures. Halogen lamps also burn very hot, so care is needed in keeping them away from combustibles. Some manufacturers substitute xenon for halogen to reduce the heat output for some applications. Give as much thought and planning to lighting as you can. Most retail lighting dealers will be able to lead you through the maze of options.

When planning your lighting, keep in mind that the standard Type-A incandescent light bulb is banned in the U. S. after January 1, 2014, so plan for it.

Read more about efficient kitchen lighting design in Designing Efficient and Effective Kitchen Lighting.

Plumbing, Heating and Ventilation Most extensive kitchen remodels require some changes in plumbing, heating and ventilation piping. Unless your changes will be minor, this work requires the assistance of a professional. All perimeter-wall drain lines must be vented through the roof. If you're lucky, you might be able to tap an existing vent pipe, but many older kitchens were inadequately vented from the start.

Stylish range hoods to complement your kitchen cabinets are readily available. If you install an island cabinet with a sink, the drain line serving that sink cannot be vented conventionally. In this case, an automatic-vent device or a barometric (loop) vent is required. A licensed plumber will know which is best for your situation.

Changes in the house heating and air conditioning systems are usually not required to remodel a kitchen in an existing space. What will almost always be required is a new exhaust vent over the cooking surface. Ventilation hoods, once the stepchildren of kitchen design, have increasingly become kitchen design focal points. The range of designer hoods, both manufactured and custom made is expanding daily. But before you pick a design, make sure the fundamental requirements are met:
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