Kitchen Renovation Tips 

1 Make Your Kitchen Interesting. 
Instead of looking like a showroom, let your kitchen reflect what use you need to make of it. It may also look like what you want it to be in terms of style and character. Start with a piece of furniture that you like and build your kitchen around that.

2 Incorporate an adjacent dining room. 
A clever design, plus the appropriate lighting and furniture, will let you adapt the room's atmosphere to suit any occasion. Consider a banquette design combined with slipcovered chairs for an efficient use of space.

3 Stick to basic appliances. 
Instead of lots of appliances and gadgets, consider selecting a few reliable basics. For example, a commercial-quality stainless-steel range makes an interesting focal point and takes up less space than separate wall ovens and a cooktop.

4 Avoid maintenance nightmares. 
Natural surfaces with inherent texture -- slate, terra-cotta, brick and tumbled marble -- are more difficult to clean but camouflage the odd crumb. Smooth surfaces in light colours, such as white laminate counters or ceramic floors, are easy to clean but show everything. And as much as we love stainless steel, it's not easy to keep smudge-free.

5 Don't overdo the details. 
Design accents such as pediments over stoves and plaster mouldings on cabinet fronts can represent decorative excess. Remember that the style of your kitchen should be compatible with the rest of your home. 

6 Install an island that works. 
Beware of placing a bulky cube in the middle of the room. We like islands that have an open, airy look. Ideally, an island should be unencumbered by appliances, but if you want it to house a dishwasher-sink combo or a cooktop, try to maintain the light look of a leggy harvest table.

7 Select an elegant countertop. 
White granite counter top and an earth tone stained wood add elegance and warmth. You may also choose to have any other matching color to the type of wood cabinetry or painted doors that you might have.

8 Decide whether to paint or stain. 
A stained wood cabinetry is nice but can sometimes become old quickly. Spray painted cabinets can have a personality all on its own. 

9 Determine cabinet heights. 
If you have eight-foot ceilings, choose cabinets that go to the ceiling. They offer more storage, enabling you to use extra wall space for artwork or open shelves. If your ceilings are higher than eight feet, leave 15 to 18 inches above the cabinets.

10 Use good quality materials.
-quality drawer slides and hinges mean cabinet doors will stay closed and drawers won't stick. Avoid drawers that are stapled together or those made of particleboard. For cabinet interiors, wood veneer is more durable than melamine or MDF.