Product Description

The Kitchen Planner takes the confusion out of kitchen redesign and puts the fun back in. Filled with advice and suggestions for everything from a quick touch-up to a complete makeover, this innovative guide covers it all. The uniquely designed section of tri-split pages allows for effortless mixing and matching of wall colours, cabinetry, and floors. The reusable stickers and layout grid make it simple to experiment with a variety of floor plans. And the informational charts - written specifically for singles, couples, families, and people with special needs - make it a breeze to plan the perfect kitchen for a particular lifestyle. Packed with colour photographs, resourceful text, and countless expert suggestions, The Kitchen Planner is a practical, convenient, and necessary tool for any kitchen remodelling project.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378798 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 112 pages

From Amazon.com
Designing or remodeling a kitchen should be a practical venture, but also a fun one--a concept that also applies to Suzanne Ardley's The Kitchen Planner book. This interactive workbook will stimulate both creative and workable ideas about designing your new kitchen.

Ardley begins by advising readers to create a kitchen based on individual needs. What is the layout of the kitchen you're working with: One- or two-walled galley, L-shaped, U-shaped, or an island? Is the kitchen used by a single person, a couple, or a family? By someone with special accessibility needs? Ardley discusses the benefits and limitations of each floor plan for each type of person.

She also explains the logistics of laying out your kitchen properly, taking into account its multiple functions as a food-preparation and cooking area, serving and eating area, food- and dish-storage area, and--as most party hosts know--a social area. Use the graph paper and the stickers at the back of the book to arrange and rearrange your layout, using Ardley's tips as a guide. For example, she suggests that the sink (the most-used part of a kitchen) be easily accessible from the food preparation areas, and that the dishwasher be located as close to the sink as possible so dishes can be easily rinsed off then stacked in the dishwasher.

Besides planning a layout, you'll also need to decide on the look you'd like for your kitchen. A flipbook section of The Kitchen Planner lets you experiment with different styles (traditional or modern), color schemes, and floor coverings, while color photographs throughout should also spur your imagination.

It's obvious that Ardley has put much thought into the most efficient and practical layouts and use of space for kitchens of every type--even offering advice on kitchen equipment, surfaces, and finishes. She suggests several quick-fix options that may solve a kitchen problem without your having to resort to an entire remodel. The result is an eminently usable planner. --Kris Law

From Library Journal
This attractive, fun book allows readers to custom design their own kitchen using spiral-bound pages split into three sections (illustrating walls, cabinets, and floors) to help visualize how different colors and materials look together. Floor plans can be created by employing reusable plastic stickers and a layout grid inside the book's covers (much like playing with Colorforms). The text includes tips on how to create an entire new kitchen or simply to update what one has with "quick fixes."
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Suzanne Ardley, former design editor of Ideal Home, has contributed to many magazines, including Homes & Gardens, and her former client list includes Laura Ashley. She lives in England.

Customer Reviews

Cute workbook
This is a hands-on design book. Great for those that are starting to design or redesign their kitchens(daydreamers too). Included is a split page design that allows you to mix and match wall, floors, and cabinets . It also comes with reusable stickers and layout girds in the front and back of the book.It is jam packed with information to help you solve all of your design dilemmas. A

Beautiful but lacking Practical Substance
I was seduced by the lovely photographs, fun peel-and-stick arrangements, and cute mix-and-match cut outs. But when I really tried to use the book to plan a practical workspace that will serve family and guests for years, I found advice and guidelines skimpy and vague. I wanted more solid information, including specific attributes of a good work triangle, and important space allowances for walkways, cabinets and counters. I also wanted more attention given to relative costs of materials.

Yet, it was very enjoyable to poor over the ideas, styles and photographs.

kitchen structure
an overall good resource for planning your first kitchen helps put together some good ideas in an orderly way using interesting tactics to let your eye explore the color swatches