Kitchen Design: How To Maximize Space

"We've all been into kitchens with an eating area that’s too far away from the kitchen, so it's like its own little isolated room. It's got to be close enough that there's a kind of tension between the two that allows for participation," Susanka says.

One way to open up your kitchen, and use the other 90 percent of your house, is to visually open the kitchen to the dining or living areas. In doing this, from the kitchen, you can engage other family members or guests who are watching TV in the family room or lounging in a more formal living room.

Distances between the kitchen and dining and living areas are incredibly important and are also house-specific, so make sure you create a kitchen remodeling plan that works for your house, don’t just do something you saw somewhere else and liked.

Susanka recommends looking through magazines to learn quick tips about how to lay out a kitchen to maximize its function, but she says deciding what your needs are and have your remodeling fit those is the best thing to do.

"I get less detailed into that kind of design [from magazines], but more into how do you make the space really receive you as you're working in it, and then how do you feel connected to the surrounding spaces," Susanka says.

Through work surfaces, lighting and color Susanka encourages home owners to create a "sense of shelter" in your kitchen's work area. If the kitchen is the heart of your home, it should feel protective and welcoming to you.

However, what one home owner finds soothing and comforting may differ greatly than another home owner, so if you are looking to remodel your kitchen just to make it more appealing to buyers, Susanka's methods may not be for you. She believes that designing homes in general and kitchens specifically for resale makes our houses less personal to us.

Susanka's approach to kitchen and home remodeling is about creating a space you will live in for many, many years to come, so if you are looking to flip your kitchen to increase your house's appeal on the market, stick with the magazine tips.

For more stories on home improvement, home inspections, real estate and personal finance visit ThinkGlink.com.

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NOTE: Ilyce R. Glink's latest ebooks are "The Clutter Collector: How to Get Rid of Clutter Everywhere in Your House" and "How to Save $50 Per Month," which are available at her new, all-video website, www.expertrealestatetips.net. If you have questions, you can call her radio show toll-free (800-972-8255) any Sunday, from 11a-1p EST. You can also write to Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, IL 60022 or contact her through her website, www.thinkglink.com. ©2008 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.