Getting Started On Your Kitchen Design

**DesignDiva** · Mar 5th, 07, 3:29 pm

Hi and welcome! Glad you're here. Creating a wonderful kitchen that functions intuitively and makes your life better is a dream that you can achieve with a little bit of help and IKEA! It can be overwhelming, though, so I've compiled a list of information that I hope you'll find helpful in starting on your new kitchen adventure.

So let's get started!

To begin, here's some good background information for you:

Click on Library/Articles and read :

I Hate My Kitchen!

IKEA's Akurum Kitchen System: It's Totally Component!

The Value of Writing a Mission Statement

and either Contractor Woes: What I Learned While Doing an IKEA Kitchen
or DIY: Can I really do a whole kitchen by myself?

You might also want to check out the FAQs and maybe Tutorials

Next, download the IKEA planner (US link IKEA | Download Planner Tool and unfortunately only for PCs, not Macs

) and play around with it some so you can get your room dimensions, windows, doors and utilities positioned in a plan. The planner is a little tempermental so if you're having problems and can't get it to behave, post about it and someone will help you out. Here's an ongoing list of Planner Tips and Tricks that might have an answer for you.

If you can't download the planner, Google has a free CAD program called Sketch-Up Google SketchUp - Home you might want to try. There's a library of IKEA cabinets available for it for free, too. It's an awesome program and useful for all sorts of things.

From there, you can play around with some designs, or post your plan as an attachment or post your planner username and password if you want some comments, advice or even a whole design! We're a friendly and helpful bunch who happen to be a little kitchen and a little IKEA obsessed.