Even the most beautiful set of cabinets will not enhance the value or utility of your kitchen if your basic kitchen design and cabinet layout is flawed.
By following a few simple guidelines you can make sure you end up with a workable design.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is placing the cabinet runs too close together.
Typically the minimum distance between two parallel runs of cabinets, or between base cabinet and an island is 39 inches.
I like to expand on this if the space allows.
Certainly if you anticipate having more than a single person in the kitchen at a time, I would plan on at least 48 inches, and preferable 54 inches.
A second common mistake is forgetting about the classic time-tested work triangle.
The work triangle is simply the straight line distance between the sink and the stove, the stove and the refrigerator and from the refrigerator back to the sink.
Each leg of the triangle should be between four and nine feet as a general guideline and the total length of the three legs of the triangle should be less that 20 feet.
Additionally the flow between the three work stations should not have any obstructions.
Like all rules, there are times when they can be stretched or adapted, but these are good guidelines to follow.
There are many considerations that contribute to optimizing any given kitchen layout.
But by following the two guildlines outlined above, you will be able to avoid the most common mistakes.