that part of the design associated with the aesthetic appeal and function is the part of the design associated with ease of use. In other words, some design elements are chosen because they look nice and others are chosen because they make using your kitchen easier to use than alternative design elements. Ideally, a design element is chosen because it both looks nice and functions well. But the reality is that your design may contain compromises because something that looks appealing may not function well and vice versa or maybe a design element functions well and looks fabulous but is just too costly for the budget you have established. I would contend that, when faced with a need to compromise between function and appearance, in the long run you will regret a compromise in function much more than you will regret a compromise in appearance. Your kitchen is a highly utilitarian room. Unlike, say, your bedroom where the primary function is to sleep, your kitchen is basically a workshop where you perform numerous tasks using machines and tools to produce a workpiece. The machines in this case are your appliances and the tools are things like cutlery and measuring cups and of course your workpiece is the meal. You will use this space day after day to make meals and will need to clean the space often because making a mess is a necessary part of the whole process. So, when a part of your kitchen does not function well you will be reminded of it day after day and will likely become more frustrated with it as time goes on. However, it is likely the case that if something doesn't initially look exactly like you would have preferred you will eventually get used to it and probably not care that much about it over time. This is important to keep in mind when compromises need to be made due to budget constraints. In the long run you are probably going to be glad you spent a little more to make your kitchen more functional and at the same time will not even miss that really cool looking thing that was really expensive because it looked cool. For example, a basic base cabinet in your kitchen will have a drawer on top to store smaller items, like silverware, and a door on the bottom to access a larger space where you store larger items, such as pots and pans. One way to make this cabinet more functional is to keep the drawer on top but replace the door with a couple of large drawers to store the pots and pans in. This way you can easily bring the pots and pans out of the cabinet for easy access. Unfortunately, adding drawers to a cabinet can significantly increase the price of that cabinet. But I would imagine that your frustration with having to get down on your hands and knees to pull out a pan at the bottom of the cabinet will not decrease over time. On the other hand, say you were looking at tile for a full-height backsplash and you saw these very cool, yet rather expensive, accent tiles you wanted to incorporate. If you chose to save money by eliminating the costly accent tiles, while still taking care to make the backsplash interesting with more standard tiles, how likely are you to be unhappy with that decision years down the road? My guess is that those really cool, really expensive, tiles you could have had will soon be forgotten on your part. A good designer will create a kitchen for you that is as functional and aesthetically appealing as possible within your budget. When compromises have to be made, understanding what is really going to matter to you in the long run, regarding form and function, will help you avoid making regrettable decisions in the design process. |