Today's kitchens are not cluttered and busy. They are streamlined and built for efficiency. If you are remodeling your kitchen, it is important to keep that in mind. Here are a few simple design ideas that will make your resulting kitchen so much more streamlined and easier to work in.

Microwave Drawers

Microwaves have always been a bit cumbersome in kitchen designs. They take up space on the counter and are hard to clean around. For a while, kitchen designers were placing them above stoves, but then they get covered in steam and splatter and become tough to keep clean. Microwave drawers have solved this problem. You work the drawer into one of the lower cabinets. It looks basically like any of the other drawers in your kitchen, but maybe a bit deeper with a few buttons on the outside. You pull the drawer out, put the food in the drawer, push the drawer back in, and wait for your food to heat. 

Mixer Lifts

A stand mixer is another apparatus that takes up a lot of counter space. You can instead use what is called a mixer lift. It mounts on hinges inside one of your lower cabinets. Set the mixer on the lift, and close the door to store it. When you want to use the mixer, you open the cabinet door and pull up on the platform. The mixer swings up to counter-level, where you can use it easily. When you're done with it, just push the platform down again, and it will swing back into place.

Built-in Butcher Blocks

Cutting boards can be a real pain. They slide on the counter, and they're tough to store. This is why many homeowners are asking their kitchen remodeling teams to built a butcher block surface right into the counter. You can cut directly on this wood surface. In a few years, if the surface gets too worn out, it is easy to lift out and replace without having to replace the rest of your counters.

Below-Counter Trash Cans

Trash cans are another inconvenience in the kitchen. They are too easy to bump into or trip over, and it's tough to find ones that match. With a built-in trash setup, the trash can sits inside one of the lower cabinets. There is also a hole or slot in the counter right above the trash can, so you can drop garbage inside it without opening the cabinet.

Talk to your kitchen remodeling team about these and other ways to improve your kitchen's efficiency.

Contact a service like Paradise Kitchens SRQ for more information.