When setting up your dream kitchen, it is not unusual that you may have some ideas that you think are awesome, but when consulting with a builder, they may shoot that idea down. This is because they have more experience than you do – unless you’re a builder, too – and are more likely to know what works, and what does not, for a kitchen.

If you do decide to go on and do your kitchen decoration yourself, here are the five common kitchen decorating mistakes that you should be aware of and avoid at all costs.

1. Disregarding the kitchen triangle rule. The kitchen triangle is a concept wherein the sink, refrigerator, and the stove is laid out in three points of an imaginary triangle. This is to optimize efficiency when carrying out the tasks in the kitchen. A kitchen with a sink on one side of the counter and the stove on the other side, requiring that you walk around the counter before you reach either of the two, is not an efficient kitchen.
2. Focusing on the design and aesthetics and not on the function. Sure, you want your kitchen to look good. Sure, the refrigerator looks nice in that corner. But, will it look good and at the same time serve its proper function? If your fridge is on one end of your kitchen, and the stove top is on the other end, then it is not functional. It makes food preparation – the main function of your kitchen – more complicated than it needs to be. In designing your kitchen, make sure that the design follows function so that your kitchen becomes an efficient work-space.
3.  Keeping things for their sentimental value. Your kitchen is more than a decade old, and yet you want to keep everything as they are because of sentimental reasons. While this may be a noble idea, bear in mind that anything that is old is probably showing some signs of malfunction. Take your stove top for example. If it’s not functioning properly due to old age, then it’s time to replace it with a new, more reliable one. You do not want to put your family’s safety on the line just for sentimental reasons.
4. Making an exact replica of what you saw. Remember, this is your home and your kitchen. What you saw in your neighbor’s kitchen, or that dream kitchen in that home décor magazine, will probably not fit your own kitchen. Take into consideration the measurements, the available space, the placement of electrical outlets and windows, and other elements before you copy a design from your neighbor or magazine.
5. Skimping on the essentials. Designing your own kitchen can be a costly project, it is natural to want to lessen the expenses. However, on things such as cooktops, ovens, cookware and other important equipment, you cannot afford to go cheap and compromise on quality. Set your priorities on the important stuff, so that you do not end up replacing them time and again.

With these in mind, designing your kitchen should not be too hard or stressful a job. Knowing these mistakes early on will help you avoid them as well as the costs that come with them.