Real Life Kitchens by Lyn Peterson.

We got it for Christmas last year and it has been our style-Bible for out kitchen remodel design this past year. We still flip through it with the remodel almost done to catch any last little design tidbits. Great book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Real Life Kitchens at amazon.com

mikebeth,

Thank you so much. I already have it on hold at the library!

The advice some wise soul on this board gave me was to go to the library and check out the oldest kitchen design books they have. Looking at books from 5, 10 or 15 years ago will help you put today's trends in perspective and see what is timeless (for you) and what is more likely to age well.

Good luck - Anita

nomorebluekitchen,

Good advice. You reminded me of the 20+ year old design book I found at my Mom's house. It actually looked pretty current. It did not have anything outrageously dated like the proverbial avocado appliances from my childhood.

I spent a little time a few months ago researching which kitchen design books to read, but I still haven't read them bc gardenweb is too good! So, I can't recommend, but here are the comments of other readers that I had cut and pasted into my email for future reference. Out of many kitchen book reviews out there, I was most interested in what these had to offer. Perhaps they will be useful to you:

(from Amazon.com:)
Kitchens That Work: The Practical Guide to Creating a Great Kitchen

This book was a nice start to get the brain going, but I found it failed to address important elements in kitchen design and renovation. As a soon to be owner-builder, I would love to see more in depth information on standard measurements, accessibility, and ergonomics in the kitchen. This book reviews the concept of zoned work spaces(replacing the outdated "work triangle"), but doesn't go into depth on the details of how to make it work, sympathetic zones that will flow into the next, or examples with components. While there are a few examples of improved design layout for renovation(ie: before and after), I would have loved to see many more detailed floor plans of kitchens that work efficiently and well with an explaination of why each does.

This book is a primer for cost analysis and lists some common kitchen features found in basic, intermediate, and gourmet kitchens. It contains general overviews of kitchen theory, and some tips on rennovation. This is a great book for getting started about thinking about kitchen redesign for someone who will be using an architect and general contractor. If you plan to list some ideas on paper and hand it to a professional, this book will help you assess some good ideas and the realistic expectations of the cost involved.

If you want to do your own design and hand it to a professional with the intent of reproducing what you have drawn, this book won't help you. The book, Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way (Real Goods Independent Living Books)is fabulous with in depth coverage of all aspects of home building, but I feel that with the complexity involved, a whole book of similar nature should be devoted to kitchens. Sadly, Kitchens That Work: The Practical Guide to Creating a Great Kitchen isn't it.

********* EDIT **********
Many thanks to the previous reviewer who recommended DK Home Design Workbooks: Kitchen. I heartily second the recommendation. Get that book instead of Kitchens that Work. It covers almost everything in this book, plus more comprehensive coverage of the HOW and WHY behind actually DESIGNING a kitchen.

I also second the recommendation of Build Your Harvest Kitchen. The information and pictures are a little dated, but Harvest Kitchen provides plenty of examples of insightful floor plans, why they work, and how you integrate the design into your own. There's quite a bit of information about harvesting your own produce, canning, jam making, and the like, but if you skip that and read the rest, it's definitely worth the read.

The best part? You can buy both Harvest Kitchen AND DK Home Design Workbooks: Kitchen(including shipping on both) for less than the cost of this one and gain much more knowledge and insight about kitchen design than by reading Kitchens That Work.

If you are designing/building a house, splurge on The Independent Builder and A Pattern Languageto learn how to create the best design for your homebuilding needs.

I bought a book from the NKBA on their recommended planning guidelines. All of the info is on line as well and should give you a lot of useful guidelines to follow as you plan your kitchen (linked below).

Here is a link that might be useful: NKBA guidelines

I loved this one -- especially the second part of title: "without murder, suicide, or divorce". Jan Weimer's a great writer.

Here is a link that might be useful: amazon link

You guys are good!

slateberry51,
Thank you for saving those and sharing them. I need to start a proper list for myself.

mamadadapaige, That is great! I was just wondering about something I saw answered on the very first page.

mjlb, Given that we are already disagreeing and we don't even have anything on paper, that book might be a lifesaver as well as a marriage saver. Thank you very much.