Do you wish a perfect kitchen design, made for maximum performance and away from stupid design errors then you should take care of following super pointers.

1. Make sure you put a reasonable distance between kitchen appliances such like ovens, cook-top, sink, dishwasher, refrigeration, counter space etc. Maintain a visible distance and don’t choke them.
2. There must be a relationship between cabinet sizing and appliances, space is limited so keep them in view before designing. See these popular kitchen shapes for reference.
3. Don’t hamper traffic area and kitchen triangle, triangle consists of sink, stove and refrigerator. Make sure design don’t hinder it. Being the most used area, regard it with more free space.
4. Pay special attention to storage space, if your kitchen is small in width and short in height then go for upper-longer cabinets. Idea is to use available space in the most effective manner.
5. Counter-tops serve as backbone of any kitchen, the more the better. Make sure you give them their ample share as they serve as a base for many appliances as well.
6. Bring natural day light into action, highlight areas that require more light as compare to others then arrange special lighting arrangements for them.
7. Make sure to safeguard ventilating areas, don’t install any cabinets or work tops near or over spots that hinder ventilation.
8. Kitchen island serve as a base camp in kitchen battle, choose it wisely. Make sure to pick right size island and install it a bit away from traffic areas. Don’t over size it, keep it limited according to needs.
9. Go for built in recycling bins, ask for a built in kitchen design.
10. Pick bright colors, colors that support lighting & visibility, don’t go for way dim colors.
11. Take a kitchen design expert advice, don’t plan entirely by own self, you may easily ignore certain points no matter how well you plan. If possible go for a professional.
12. Don’t over do it, keep it simple, clean and spacious. It won’t look any good if you install every modern feature in your kitchen.
13. Go for built in sockets and points closer to appliance, don’t use extensions, go for concealed wiring and dedicated outlets.
14. Position drawers strategically, place them where you can open and close them properly and easily.
15. Every kitchen space is different, go for a custom kitchen design, if possible avoid ready made designs. Translate your own imagination into reality. Also check out this npfa.org checklist for kitchens.

Hope you won’t repeat them again and will pick an error free design!

Tonight I set out to make something different. Cooking is my escape—I trade in pushing pixels on a screen for pushing ingredients in a skillet. I like to make things my own way, so following recipes isn't my forte (thanks, Mom)!

I opened the fridge with an open mind, and I closed it with these ingredients in hand: golden potatoes from Trader Joe's, fresh kale, peeled garlic, parmesan cheese, and sliced almonds.

This should be interesting.

I filled a pot with water and tossed about 10 little potatoes in. Sorry, guys, you're getting boiled for 20 minutes.

Drizzled olive oil in a pan, cut up garlic into small pieces, and kept them on low heat until I needed them.

I used scissors to cut up the kale, splashed olive oil on top, plus a dash of sea salt. Tossed them on a baking pan and placed them in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.

The water needed to be drained from the pot, then the potatoes had to be smashed. I pulled the kale out of the oven, tasted a few pieces, ahh ... just right. Sprinkled the potatoes with sea salt, then added the crunchy-crispy kale.

But I wasn't done yet.

I tossed the small pieces of garlic in, added the sliced almonds, sprinkled some flax seed in, shaved the parmesan on top, and then stirred. VOILA!

Things don't always turn out great in my kitchen, but I just keep practicing (I'm coming for you Gordon Ramsay) and that's what makes it fun. It's my escape, and tonight, it was my mashed escape.

mashed escape was originally published in inside my kitchen on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.