A kitchen renovation involves a lot of decisions—from upgrading appliances to finding the right surfaces to choosing a kitchen plan—and there’s plenty of room for error. But the process is often worth the pain. A beautiful, updated kitchen can enhance daily life in your home and boost the house’s market value when it comes time to sell. To help make the renovation process smoother, we asked top designers—including Mariette Himes-Gomez, Richard Landry, and Stephen Shadley—for tips on how to design a kitchen, the secrets to the best kitchen designs, and their favorite kitchen ideas. Click through to learn how the pros remodel their clients’ kitchens into dream spaces for cooking and entertaining.

First you must decide what the kitchen is to the client. It may be just a morning space for a cup of coffee and some toast, a brilliant workspace, or a trophy kitchen. I love kitchens that are abstract art with beautiful materials (woods, stones, and metals).

— Wallace E. Cunningham

Key considerations when designing a kitchen are color , cabinet paint or wood, flooring, counter tops, appliances and lighting. How the kitchen serves the family and family requirements. My favorite materials are wood, stone and paint. The biggest frustrations are accurate field measurements.

— Mariette Himes Gomez

Function, size —too big a kitchen doesn't work well for most good cooks—and natural light are important. No favorite materials, but don't use tile on the countertops if you like to cook!

— Marc Appleton

Lighting – I like varying levels of it: high for cleaning, moody for a home cooked dinner when entertaining friends. I like under cabinet lights, a cove with light, decorative fixtures over the island and the best twinkling little downlights on the market. When I put a comfortable seating area in a kitchen, I also add standing lamps. If lit well, a kitchen does not have to be clinical looking but warm and inviting.

— Sandra Nunnerley

I always take into account the cooking habits of the owner and the flow of the space. I use any materials appropriate to the project, but the fewer the better.

— Stephen Shadley

Key consideration: functionalism. Favorite materials: wood, metal, glass. Biggest frustrations: ill-fitting materials.

Use at least three materials and no more than five. I like to use the combination of stone and stainless steel, though clients sometimes fear scratches on stainless steel.

— Suzanne Lovell

I like to talk about the defensible space of a kitchen. By this I mean that the cook should have a kitchen that allows him or her to keep people out of their cooking area if they want to.

— Dennis Wedlick

Form, function, and space are the key considerations. Today's kitchens are an essential living area and are often integrated into the main living space. It is important to keep kitchens streamlined and aesthetically pleasing due to the open form and integration into the living area. The most challenging aspect of creating a functional kitchen is providing enough storage space to accommodate the client's needs while maintaining the clean aesthetically-pleasing look that is needed to integrate the kitchen into the main living space.

— Charles Allem

Key considerations: function and great lighting. Favorite materials: stainless steel, interesting stones (including man-made products), concealed plug strips. Biggest frustrations: balancing openness with having enough cabinets and counter space; I love kitchens with wide doors to the outside.

— Richard Landry