So, you’ve decided that it’s time to update your kitchen – that’s super exciting! But where to start?! With a wealth of information out there on kitchen design, it can sometimes feel like your brain is about to go into overdrive mode and explode. If you were to take every piece of advice that you were given, from your best friends experience, to the kitchen blog you read, to the kitchen company that wants to sell you a kitchen, you would end up feeling even more overwhelmed than when you started! Prior to engaging a designer or trades people (or your best friend), there are a few things to think about to ensure you get the best possible result for your wants, lifestyle, and needs.
1. Who will use the kitchen and what are their needs? Is the kitchen solely your space for cooking and preparing food, or will you also use it as a base for kids school notices, phone charging and general life organising? If so, consider having a utilities area tucked away, which may include a extra power points, pinboard walls for school notices & maybe even cupboard space for school bags
2. Are you and your family the next master chef contenders? If you and your family love to cook, make sure you really think about what you want out of your appliances – do you need two full size ovens? Or could you consider one full size oven, then a combination steam oven? You will want to include a large bench/prep area or maybe even two seperate work spaces if your other half tends to get in your way!
3. The entertainers kitchen. Do you entertain guests within your kitchen? Maybe you just have the odd breakfast in the kitchen? Or maybe you just prefer to use the dining table. There are plenty of ways to integrate seating into your kitchen – if it’s only for seating a few, then island bench seating could do the trick, although if you want to seat more, you might like to include a lower level dining style table (pictured above) as an integrated part of your kitchen.
4. Special storage items. Make a list of your odd sized items that will require special storage – this could include anything from small appliances such as blenders, kitchen aids etc to that extra high saucepan that just doesn’t seem to fit anywhere. Also make note of how often you use these items and whether they are heavy or awkward to move. Your designer will take this into account when creating your kitchen layout and can include some space in an easily accessible location.
5. What are the things that frustrate you the most about your current kitchen? This one should be really easy!! List them down so that you can be sure to avoid these problem areas in your new kitchen design. If you can’t find anything that you don’t like, then perhaps there are some features that you love and want to include within your new kitchen design.
6. Light. This is an important one and can get quite detailed, but for now keep it simple. Does your kitchen lack natural light when you need it most? You could benefit from a skylight or new window. Under cupboard lighting (pictured below) is also a great way to ensure you have optimum light in your work areas.
7. What will your kitchen look like? Style is an important one and this is where most people have difficulty when making decisions about their new kitchen. Start with the style of your home – is it a period home, and if so, is it important to you to keep those features throughout your kitchen? Do you want to be sympathetic to the period but prefer a modern look? If so, your designer may be able to help you blend the two styles, giving you a modern look with elements that are reminisce of period styling. Start putting together an image bank of ideas – pinterest can be great for this! Don’t worry if you have conflicting imagery and styles, as long as you have a good sized collection, your designer will pick up on the recurring themes and elements to pull it all together.
8. Colour me pretty. Again don’t get too overwhelmed with this one, but if you despise grey (or any other shade, colour or finish) then make sure you let your designer know!
Hopefully we’ve helped you on your way to creating your dream kitchen! Feel free to leave us a comment here or on our facebook / twitter page with any questions. We’re also available for consultations to help you get your thoughts in order for the big make over – get in touch to find out more! Jen