A new kitchen is a big investment that’s designed to last for many years, so it’s important that you get it right first time. However, it’s too easy to make mistakes that can prove costly and time consuming in the long run, so here are some of our suggestions for what NOT to do when planning your new kitchen.
Designing your kitchen on looks alone
The kitchen is the heart of the home, so you’re obviously going to want it to look brilliant. The danger is in prioritising style over substance, which could end up being disastrous when it comes to cooking and baking. When designing a kitchen, it’s so important to take into account how you’ll use it as the primary consideration. Having a large kitchen island between the sink and the cooker may look good, but when it comes to cooking remember that you’d have to walk around the island every time you want to put a saucepan into soak or rinse a spoon. Not only will you be less efficient, but you’re also likely to get less enjoyment from cooking and baking.
Being too trendy
Every year there are new interior design trends, which is great if you’ve got the resources to renovate your kitchen on a frequent basis, but that’s not a practical option. A new kitchen not only costs a lot of money, it is also a huge time commitment, not to mention the disruption and mess caused by its installation. You’ll need to spend time giving the design careful consideration, because you’ll want to love it as much in ten years’ time as you do today.
So take your time choosing a style of kitchen you know you’ll be happy with for a long time, and leave the trendiness to your kitchen accessories and the colour themes that can be easily and cost effectively changed with the fashions.
Not asking the experts
Kitchen designers are great at their job (they wouldn’t get paid otherwise…). They understand how people use their kitchen and how to design an ergonomic layout. A designer’s experience means they know what works best, what’s possible with your budget etc. They have a great understanding of your chosen kitchen range and an awareness of recent innovations you may not be aware of. They’ll therefore be able to suggest adjustments and improvements to your original design. In addition, they’ll have the best design software to help them create great looking, practical designs.
Not setting a budget
Even when it comes to luxury kitchen design, having a budget is a necessity. By giving your kitchen designer a budget to work to, they can design your new kitchen taking all the costs into consideration – unit costs, accessories, white goods, installation work, any building works that need to be done, flooring and tiling etc.
Make an appointment to visit our kitchen showroom where you can be inspired by the latest kitchen designs and talk to one of our experts about what will work best for you.
