Designing a Kitchen
Designing a kitchen can be hard work and as the kitchen is now the heart of the home, ensuring your kitchen design works for your family’s needs is critical. Money spent in the kitchen can be a great investment and if you are planning to sell your home, the kitchen is the number one improvement that prospective buyers look for.
So, remember that making wise kitchen design decisions can influence the resale value of a home.
Whatever your level of culinary skill or interest, the kitchen design must work well, which means that it needs careful planning so that the kitchen design works. Therefore we have put together guidance to help designing a kitchen.
Where do I start designing a kitchen?
There is lots to consider in when designing a kitchen and time spent on the kitchen design will reap rewards.
If you have an existing kitchen start by assessing your current space, measuring up and making an accurate floor plan. When designing a kitchen it’s important to note the position of existing power points, pipes in and out, windows and doors. Check out the state of existing units, worktops etc.
Next you need to decide if you want to completely redesign your kitchen or could you make kitchen design easy by just rework or revamp existing units, work tops, tiling or flooring?
| Kitchen cabinets | If the carcases are in good condition and you are happy with the layout of your existing design, new unit doors are a good option. If they are not worth saving then you will need to look at installing a whole new kitchen. |
| Handles | New handles can also make a difference to a kitchen and can update it in an instant. Remember to consider where the screw holes are in your existing units! |
| Tiles | Did you know that you can revive your grout? There are special pens to do this. You can also paint your tiles (although I have tried this and the end result was not amazing!). |
| Walls | A quick coat of paint will spruce up your kitchen and make it feel fresher and cleaner. Remember to use kitchen paint so you can wipe off any sticky paw prints. |
| Flooring | This is one part of the kitchen that takes a hammering on a daily basis, however sometimes all you need is some good cleaner, a scrubbing brush and a bit of elbow grease. Vinyl can be bought off the roll and can even be laid by someone with a sharp knife - although if you get the professionals in it will be a better finish. |
Decided you want a complete refurb then you need to consider the following when designing a kitchen:
There’s a lot to consider but there is also lots of help available right here on new kitchen ideasto help design your perfect kitchen.
A big decision is to determine the style or look you want for the overall kitchen design. Check out our fantastic kitchen gallery for 100’s of kitchen design ideas:
Character Kitchens | Modern Kitchens | Classic Kitchens
Designing a kitchen although challenging can be a lot of fun and it will be worth all the planning to get that fantastic new kitchen you have dreamed of!
