Tips

Getting the best design

Generally, it's best to get a kitchen designer to visit your home, measure up and discuss your requirements. If your supplier doesn’t provide this service, you will need to provide an accurate drawing of the room that the kitchen will be located in. The more accurate the drawing the less time you will waste in repeat visits to the supplier.

The initial plan

First, make an outline drawing of the room. Mark on it the positions of the doors and windows. Show which way the doors open. Mark the position of the serving hatch (if you have one), any radiators and of any boxing that covers water and soil pipes.

Measure each of the elements in mm. Remember to show the height of the windows and serving hatch from the floor and their overall height. If you have a helper it's also a good idea to measure the overall length of the walls as well. Tip: Don't assume that walls are vertically straight, so if you can, measure at two different heights (worktop and top of wall cabinet heights are best) and write down the smaller of the two measurements. Likewise don't assume that because a room looks square that it is, so measure each wall. Finally, if the kitchen is fitting into part of a larger room, measure the whole room so that when you see the kitchen planned out, you get a feel for how well it fits into the overall space.

Now measure the ceiling height from the floor and mark and measure any areas where the ceiling is lower (for example to accommodate hallway stairs, or where a support beam is).  Finally, mark on the plan the positions of the water main (if possible where it comes through the floor and the stop cock position), waste pipe (especially if the pipe does not go through the wall to an external drain), gas points, sockets and light switches. Tip: If you have a digital camera, take some pictures of the room so the designer is not totally 'blind' as to how your kitchen space currently looks.

Note: If the kitchen space does not yet exist ask your architect or builder to provide a set of internal measurements. Remember that these measurements will likely change to some degree, so it's best to build some flexibility into your design to cope with last minute changes.

Working out what you need

How your kitchen will look and function will depend a lot on what you want to use your kitchen for and the appliances you select.

First make a list of the appliances you will need. Here are some idea prompters:

    • Washing and preparation: Will you need to put a washing machine and tumble dryer in the kitchen? What about a dishwasher? What sort of sink - inset if you select laminate worktops or but what about Butler or undermount sink for granite or solid wood worktops? How many sink bowls and what size and shape should they be? Do you want a water softener, water filter or waste disposal unit?
    • Cooking: What sort of cooking do you do? Range cooker, integrated oven or slot in cooker? Single or double ovens? Where should the oven be located - under the hob or in a tower? Gas or electric? What features should the oven have? Do you want a microwave, and if so will it go on the worktop or be integrated in a unit? Likewise for the hob - Gas or electric? How many rings? What about special features such as a wok burner that evenly spreads the heat over the base of the pan or griddle plate?
    • Extractor: What sort of style - integrated or chimney? Importantly, can it be located on or adjacent to an external wall so it can be ducted out?
    • Cooling: What style of cooling do you want - American, integrated or freestanding? If it’s either of the latter two, where should they go - under the worktop, in a tower unit or freestanding at the end of a run of units?

While it's true that that you may not be able to answer all of the questions, having an idea of what you want will have a direct impact on the layout of the kitchen and make the design process more straight forward and less time consuming when you are in-store with the sales consultant / designer.

The design

The shape of the kitchen area will often dictate the layout of the units, but also what you want to do in the room will be a factor. For example, the most common requirement (apart from cooking!) is to have an eating area, and this can be catered for either with a table or by incorporating an island or peninsular in to the design. The most common layouts are:

    • Galley - This layout is best for a very narrow kitchen. All of the cabinets and appliances are situated along one wall, leaving the opposite wall free to maintain access
    • Double Galley - This layout, with two runs of cabinets facing each other on opposite walls is suitable for narrow kitchens. Try to make sure you have at least 1.2m between facing units to allow for opening cupboard doors.
    • L Shape - In this layout, the units run along two adjacent sides of the room. This is often the best use of space in smaller kitchens, as worktop and storage is maximised without compromising access. In larger kitchens an island can be a complementary feature.
    • U Shape - Here the cabinets run along 3 adjacent walls or 2 adjacent walls with the 3rd side forming a peninsular. This design often leaves the forth side open for a more formal dining area.
    • Square - As the name suggests, cabinets are placed on all four walls for maximum storage and worktop space.

Once you have worked out which layout works best, it's time to think about the layout of the cooking, preparation and cooling / storage areas. The traditional format is the 'kitchen triangle' where, if a line was to be drawn between the most used zones of hob/cooking area, fridge and sink and back again it would form an uninterrupted triangle. This works best for one person at a time, but if your style is for others to help or for the kitchen to be the central hub to a busy family a more flexible approach will be needed. In this case it may be best to split the kitchen into different working zones, and lay each area out with space for the task to be performed and walk-through 'traffic' areas in between.

Now that you have a good idea of the appliances, the shape of the kitchen and it's uses it's time to select a company to supply your new kitchen cabinets.