Our guide to designing the perfect kitchen for your urban home.
Being a London based kitchen designer we are very aware of the limited space available for people who want to renovate and modernise their homes.
It is a constant battle filling nooks and crannies and utilise space available to make a spacious kitchen. It is a challenge and one that takes careful planning and consideration to make sure that you create space that actually fits the needs of your family.
Below is a quick guide from us to help you focus on the key aspects you should consider when planning the perfect kitchen for your urban home.
1 - Simplify
The truth is, whether you believe it or not, you can actually realise a lot of your goals through simplifying your ideas.
Peeling back the layers and finding the essence of the kitchen you want will help you immensely figure out what the key criteria are.
Having a simplified concept that focuses on two or three ideas will enable you to make big strides forwards quickly. The key is to remember it is easier to add to an idea than take away, so finding the core concepts will give you a stronger vision and a measure to test against with any additional elements or ideas.
2 - Prioritise
One of the biggest problems we have with clients is matching their desires to their budgets. The greatest skill to have when designing your dream kitchen is know what to prioritise and allocating enough budget to that to enable you to achieve it.
Whether it is selecting the best appliances or choosing the most efficient pocket doors, having a priority of what is more important to you is key. Too many times people's dreams shatter when they don't have a clear hierarchy in their mind of what is most important.
Before starting out on your project, sit down and break down your budget beyond that of allocated money for a kitchen. Spend time researching the cost of the appliances you want in your home, spend time getting quotes from a range of different designers and suppliers and truly work on understanding what is available for you in the marketplace.
Once you have this understanding, you'll be able to approach your preferred supply with confidence and competence and more likely than not, you'll end up realising the vision you have for that perfect kitchen.
3 - Qualify
The most common mistake we see with kitchens is a sacrifice in quality of finishes. This is usually due to a misused budget or lack of flexibility and no real planning or understanding of alternative solutions.
It is essential to qualify the standards you require in certain areas of the kitchen and work closely with your designer to see where the most efficient shortcuts can be made.
When choosing the key materials for your kitchen constantly refer back to your simplified concept and ask, "does this finish qualify to the standards we require?", "does this finish align to our original concept?". This assessment will really help you understand where to prioritise budget.
4 - Have fun
By far the most important of them all...
Make sure you enjoy this process, as stressful as it might seem to be, remember, it is as stressful as you make it. If you've done your research and you understand the marketplace, if you are well organised and decisive in the key decision making, if you have a clear vision of what you want, this process can and will be very easy.
When working with a designer or supplier, you are working with industry experts who understand the stress and pressure this process can bring, so make sure you find the experts who you can rely on so that this journey, from design to delivery, is fun, inspiring and a highlight of your renovation project.
We are always very honoured to be considered to help you realise your vision for your dream kitchen. Our team takes time to understand what you are after and we really try and focus heavily on you and your process.
Our previous experiences working in the architectural and construction industries have enabled us fully understand how the design industry professionals work, so we are very comfortable and happy to work with any architects, interior designers or developers you may have helping you achieve you renovation dreams.
Thank you.