Top Tips for Planning a New Kitchen

Your kitchen is the heart of your home. As such, you need careful planning to ensure that it is highly functional and aesthetically appealing. With that in mind, let’s look at some tips that will help you plan your new kitchen.

Because reputation is everything, you should ask people you trust to recommend reliable builders. Alternatively, you can research online or ask other satisfied clients who have successfully had their kitchens done. We recommend Charles James Developments to plan, design and build your dream kitchen. Check out their website to look at the stunning case studies they’ve done.

Successful kitchen planning can require you to make savings where you can. But limited financial flexibility does not have to stop you from achieving your kitchen dreams. You can make a few tweaks to suit your budget. To avoid a continuous increase in costs, try getting the project done on a fixed-price contract in case it will take longer than you had expected. Avoid making any additions and changes or agree on the additional cost before the project starts.

Your sink, refrigerator and cooker are the most important components of your kitchen. Cooking and cleaning a kitchen can become a joyless, arduous task if you will have to move around a layout not designed properly. A good kitchen layout, on the other hand, allows you to move between the three with ease while preparing your favourite meal. Additionally, it should provide ample space to ensure that you won’t knock each other when cooking together with someone else. Your kitchen designer can use their skills by creating a work triangle between your sink, refrigerator and stove that’s angled between 15°-25°. You can even have several work triangles if you want.

Before you start the project, you should take time to carefully consider your kitchen lighting plan. If you get it wrong, your kitchen space might feel one-dimensional and unsuitable for the multiple functions you intend to use it for. The key to having a successful kitchen lighting system is getting the temperature of light-emitting diodes right because they can be too cold. Ideally, the main colour temperature you should work with has to be 2,700 kelvin. Many kitchen manufacturers prefer fittings with a high number of Kelvin, providing a nice white colour. While this is a great choice for daylight, you will need something much warmer in the evening. You should, therefore, design independent lighting circuits for your separate sitting, dining and kitchen areas in an open-plan layout. You can use 2 or 3 different layers of lighting in each zone for function and atmosphere, preferably with dimming controls.

To begin with, think about where and how you use items in your kitchen. This means that you should store your breakfast bowls and foods near your breakfast table. Locate tableware and cutlery near your dishwasher to make the unloading process easier. Keep plastic containers and wraps in one convenient place near a work surface designated for wrapping leftovers.

Tiles have been used to decorate kitchens throughout the centuries. To liven up your kitchen space, you can look for interesting tiling that will complement the overall fresh look with a unique splashback tile design behind your sink and hexagon floor tiles that blend smoothly into engineered wood.

Cupboard space is one of the important details that will give a kitchen design a professional touch. For this reason, you should organise your cupboard layout based on how you use the cupboard space. Put items that you use regularly together. Locate items that you usually use where they will be easily reachable to avoid stooping down. For instance, you can elevate and organise your collection of spices so that it is easy to find the one that you need. In turn, this will improve your kitchen experience. Your kitchen designer can install a bespoke cupboard system that will allow you to use your cupboard space effectively.

The right location and height for a microwave vary depending upon the person who will use the kitchen or the child-friendly character of the space. For adults, the ideal microwave height is 15″ above countertop level. On the other hand, a below-countertop setup is safer and more suitable for children.

Kitchen islands are freestanding cabinets that match or complement an existing kitchen design. An Island can function as additional seating when you are entertaining your guests or as an informal dining area for your family. However, if you want to cook and use a kitchen island when eating, you should plan enough space to ensure the hob is safely separated from your dining area.

The popularity of country kitchens is rapidly growing, as the style emphasises home and family. Whether you like rural Italian Masseria, French farmhouse or English cottage, country-style kitchens are designed to emanate warmth and homeliness. You can include rustic freestanding furniture, a traditional stove, chalk-painted wood, shaker units and a wooden dining table for a country finish. What’s more, you can inject a more country feel into your kitchen with beautiful accessories and open shelving.

The best way to start a kitchen project is by creating a floor plan. This will allow you to plan the layout and design of your kitchen before booking a contractor. You can use a floor plan and home design app to create your kitchen’s floor plan. Try a range of layout options and add fixtures, cabinets as well as finishes to see how the work will look in 3D.

You should hang your knives on a magnetic strip mounted or fastened to the splashback. This, in turn, will allow you to easily locate the right knife for a specific job and keep these dangerous items away from your children.