Kitchen Design Ideas

Take the fitted approach to streamline your kitchen. The beauty of investing in a fitted kitchen is that it can be tailor-made to suit all the quirky corners or awkward shapes that exist in most homes.

It's also a way of maximising space and can provide some brilliant storage solutions, designed to make your life that much easier.

With the luxury of starting from scratch you can make sure that the light is right, that the power points are in the correct places for all your gadgets, and that your day-to-day use of the space is a joy. After inheriting a kitchen that had clearly been built by the previous owner's DIY-mad husband, I rejoiced when my kitchen had to be ripped apart. Oh the joy of a new beginning!

I have to say at this point that when you move into a new home, budget often precludes you from investing in a whole new kitchen however much you might hate the previous owner's colour scheme or layout. By using paints, replacements doors and perhaps a new floor, it's possible to give the room a facelift that might make it more bearable. You'll just have to live with the layout, but buying a freestanding kitchen trolley is one way of getting an accessible work surface if that is what you lack. However, we are dealing here with the extravagance of a whole new design so be clear about your budget before you start. Costs can easily run away with you and a cheaper option is always available for most things.

THE TRIANGLE PRINCIPLE

This is an age-old device that kitchen planners have been promoting for years when they start to lay out the room.

It goes like something like this: the cooking area, preparation area and storage should each be at the point of a triangle so that you can move efficiently between the three work areas. I choose to ignore it because everybody cooks in a different way. While the sink may be one of your three important areas if you don't own a dishwasher, if you do it means your priorities will be different. And with microwaves replacing ovens for a lot of people who reheat ready-made meals, that lovely high-tec fan/gas/electric combi-cooker may only be used at the weekends. You want a layout that suits you for more than two days a week. I like space in my kitchen so have fitted everything along one wall to leave the rest of the room free of cabinets. It's a simple 'line' design with the cooker, sink and fridge positioned along the same side of the kitchen in a run. That way I can move easily and 'crablike' along the work surface and between the three - take potatoes out of the fridge, wash them in the sink and put them on the hob to boil. I predict I will save myself (over several years) hours and hours of running backwards and forwards across the kitchen. Well, quite frankly, if I needed that much exercise I wouldn't be cooking with real cream and butter.

MAKING PLANS

If the number of people hanging around the Ikea kitchen department on a Saturday morning is any indication, you'd think putting together a kitchen required a degree in design. It doesn't, but the sheer volume of options for cupboard doors, work surfaces, appliances, etc., can be intimidating. It does help when you are planning a kitchen, probably more than any other room in the house, if you can make a decision. If you are the kind of person who takes half an hour to choose which toppings you want on your pizza, give yourself a year to put your room together.

Considering that cooking, eating and even watching TV all take place in the kitchen, it's worth spending time to put together your perfect room.


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