At Home with Sarah Beeny Autumn 2015 - 141

itchen reﬁts can
be a costly
exercise,
particularly if
you are starting
from scratch.
Glossy, ultramodern furniture, quirkily-shaped
islands or breakfast bars and
massive 'statement' appliances,
all in fabulous, vibrant colours
look amazing, but they could seem
wearisome and dated well before the
sheen wears off. What's more, you
really need to consider the shape of
your room and what suits it.

D E S I G N I DEA S
The kitchen is one of the busiest
areas of your house and when
planning for this space, there are
several kitchen design ideas you can
apply to push your cookery haven to
its fullest potential.

Make workflow your
first priority

Aim for a design that allows you to
move around the room freely and
easily from one point to another
without feeling cramped.
Ask yourself the main purpose of
the space. Is it strictly for cooking?
Does it double up as a living area?
Or is it a one room ﬁts all - from
eating to watching TV to doing
the kids' homework? Once that is
established, keep that focus in mind.

Mix and match

Try mixing and re-mixing already
existing ideas to ﬁt the style you have
in mind. The best kitchen design
isn't just applicable to big spaces.
Smaller can often be better. With
everything scaled down, costs are
drastically reduced.
In fact, smaller kitchens prove to
have more advantages than the very
large kitchens which have become
trendy in recent years. Smaller
kitchens are much more affordable to
build and remodel and if you love
to cook, you haven't far to go when
you're reaching for ingredients. Also,
a larger kitchen means lesser space
for other areas of your home.

Choose your lighting
as you go along

You can greatly enhance the look
of your kitchen by incorporating
your plan for the lighting in the
early stages of the design process.

YOU CAN'T GO
WRONG WITH A
CLASSICAL LOOK

BUDGET
CONSCIOUS
Most kitchen units and worktops are
permanent fixtures but even though
an off-beat colour, style or material
may not appeal to a potential buyer,
changing it could just be too expensive.
The same goes for sinks, taps and
many appliances. Minimise the risk. If a
wooden or painted kitchen is simply not
your taste, use a contemporary finish
such as a high shine composite, but opt
for white or a smart, neutral tone such
as beige or charcoal grey.
Satisfy your yen for flamboyant colour in
tiling and on walls that can more readily
be changed when you tire of your choice.
Get the look you want by adding semipermanent details like unusual lighting,
trendy handles, stylish bar-stools and a
funky kettle or weighing-scales. Indulge
your personal taste with a pillar-box red
range cooker or pastel-blue fridge on the
basis that if you move, it goes with you.
The chances are such an appliance will
set you back much more than a standard
model so be certain you really love it
before you commit.
Avoid unconventional or 'of-themoment' fashions including attentiongrabbing glass worktops or odd shapes.

Scope it out
USING SPACE
You can save some money, too,
by not having to do a last-minute
installation when you realise those
mundane can lights bring your new
look down a tad.
Solid surface and quartz (engineered
stone) countertops may be better
for you than slab granite.

L AY O UT
Galley, L-shaped, U-shaped or
Island kitchens will all require
different guidelines:

Galley

These can be single or double. A
single galley has a length of units
along one wall and a walkway down
the side. A double has two runs
of units facing each other, with
the ﬂoor space in between. Galley
kitchens are most common in long,

narrow rooms - often
PROPERLY IS KEY TO
with a window or door
GOOD KITCHEN
at the end.
DESIGN
The trick is working
out how to maximise the
three elements - storage,
workspace and functionality.

T OP T I PS

* Plan worktop space next to the
oven/hob for prep work and next
to the fridge for unpacking.
* Good storage is essential. Use the
room's height to gain extra space
with tall larder style cupboards
and pull-out drawers as well as
ﬂoor to ceiling cabinets.
* Position appliances so two people
can work comfortably together
without getting in each other's way.
* The ideal place for a dishwasher
is between the sink and cooking
area with a good stretch of work
surface linking the two zones.
www.athomemagazine.co.uk NOVEMBER 2015 | 141

At Home with Sarah Beeny Autumn 2015

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