Don’t just think about the look – think about the quality
‘When you’re about to embark on a kitchen renovation, it’s so easy to get caught up in the aesthetics,’ says Karon Read, a kitchen designer at Neptune.
‘Although they’re crucial, what’s actually more important is making sure you’re investing in what’s going on behind closed doors. Redoing your kitchen is a big undertaking and it’s something you want to last the course.
‘One of my biggest bits of advice is to thoroughly investigate the quality of the cabinetry and the materials that are being used to be sure you’re choosing something that won’t let you down in a few years’ time.
Get your planning right from the start
Almost all kitchen design companies will offer you the chance to sit down with a designer to plan things out – and it’s an opportunity you need to make the most of.
‘There’s an awful lot to consider before you commit to a new kitchen,’ says Karon. ‘Our customers have ample opportunity and time with us to discuss all the options and all the things that might not have otherwise been considered.
‘There’s a lot to get right, but, when you do, it’s just incredible. You’ll be surprised how much joy you can get from a beautiful hinge or a layout that gives a room a new lease of life. Good design really does make a home a happier place. It makes such a difference.’
Think about what you might to do in the future
Don’t just think in terms of strength and performance, think about versatility – tulipwood, for example, can be painted several years down the line should you want to refresh the look. ‘It gives you an opportunity to reimagine your kitchen in a big way,’ explains Karon.
It’s not a cooking space – it’s a living space
It’s easy to fixate on the essentials of food preparation when planning your kitchen – and work surfaces, cupboards and sinks are all important to get right. But keep in the forefront of your mind that the kitchen is also the centre of family life.
‘Your kitchen is a living space,’ says Karon.
‘Think about it as so much more than a place to cook, but a space for entertaining, for eating, for retreating to, for reading the paper, for doing homework – it has the potential to be a secondary living room.’
Credit: Alamy
The kitchen dresser, and why it's 'more important than central heating'
What is a country kitchen without a dresser overflowing with crockery, car keys and keepsakes? Flora Watkins explains all.
Mary Berry: ‘Why I love my Aga’
Julie Harding lifts the hot plate on the heart-warming kitchen feature no country house should be without.
Six of the best kitchen dressers
We find six of the best kitchen dressers for the perfect country kitchen
-
How many puppies in the average litter? Country Life Quiz of the DayPlus a 1960s house, Hollywood's most famous cavewoman and more in Friday's quiz.
-
Love, sex and death: Our near-universal obsession with the roseNo flower is more entwined with myth, religion, politics and the human form than the humble rose — and now there's a new coffee table book celebrating them in all of their glory.
-
How to create a serene, yet hard-working kitchenPlain English worked with antique dealer Robert Young to make this traditional kitchen with an effortlessly relaxing colour scheme that marries perfectly with the views over beautiful gardens.
-
Why kitchens are going green — literallyGreen is the perfect colour for a kitchen, says Amelia Thorpe.
-
A modern kitchen perfectly framed by the exquisite ancient beamsArtichoke designed a discreet and timeless kitchen to complement a converted granary. Amelia Thorpe takes a look.
-
Yes, you can put a new kitchen in a Grade I-listed house — and this beautiful example shows howTraditional cabinetry was a key ingredient in the sympathetic restoration of a Grade I-listed Tudor house in Shropshire.
-
A London townhouse kitchen transformed to be sociable, practical and charmingThe new owners of this London townhouse have reconfigured it to create a sociable space for cooking and entertaining.
-
A beautiful new kitchen sympathetically created for a 16th century manor houseLimewash walls, a large island and plenty of open shelving combine to create a kitchen that’s sympathetic to this 16th-century manor house in Somerset.
-
10 things I wish I'd known about doing up old houses before I started, by Country Life's interiors guru Giles KimeCountry Life’s executive editor and resident interiors expert Giles Kime shares the lessons he’s learnt from the experience of dragging a succession of houses into the 21st-century.
-
Seven beautiful new looks in kitchens, from classic cabinetry to 80s revivalThe latest looks in the kitchen, selected by Amelia Thorpe.
