Sheldon Peever Studio

A new kitchen is considered the heart of the home aswell as a ‘big ticket item’ when doing home renovations, that’s why it’s key to making sure you optimise the design as much as possible.

We have outlines 8 tips and tricks to create that wow factor without breaking the bank.

Tip 1: Kitchen triangle.

The kitchen triangle refers to the position of the hob, fridge and sink to each other. You want to minimise the distance between these to have an efficient working kitchen.

Tip 2: Kitchen islands.

We would recommend only including an island if you have lots of room. They require a lot of area for circulation and are not necessarily the most efficient use of space. If you have a small kitchen you can get the island effect by having a section of worktop that juts out at one side aka a peninsular.

Tip 3: How you use your kitchen?

Where do you prepare food? Next to the hob and oven? This will determine where you will put the majority of your worktop space. Think about how you cook from start to finish to consider the layout.

Tip 4: Storage.

How much storage do you use? Think about whether you need more than you currently have and what you need to store. Do you prefer open shelving to display cookbooks or objects or big, deep cupboards to hide clutter?

Tip 5: Socialising.

Do you entertain in your kitchen or often chat to your family while you cook? You may want space for a table or a breakfast bar where people can sit and talk to you while you cook.

Tip 6: Lighting.

Consider ambient lighting, task lighting (i.e. under-cabinet lighting, introduced to facilitate activities such as food prep), accent lighting used to highlight features (used within glazed kitchen units, for instance). Think too about the other activities which may take place in this room. For example, while pendant lights look stunning above a dining table or island, if this spot doubles as a place for the kids’ to write their homework, you may want to consider an additional source of light.

Tip 7: American style fridge freezers.

If you’re looking to have one of these big beast incorporated within the kitchen consider having a designed in as it’s much larger than off the shelf kitchen units. You want to avoid it sticking out in an otherwise streamline seamless kitchen. On this project we built a bespoke alcove to house it.

Tip 8: Extract fans.

If the kitchen works are part of a building regulations application for which building control are doing inspections, then you will need to have an extract fan that vents to the outside of your property to comply with building regulations. A recirculating extract fan will not comply and building control will not issue their certificate at the end of the job. You want to avoid this situation happening so make sure your extract fan vents externally.

In conclusion, there are plenty of tips and tricks to follow to achieve your dream kitchen. We work with a variety of different kitchen designers to making your kitchen amazing.