All those banana skins

Kitchen design can be a tricky business, a very complicated, tricky business!  So if you're considering a kitchen change you'll no doubt have some idea of what you'd like the new kitchen to be.  But hold on.  First consider some of the main "banana skins" that have caused many a slip.

1. Worktop, worktop, worktop.

One of the main complaints about any kitchen is a lack of worktop space.  So when you think about your new kitchen, make sure that you have enough worktop space by considering how you use your worktops now. The amount of space you need will be specific to your circumstances and will vary with the size of your room and budget.

Make a list of the types of activities you need specific worktop areas for, and evaluate how they may overlap when more than one person uses the kitchen.

Materials matter, too. Where laminates are rugged and heavy-duty, some of the high priced stone, concrete, metallic and natural wood worktops need regular maintenance and special handling.

2. The Golden Triangle.

The kitchen golden triangle links the three areas of greatest activity: the sink, the cooker and the refrigerator. There should be unobstructed access to and from all three of these locations. Of the three, the sink will see the most action and should have easy access to the cooker and refrigerator. Aisles,  door swings and islands that cut off direct access to these key areas make a kitchens frustrating to use. On a design plan, a few extra steps may not seem like much, but after a few hundred trips around a jutting island corner, you'll start to feel differently.

3. Room and more room

Kitchens typically contain lots of stuff. Not only that, but the items concealed behind cabinet doors can be oddly shaped space hogs. So finding a home for your kitchen stuff that still keeps it easily accessible is tricky. But one big design mistake is not including enough storage.  Remember a working kitchen includes lots of tools that contribute to preparing and serving meals. So try to design in as many storage areas as you can.

4. Island Design

Installing a kitchen island offers a promise of additional storage and preparation space. But choosing the wrong island or placing it in the wrong spot can be a disaster. Remember that the kitchen is a work area, and anything that gets in the way of working efficiently is going to be a problem. Islands that obstruct the flow of traffic to and from the sink, refrigerator, or cooker will create problems. One solution is to add a sink or cooker to the island and make it part of the functional kitchen triangle. Another is to position the island so that it has lots of space around it and doesn't impede foot traffic.

5. Lights
Kitchens need three types of lighting: general lighting , task lighting, and accent lighting. As you consider your kitchen design, think about how you will light each area for it's purpose. General lighting is often provided by ceiling lights together with natural light from a window. But where many designs fail is not consider task lighting. Preparation worktops, the sink and the cooker  should all have task lighting so design it in.

6. Air to breathe

You'll understand the need for good ventilation if ever you've walked into your home only to be overwhelmed by the aroma of last nights dinner! And, of course, cooking meals generates a lot of moisture that would be better housed outside the house.  So a good ventilation system will help improve the quality of your home and help keep your kitchen cleaner by venting odors and airborne grease particles from the kitchen.

7. Rubbish to throw

Dealing with kitchen rubbish is often a case of placing a pedal bin near the back door.  But in the age of recycling and rubbish sorting a little more thought is a prudent investment. Rubbish management, then, is no longer a local council activity but something you'll need to address. Consider what the different rubbish bins you'll need;  food waste, glass, and other-recyclable are the three most common but there could be others in your area.

8. Stay in the black

Kitchen renewable is a big project and a budget can easily get out of control.  Only you know how much you can afford, but set you budget first, be realistic and stick to it.  Also remember that project managers would feel a major project completing with a 10% over budget cost as on target!   They are all too aware that changes of mind, extra desires and unforeseen problems all add to the cost during the life time of a project.  So set yourself a contingency and ensure you stay within that.

9. Trendy but personal

You're taste is your taste.  And jolly good it is too, for you.  OK, no one should tell you what design your kitchen should be, it's your home.  But if you're putting a kitchen in to sell a home, be conservative. 

Have you ever wondered why all new built homers are painted in magnolia colour as standard.  Because, while not setting the world alight or making a style statement, magnolia offends nobody and compliments just about any style of furniture.  So if you choose big colours or brash design bear in mind that others may see that as a disadvantage.   No problem if your staying in the home for decades, but if you plan to move next year consider the future and try to design to please the majority.  Conservative design accessorised with your taste is much more flexible.

10. Follow that map

Remember those project managers.  They know only too well that correcting a "design fault or change" at the installation stage can cost 150 times over changing a requirement on a paper design.  The moral, of course, is to get your requirements right and then get the design right.  That will give a plan to stick to.  In this way you'll actually save yourself a lot of money.

So consider carefully at the start and then seek professional advice. For instance, come down and chat to us at Kitchen Solutions Kent. We often hear people apologisiing for taking a long time or multiple visits but it can take weeks or months to get that design right.  So please, take your time.

Dream Islands

 Kitchen Islands from Kitchen Solutions Kent

 A kitchen island or peninsula can dynamically extend the design potential of just about any kitchen.

The first kitchen island were the traditional farmhouse kitchen table that doubled as extra work surfaces as well as eating places.   But today you have the option of selecting islands of the same design and materials as the kitchen cabinets, whether the island is free-standing or integrated. Any free-standing piece of furniture with a counter height surface can serve as an island.  But most customers today require islands that offer hidden cabinets and shelves in addition to another work surface.

However, it remains that the island is most often used as an extra work surface or a casual room divider separating the kitchen from another family room. In either case, if you add under floor wiring, plumbing, and gas lines, the possibilities for an island's usefulness are endless. Once the plumbing and power lines are planned in just about any appliance can be located in an island.  One of the growing popular uses is as a place to house a sink. The option of facing toward the family room is so attractive that such a "kitchen island sink" has challenged the classic "under the window sink" in many homes.

But remember your needs and tastes are individual and only you can determine what kind of island you desire. In a smaller kitchen, you'll get maximum storage, convenience, and a neat appearance if you specify cabinets on both sides of the kitchen island. The common kitchen principle of extending every surface at least an inch beyond the cabinets to prevent dribbling down cabinet fronts especially applies to islands. Obviously, you'll need significantly more overhang for knee room  if your island is used as a breakfast bar.

An island opposite the fridge is a logical place for the microwave. It's still within the work triangle, which makes sense because most of what goes in the microwave comes from the fridge. Alternatively, if your microwave gets more use as a "snack fixer", you may prefer to locate it outside the triangle but still near the fridge in a combination "work island/snack bar".

In larger kitchens you may like to consider the thought that "if one island is good, two are better." A primary island may be stationed within the work triangle, housing extra storage, a fridge or refrigerator drawers, a sink, and so on. Another island might then serve solely as a breakfast bar.

But whatever your needs, an island or peninsula can open out those design possibilities and turn your new kitchen into the family room it really is.

Kitchen Design: Where To Begin

Your kitchen could well be the room where your family meet and engage most often, or just a small cooking facility! Whatever roll your kitchen fulfills it must be efficient, comfortable and beautiful for it is central to your familiy life and needs careful consideration when it's up for change.

So what should you consider when contemplating a kitchen change?  Well, we at Kitchen Solutions Kent feel you should consider a few basic points before you begin.

Firstly you need to assess your kitchen needs.  At this stage, remember it is your kitchen and the advice of others, while helpful and interesting, will not have contemplated the same needs, likes and loves as you.  So chat with your family, and friends extensively, but do speak to professionals whose first step is not to talk but to listen.

Don't worry if you feel bewildered at this time.  Everyone does. Kitchens are complex and no one design fits all.  Look at as many displays, photographs and brochures as you can and keep pictures or notes of things you like.

Remember, set your budget, establish your essentials and note how you really live.  Be honest with yourself.  While a state of the art oven may sound ideal, if it's not going to be used to it's full potential then a saving here could release that budget for something that really lightens your kitchen life.  Be sure you have fun thinking things through and involve all of your family. They will all have needs from the kitchen.

One essential tip to remember is the kitchen triangle.  Efficiency experts have noted that a natural pathway exists in any kitchen between fridge, oven and sink. This natural pathway forms the heart of your kitchen and while it's sides need not be equal, it is always present.  Consider this natural affinity and try to imagine how you would move around it and, in some kitchens,  what distances you would cover!

Also make sure your design includes counterspace next to the open side of the fridge for standing those bags of shopping, as well as plenty of heat and wet resistant counterspace on both sides of the hob and sink for landing of heavy, hot, or slippery cookware.

Big or small, most efficient kitchen designs fall into one of a few basic arrangements. L shape kitchens have one long "leg" housing two of the three basic appliances and one short "leg" housing the other. U shape kitchens have two "legs" and a connecting "middle leg", while G shape kitchens are L or U shaped with an added peninsula partly separating the work area from an adjoining space.  Finally, galley-shape kitchens often have the hob and sink on one wall, the fridge on the other, and a walkway in between.

Whoever you seek advice from, though, always remember they should be "listening".  No two kitchens are the same and your needs are unique.  A good kitchen designer doesn't tell you the latest craze but listens to you talk about your kitchen life and designs it around you. 

Little things will give the game away.  So if they ask if you're left or right handed, feel assured ... they are looking to put the draining board on the correct side of the sink for you!

Kitchen Design Sittingbourne Kent

Here are some images of a recently completed kitchen design for a Kitchen Solutions Kent client in Sittingbourne, Kent. The range is Primo cream high gloss kitchen from Noblessa by Nobilia, their German kitchen supplier.

The customer was delighted with the finished kitchen which provides plenty of storage and looks great. There is a pull-out larder, deep pan drawers under the oven. A small kitchen appliance garage behind a roller shutter door. Bothe corners contain carousel units for ease of access and maximum storage. Underneath the induction hob are more deep pand drawers with a hidden internal culery drawer.






























































































The kitchen worktop is a stunning feature. It's a solid surface corian worktop that's 65mm deep and runs down the side of the breakfast bar. The white colour provides an interesting counterpoint to the cream gloss kitchen doors. The sink and drainer are moulded into the worktop providing an easy to clean, completely waterproof finish.

For more information on german kitchens or Corian worktops please visit kitchensolutionskent.co.uk

Kitchen Design using Planit

Kitchen design by Kitchen Solutions Kent.

Planit Fusion software allows customers to get a really good understanding of how their new kitchen will look when it's completed. As you can see in the video below it's possible to produce some really stunning visual representations of kitchens using this method.



Planit software is not restricted to just kitchen design, you can use it to produce plans and images for any room in the house with equally spectacular results.

It's great for kitchen fitters to as it produces technical drawings and plans with clear measurements and annotation which is important when it comes to actually installing the kitchen.

Kitchen Design 1950's Style

Kitchen Solutions Kent recently had a customer who was inspired by 1950 style American kitchen diners and wanted to recreate the look and feel of one in her own kitchen design, but have all the benefits that modern kitchen cabinets bring with them.

They used red high gloss base units on cream kitchen carcases and cream gloss kitchen wall units with retro style glass kitchen cabinets. The kitchen handles are in clear acrylic. The dining area gives a nod to a 50,s style dining booth.

Behind the kitchen doors there is a waste recycling centre, hidden internal kitchen drawers, pull out larders, deep pan door storage and the z ends offer easy access to the kitchen diner.

The factory assembled kitchen carcases came with all the internal fitments in place and doors attached for easy kitchen fitting.

So - what do you think - are there echoes of a 1950 style american kitchen diner in the kitchen design or not?

Kitchen Ergonomics

We spend alot of time on our kitchen designs, not least because Nobilia kitchens allow for hundreds of possibilities, especially when it comes to ergonomic kitchen design. What is ergonomic design? Well for maximum comfort and efficiency different working areas of your kitchen should be at different heights. This can significantly ease back strain if you spend alot of time in the kitchen. Nobilia kitchen cabinets allow for your base units to be fitted at three different heights to achieve maximum comfort and efficiency. This technique is very rarely used in most kitchen designs, I bet you can't think of one that you have seen in someone's house.

That's a real shame because it can make a significant difference in terms of ease of use. The well thought out and designed kitchen should be one that is designed around the needs of those who live in the home and the way they use the kitchen. The design should fit to your exact movements. This includes customized working heights for preparation, cooking and cleaning up. Ergonomic kitchen design should also take into account your present and future physical abilities so that your kitchen will always be able to live up to the demands of your lifestyle. The kitchen plan should also make sure that cooking ingredients and appliances are within easy reach, as well as provide adequate room to be able to walk between kitchen cabinets. Ergonomic kitchen design should insure that the kitchen is easier to work in and create less stress on the body.

Also any necessary safety concerns in the kitchen should also be addressed especially when it involves children and pets. The design should result in a kitchen that is not so much within their reach. Cabinets with magnetic locks and a breakfast bar in the kitchen where children can be with mum while she is cooking are ideas to consider.

An ergonomic kitchen design should result in creating a kitchen that is both comfortable and convenient for you to use. The kitchen design should provide good economy of movement, convenience of location and be able to go from storage to dining in a smooth fashion. It is important that it do this well because being able to entertain guests near and even in the kitchen has become part of the more demanding lifestyles we have today. So if this article has given you food for thought consider contacting Kitchen Solutions Kent for your new kitchen design and installation.