Put on a show of taste.
Byline: NAN ENSORTHERE was a time when the kitchen was the architect's afterthought, squeezed into the smallest space with room only for the most basic equipment.
But research has shown that these days buyers in seach of the ideal home consider a well designed kitchen to be the biggest selling point - so it's no surprise designers have been busy cooking up some very stylish ideas.
This week, Home Record takes a look at what's new on the kitchen menu. Whether you want to re-vamp the whole room by fitting new units, or kit your kitchen out with the latest gadgets, the good news is that it doesn't have to cost a fortune to get a pretty tasty look.
And the icing on the cake is that if you tackle these home improvements properly, a new look kitchen will also improve the value of your home.
To help you get started, Magnet have put together 10 top tips for planning the perfect kitchen.
1: Decide on the main purpose of the room. For example, do you want to entertain friends in the kitchen, have space for the kids to do their homework, or make room for a breakfast bar?
2: Choose a syle you can live with. Whether it's traditional, country, Shaker or ultra modern, although the kitchen doesn't need to match the period of your home, it should have a look that you feel comfortable with.
3: Look carefully at the existing layout in your kitchen and decide what works and what you'd like to change. If possible, try to work around your existing plumbing system, otherwise all that new pipe work will work out very expensive.
4: It's important to have a good working triangle, with three basic areas - storage, preparation and cooking. Position your fridge in the storage area, and put the sink and dishwasher in the preparation area to save having to walk back and forth across the room. Ideally, the cooker should be against or close to an outside wall to allow ducting from the cooker hood to extract smells.
5: Set a realistic budget allowing for tiles, flooring, lighting, electrical work and installation.
6: Designing and planning a kitchen can be quite technical, so choose a company that offers a full home survey and planning service to make sure your new kitchen will fit, with all the services - plumbing, electricity and gas - in the right place.
7: Before you part with your cash, it's a good idea to get several quotes from different companies. Visit a few showroom and explore exactly what's on offer.
8: When choosing your design, it's worth remembering that many companies now offer standard cabinets which are fitted to a free-standing frame, instead of having a plinth on the bottom. This allows you to be a lot more flexible with your kitchen design.
9: Make the most of your storage space. Rotating wire baskets and high-sided drawers, for example, will help give easy access to items at the back of cupboards.
10: Pick materials that are practical as well as pretty. Mix work surfaces to cope with the various demands in different parts of the kitchen - stainless steel is great for wet areas round the sink, and also good for pastry, while granite keeps the hot area round the cooker cool. Wood is good for food preparation.
If you don't want to give your whole kitchen a makeover, you can still give it a chic new look by putting on a new floor show.
One of the most hard-wearing and hygenic materials around at the moment is Marmoleum, from a Scottish company called Forbo Nairn. A modern variation on the old linoleum, Marmoleum is scuff and scratch resistant, and the smooth surface is also bactericidal and hypo-allergenic and doesn't harbour dust mites, making it a good choice for asthma sufferers.
Or you could dress up old units and appliances with a new paint job. If you pick the proper primer and paint, practically any surface can be given a stylish new look.
Changing handles on cupboard doors and drawers or splashing out on a new tiled splashback are other good ways to brighten up a kitchen.
Whether you're a Delia Smith wannabe or a confirmed microwave man, the only secret of success is to plan the room to suit your lifestyle - and your budget.
TASTE by Mail have a stunning range of kitchen accessories available by - you've guessed it - mail order. The juice press, far left costs pounds 49 while the eight-cup nickel-plated cafetiere with wooden handle, centre, is pounds 40. The satinless steel connister pictured alongside os pounds 5. Sebastian Conran's equilibrium scales, above, are pounds 25. Call Taste by Mail on 01908-307222.
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| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
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| Date: | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Words: | 784 |
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