Ray’s top tips when planning a new kitchen

We often have clients that come to us with a clear vision of the new kitchen they want, while others don’t. The kitchen has become such an important room in the home, the planning and design does take time to firstly fit the space and fit the client. The end goal is to have a kitchen that functions, the design style fits into the space and the era of the home and ultimately that it works for client and family.

Ray, who has over twenty five years of designing kitchens and bespoke furniture has outlined some of his top tips to keep in mind when planning or thinking of a new kitchen.

Don’t ignore style and trends but don’t let them dictate your kitchen style – find your own.

Firstly, start thinking about your kitchen as early as you can if you are building. Think about how you would like the kitchen to function. Forget about the style, colour and finishing touches at the beginning of the design process, there is lots of time to think about this later. If you then need to move windows, doors etc. you have the opportunity.

Think about how you like to use the space. When cooking, do you like to have space, do you like all the cooking in one corner or do you prefer the cooking area to be spread out. Also, think about how many people potentially will use the space at once; have you a big family and you don’t want to be tripping over one another. The design of the kitchen needs to work for you. Are you left or right handed, for example if you are left handed perhaps you would prefer your cutlery drawer to be to the left of the dishwasher instead of the right.

Once you have decided on the function and basic design of the kitchen, you can then get an accurate cost of the kitchen and you can begin to look at the style of kitchen, whether shaker, high gloss for example and finishes, if you would like an exposed wood or a handpainted finish.

Think about your main appliances; the fridge (integrated or freestanding/ American), the cooker (a Range, Aga or single/ double oven) and the type of sink (single, double or Belfast) you want. The aim is for your kitchen to have designated areas – the cooking area, the food storage area and the wash up area.

Forget about the working triangle, think more about the working flow…

Your kitchen design is completely personal, it should suit your flow and how you work and use your kitchen. As all of our designs are bespoke, nothing is an issue, everything is tailor made to your requirements. We offer a full design consultation service, get in contact today on email at info@shielsandco.ie or 0578626483.