Kitchens are rapidly growing as one of the most social areas of the home. Gone are the days when your guests waited in the sitting room for you to bring them a cup of tea, now, if you offer a friend a cuppa, they are more likely than not to follow you to the kitchen and help you make it. It is little wonder then, that kitchen styling is becoming increasingly informal and practical. Designer kitchens now include many time saving features such as waste disposal units and instant hot water taps, and it is not unusual to find a drop down TV incorporated in kitchen design.  In fact, with many cookery programs now available on DVD, a built in TV/DVD combi can be a real asset when cooking first class meals at home. With all of the innovations in kitchen design, there is little wonder that many people forget the basics of creating a user-friendly kitchen, here are our top ten tips when it comes to planning your new kitchen.

Do Not ...

1. Leave Yourself Short of Room.

   New appliances come onto the market every day, and it is unsurprising that you will use some of these on a daily basis.  Traditionally kettles and toasters have always remained on your worktop, and in recent years, so too have microwaves and instant coffee machines. Before you know it, you have everything you need to make a sumptuous meal, and nowhere to prepare it. Assess the kitchen you have now, if it works for you as it is, great, it is well worth basing your new kitchen on its current design. But if your current kitchen leaves you short of space, assess what you can do to improve it.  Built in appliances are fabulous space savers, and instant hot water taps can eliminate the need for a kettle, creating valuable room. If work top space is at a premium, consider having a separate fridge and freezer rather than a combined one, these can be installed under-counter and again make you more valuable workspace.

2. Block the Kitchen Triangle

   One of the essentials of kitchen design is the kitchen triangle.  If at all possible you should ensure that you have easy access between the cooker, fridge and sink, in order to prepare food. Be careful that you don’t block access between these three key areas with a dining table or food preparation island, and you will find your kitchen is as user friendly as it can possibly be.

3. Scrimp on Storage.

   Be realistic when planning your kitchen, look at the appliances, crockery and cooking utensils you have now, and any new ones you may be planning to buy, and then ensure that your new kitchen provides plenty of space in which you can keep them Your new kitchen will be stylish and practical, and if you scrimp on cupboard space, you may find yourself with less room than you had before. Consider installing corner cupboards with carousel designs, and pull out pantry’s which enable you to store large quantity of items, in a small amount of room.

4. let Your Island Leave You Stranded

   If your kitchen is large enough, an island offers fabulous additional work and storage space. However, if you have planned your kitchen with the kitchen triangle in mind, you should ensure that the island doesn’t get in the path between your appliances. One way around this is to install one of the cardinal three in your island, ensuring you maintain the connection between them.

5. Work in the Dark

   Think carefully about the lighting in your kitchen.  There is little point designing a fabulous kitchen, and then finding that you can’t see to prepare food. If you have installed an island then lighting it directly from above should provide a fantastic place for you to work. If, however, your light source comes from behind when you are preparing food on a worktop, you may find the task very difficult indeed. Opt for lights which can be installed under your wall cupboards, and you will find that preparing food is a pleasure.

6. Allow Cooking Odours to Become Trapped

   Do ensure you have adequate ventilation. Cooking odours have a habit of permeating through every room in the house, and while walking into a house which contains the aroma of tonight’s roast dinner is appealing, you certainly don’t want to rise in the morning to be greeted by the small of last night’s kippers or curry. An extractor fan is a fabulous investment which helps to remove cooking smells and condensation, and will certainly be an investment you appreciate again and again.

7. Drag Rubbish Through Your Kitchen

   It may sound obvious, but the best place to have your rubbish bin is near the door, as this makes it much easier when you want to empty it. In recent years recycling has increased in popularity, and it may be worth considering getting a bin which has compartments for day to day rubbish, recyclables and possibly even glass. A waste disposal unit can take can of unwanted foodstuffs, and helps to prevent your bin filling with odours from uneaten food.

8. Go Over Budget

   If you are undertaking a major kitchen makeover, you should carefully plan your spending to avoid going over budget.  Most experts recommend that you spend no more than 20% of the value of your home on a major kitchen refit, of which you can expect to recover roughly 8% when it comes to re-selling your property. It is almost impossible to emphasise how important it is to have some money in your budget to cover the unexpected. No matter which room in your house you are improving, you can expect to find something that you didn’t plan for, and having a little money in reserve can help to alleviate the pressure should you find something that needs work.

9. Forget That Fashions Change

   Kitchen design changes rapidly from one year to the next. While some fashions may be around for many years to come, it is likely that high fashion colours, and trendy styles and lines may look dated long before your kitchens useful life expires. One of the best tips is to install your kitchen with classic lines and styling, farmhouse kitchens with wooden worktops will almost certainly look as good in 10 years as they do when you install them, lime green cupboards and avocado walls on the other hand could look dated very quickly. If you don’t like the country kitchen look, consider fresh white lines, and introduce colour in other areas, like your small appliances and work top protectors.

10. Lose your Way

    If you take the time to consider the elements listed here, by now you should have a good idea of the kitchen you desire. Make sure you have planned it to be exactly the way you want it, and if you have been forced to make compromises because you are working to a budget, leave room for those additions to be installed at a later date. For example, if your budget doesn’t stretch to an instant hot water tap now, but you think you may desire one in the future, ensure your electrician install the necessary power points when he installs the rest of the kitchen, it is a much simpler job to do at this stage of the installation, than to retro-fit at a later date. Make sure that you are clear in your own mind of exactly what it is you want, and don’t allow yourself to be swayed by unnecessary extra’s which seem like a good idea, but in reality you will never use.

  Installing a new kitchen is certainly going to cause some upheaval in your life, however it only lasts for a relatively short period, and if you pay attention to detail, the new features you have planned will last you for many years to come.