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Planning Your Fitted Kitchen
Whether you’re starting from scratch with a new build or extension, or your current space is in need of an update, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to planning your new fitted kitchen.
The kitchen is the life and soul of your home; it’s at the heart of your everyday life as well as the most memorable occasions and, when something means so much to you, it’s vital that every detail is absolutely perfect. Your new kitchen should bring both practicality and style into harmony to create a beautiful focal point to your home that will be cherished and enjoyed for years to come.
However, with so many considerations to weigh up and choices to make, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, you don’t need to be a kitchen expert to begin planning your new space. We’ve put together this handy guide to help you get started ahead of your design appointment. Once you feel ready to take the next step, the Classic Interiors team will be here to support and guide you as we work through your ideas and hone your design to ensure your new kitchen is everything you’d hoped for and more.
Soak Up Some Kitchen Inspiration
Kitchen trends and innovations are always evolving. Getting a feel for the broad variety of styles and features available is a great way to envisage the possibilities of your space and familiarise yourself with some ideas before getting stuck into your project. You can find inspiration by browsing magazines, exploring interior design websites, image-sharing apps such as Pinterest or Instagram, or on platforms like Houzz. Why not take a look through our kitchen gallery by clicking here?
As you begin researching and exploring, you will naturally gain an awareness of the key aspects of kitchen design such as layout, lighting, colour, and texture which will help you further down the line when you come to make decisions about your space. Starting your project with an open mind rather than having a fixed idea of what you would like allows you to develop your kitchen design gradually into something truly original and spectacular.
Learn From Your Current Space
With a wealth of kitchen inspiration behind you, now is the perfect time to start critiquing your own space. Noting down your likes and dislikes based around your existing kitchen is often much easier than trying to start with a completely blank canvas. Even if your new kitchen will be in a different part of your home, you can still learn from your current design. Do you need more storage or worktop space? Is the view into your garden a feature you’d like to celebrate? Are you happy with the atmosphere that your kitchen creates? It’s worth addressing both the practical and stylistic features of your kitchen to give you a clear and well-rounded starting point for your brief.
When planning your new fitted kitchen, you should also try to think about your future requirements. Most of us renovate our kitchens just once every fifteen to twenty years and a lot can change in that time! You might want to consider including family-friendly features like a breakfast bar or a more spacious fridge freezer or you might want to plan a kitchen that’s ideal for entertaining. Thinking about how you may want to use your kitchen a few years down the line will help to ensure your new design offers maximum longevity.
Narrow Down Your Vision
With so many stunning fitted kitchen styles to choose from – ranging from the most contemporary and sophisticated to the charming and classic – settling on just one clear vision can be challenging, but, at some point, you will have to do so if you want to create a clean, stylish and cohesive interior.
With their professional knowledge and expertise, your kitchen designer will help bring your vision to life, perfecting all the finishing touches with your direction. However, if you can clearly communicate the look and style you have in mind to begin with then you can feel confident in the knowledge that you and your designer are on the same page. Mood boards are a great way to capture your ideas; they should include colours and textures as well as more specific details about the style of furniture and fixtures you’d like to emulate.
Set Your Budget & Choose The Essentials
As you progress through your kitchen design journey you should find it easier to make informed decisions about your budget and likewise, the features you plan to include in your design. It may be that you need to prioritise certain elements, for example, including a kitchen island might mean you dial back on your choice of worktop material. If you’re a lover of crisp minimalism, you might choose a boiling water tap to keep your worktops clutter-free as opposed to going all out on a state-of-the-art oven. With all your planning up to this point, you should be in a great place to make that all-important ‘must-have’ ‘nice to have’ wish list.
Speak To A Professional
At Classic Interiors, we’ve been designing and installing fitted kitchens in and around Birmingham for over 30 years and, in this time, we’ve worked with thousands of clients at all stages of their kitchen design journey. Our award-winning team is more than happy to help no matter how clear or unsure your vision may be.
We ask our customers to arrange a design appointment so that we have plenty of time to sit down and discuss your project in detail, sharing ideas and exploring ways to really maximise your space with your unique lifestyle in mind. If you’ve started planning your kitchen then please don’t hesitate to bring your plans along, our team would be delighted to find out as much as possible about your project. We would recommend you bring the following things, if possible:
- Photos or images of the space you wish to transform including dimensions.
- Architect’s plans for a new build or extension. If you are having work done it is ideal to plan your kitchen as early as possible so you can get the most out of both aspects of the project.
- Your mood boards. Bringing your mood board will help your designer to get a clear idea of your vision.
- Your budget and wish list. Being clear and honest about your budget from the beginning allows your designer to work towards maximising your design from the start to ensure your new kitchen is the best it can be.
- An open mind. Our kitchen designers are experts at what they do. They always strive to present innovative and exciting new ideas that you might not have considered before. Approaching your kitchen design appointment with an open mind will help you to see the potential of your space in a new way which is key to developing a truly superb interior.
Our Birmingham showroom which is located in the very heart of Edgbaston on Harborne Road.
Planning your new fitted kitchen can seem daunting but if you take it step by step and keep an open mind then you’re sure to find a simply spectacular solution. At Classic Interiors, our award-winning team are here to help.
You can rest assured with their guidance your new kitchen will be absolutely perfect. If you’re ready to take the next step towards making your fantastic new kitchen a reality, then you can call us on 0121 405 1240 or email hello@classicinteriors.co.uk.