Why Lockdown is the Perfect Period to Plan a New Kitchen

During the past seven weeks since lockdown began you have probably seen more of your kitchen than you would like to. That’s because spending more time there has highlighted all the bits you dislike about it. Well, now is the perfect time to plan for that bespoke kitchen you have always hankered after.

Bespoke kitchen: how to plan for

We can’t stress how important it is to get your design right first time. By that we mean, really sit down and think about what you would like in your kitchen, then come and talk to us and we’ll discuss it together. That way you will save both time and money by having the perfect bespoke kitchen blueprint to work from. Do you want a Shaker-style kitchen, for instance, or a room that instantly screams ‘minimalist’? If it’s the latter you might want to think about handleless cabinets. There’s just so many things to think about when planning a handmade kitchen. Here are just some of them:

• Make sense of the sink. Work out where you want your sink to go. Is it a case of underneath the window? Or perhaps you have an open-plan kitchen and sliding doors? Then you might like the sink as part of your kitchen island? If it’s in sequence with the worktops and you have more space then perhaps now is the chance to get a lovely large Belfast sink?

• Keeping cooking neat. If you’re the type that loves having friends and family round for dinner parties it might make sense to have two ovens built into your kitchen cabinets. That way you can cook twice as fast and ensure everyone will be served at the same time. And what about a built-in microwave too?

• Put in a pantry. And how about a build-in handmade kitchen pantry? A very contemporary touch and one which is ideal for most kitchens these days as it doesn’t take up much space so allows room for a large sociable family-style kitchen island. And not only can you store tins, dried food, herbs etc in there but you could also have a worktop for your coffee machine and/or store a juicer, mixer etc there too. Better still, you will find an inbuilt pantry can also be integrated beautifully into the look of your overall cabinetry.

• Wow with a wine rack. Now is the time too to get that wine rack you always fancied. Either utilise narrow space at the end of a cabinet or have it built into the side of your kitchen island. Certainly, having a bespoke wine rack will save up space in your cabinets or worktops.

• Get sociable seating. Whether or not you want seating around your handmade kitchen island depends on how sociable you plan on your kitchen being. If it’s going to be somewhere the family congregate on a regular basis then yes, build them into your plans. Make sure your island has room to store the seats neatly underneath when not in use so as not to disturb the ‘flow’ of the room.

Bespoke kitchen: collate ideas

Even if you can’t imagine how your finished handmade kitchen will look, we can! What we need from you is a list of all you want your new kitchen to contain. We’ll work out how it all fits in. You can help by cutting out images of kitchens with parts you love from magazines, or saving them on your computer to make a compilation to send to us for our first meeting. Pinterest feels as if it’s almost been designed for the job. And, indeed, you will find plenty of kitchen colours, styles and ideas right there.

Bespoke kitchen: Budgeting

Work out from the outset roughly how much you intend to spend on your new kitchen. This will no doubt increase as you spot items you love and believe you just can’t live without. And that’s fair enough, but it is a good idea to try to stick to one particular figure. Have a list of ‘essentials’ and another for ‘desires’ – then choose from the latter once the former has all been included in the initial layout.

If you happen to be considering having a bespoke kitchen created specially for you and your family then do get in touch for a chat. You can call us on 01202 481177 or email office@classic-kitchens-direct.com. In the meantime, you can always take a browse through some of the bespoke kitchens we have already created in our Gallery at the website Classic Kitchens Direct.