It is tragically rare that homeowners get to design the home of their dreams from a blank canvas, but the benefits of tailoring your home and your furniture around your actual needs rather than having to make compromises around decisions someone else made are often worth their weight in gold.
This is particularly true when designing a kitchen, which needs to not only be practical and built around how you use your workspace but also often needs to be designed around pipework, taps, sinks and other utilities.
This is why we offer an end-to-end solution designed specifically around your particular space to ensure that your kitchen is the best it can possibly be.
There are a lot of compromises involved in refurbishing and renovating a kitchen, which leads to an ultimately really important question.
Should you work around the idiosyncrasies of your existing kitchen, with renovations primarily focused on new appliances and cupboards, or should you tear everything out and start fresh?
There are so many elements to consider, but here is the case for starting from scratch.
Why Should You Build A Kitchen From Scratch?
Everyone uses their kitchen differently, and the golden triangle that is the hallmark of all competently designed kitchens will be shaped slightly differently based on how you use your kitchen and your style of cooking.
If you only occasionally cook and primarily use the kitchen to reheat or otherwise serve pre-prepared food, you may have different needs for your kitchen space compared to someone who requires a far more elaborate prep station for food.
The best kitchen is one designed around you, and whether you tend to use your kitchen primarily as a space to entertain, to cook, or simply to eat after a long work day, your needs will potentially be far different to the needs of the person the kitchen was designed for.
Ultimately, if you are considering a significant renovation of your kitchen, it is often a sign of significant dissatisfaction with the layout of the kitchen you already have, and the best way to make a change is to tear everything out and start again.
Should You Move Your Utilities When Building A Kitchen?
One of the biggest changes and expenses when altering your kitchen is moving your utilities, as this will require a professional who is skilled at working with natural gas, water pipework and/or electrical wiring to make the adjustments you need.
This is a significant step, but in some cases can be an essential part of getting the kitchen of your dreams.
For example, if you want to move your sink and kitchen worktop from an island to a worktop against a wall or vice versa, you will likely need to make alterations to your utility supplies, and it is often worth doing so in order to get the home of your dreams.
Top Tips When Designing Your Kitchen From Scratch
- Storage is key, and you should optimise your space-saving solutions as much as possible.
- Integrate your appliances as much as possible; beyond fridges, freezers and dishwashers, you can often integrate microwaves and other small kitchen tools into your kitchen design.
- Prioritise natural light wherever possible, and factor the light entering your kitchen into any design decisions.