Wealden Times | WT200 | October 2018 | Kitchen & Bathroom supplement inside

Do
Symes Interiors
• Shop around and check previous
jobs.
Jones Britain
• Work out a practical footprint
between appliances within the
kitchen. You don’t want to have to
travel miles between appliances.
Rencraft
• Do be comfortable with your
designer, it’s a long journey and
it should be enjoyable. It’s a
collaboration, starting with how
you work in a kitchen, it’s a
question of both sides listening.
• Do be aware of space – you might
need more than you think.
Collins Bespoke
• Go and see a kitchen designer
before you start planning the
extension.
• Make sure your ideas work for
your space.
• Always invest in a good quality
handle. It makes such a visual
impact, it can transform a kitchen.
JM Interiors
• Do some research into the style of
cooking you want to do and the
appliances you want for it. With
built in, steam, ranges, there are so
many choices and it’s the starting
point for a design.
• Understand how much your
appliances are going to cost,
because it can really cut into your
budget.
• Take some time to decide what
your priorities are.
• Go to showrooms and play around
to see what you like.
Schmidt
• Do allow enough time for the
installation – don’t ever leave
choices last minute.
• Plan your kitchen before you go to
the architect, then you will already
have underfloor ducting, electrics
and plumbing in the right places
and you won’t have to pay your
architect to change the plans for
the kitchen design.
• Factor in installation charges,
which can vary widely between
companies. You want to invest in
the quality of the kitchen first and
foremost.
Jones BRITAIN
Dan Stronge, Owner and head designer
We do kitchens across the whole spectrum from highly modern to exceptionally
traditional. Two years ago everyone wanted mid-grey, now it’s moving to dark blue
and very dark greys. Often it’s an island in the darker colour, with lighter units
around the outside.
Everyone wants an island, but sometimes the space just isn’t big enough, then I
would suggest a peninsula, where a row of units turns the corner, then turns back
again. This will give the effect of an island with as many units and more work space
and can be achieved in a smaller space.
With appliances, steam ovens are more and more popular and now 95% of our
kitchens have a boiling hot water tap. The buzzword that has just started to kick in
is home automation. Talking to Alexa or Google to turn the oven on, or turn the
lights up. Very handy if you have hands covered in flour!
When it comes to working out how much storage a client needs, when we do a site
survey, we can see how much storage they currently have. We need to see all their
current items – sometimes there is stuff stored in other rooms – so we can see how
we could best fit them. We always try to give them more storage in the new kitchen.
Jones Britain, Heathfield, East Sussex 01435 866435
or Freephone 0800 8600 435 jonesbritain.co.uk
Don’t
Rencraft
• Don’t take the first design you’re given.
Explore different companies before
committing.
• Don’t put the dishwasher somewhere
you can’t get round it with the door
open.
Collins Bespoke
• Don’t rush it – understand it’s an
evolving process, it takes time to get
the perfect kitchen.
JM Interiors
• Don’t put big islands in small kitchens.
It’s really important to work with your
proportions, or you can make the space
feel smaller.
Jones Britain
• Don’t leave a gap any smaller than
1metre around an island.
Symes Interiors
• Don’t go cheap, it won’t last.
Schmidt
• Don’t go with the first company
you look at. Check out a few
showrooms before you decide.
• If it’s a long-term purchase, it needs
to be functional first, rather than
pretty or trendy. It’s a lot of money
to spend to find you haven’t got
everything you need.