One of the prime drivers for any work to an existing house is a desire to change the kitchen.
If you are looking for your ideal match then you need to ask the right questions.
The background
Modern kitchens are a kind of dream of space and comfort and harmonious living.
They are a world away from the way kitchens used to be. Think about the work involved in putting a meal on the table in the past and (trigger warning - it really is gory) if you want a taster check out my favourite food historian Ruth Goodman in this clip.
It was hard, bloody, muddy work and it took ages! The kitchen was certainly not somewhere you were going to take guests. It wasn’t even somewhere you would want to sit down and relax in when you had finally cleared and scrubbed and mopped the place after an evening meal. The kitchen needed to be messy, working and back-of-house and any entertaining, down time or displaying of one’s status, at least in an urban house, was done in the ‘Front Room’.
So when we are looking to do work on a house with an original kitchen, or something close to it, we are often working against the original architecture.
The dream
Having said that, my suspicion is that our aspirational kitchen today is based on an idealized notion of the Farmhouse Kitchen:
large space
giant table
hard-wearing floor
lots of cupboards brimming with neatly labelled jars
people coming and going, gossiping over their strong cups of tea
OK so a penthouse flat might have crisp white finishes, polished concrete floor and a giant island rather than a table but the concept behind it is the same. Maybe it's an espresso rather than a cup of tea though.
Either way, kitchens are sold as the dream-space in our houses. Since we got fridges and freezers and electric hobs and microwaves and air fryers and, well you get the idea - since it got easy to cook quickly and cleanly, our kitchens have become nice places to be. Combined with a dining space they are also probably the biggest room in many contemporary houses and flats.
A Warning
The advertisers' images of kitchens like these also depict them as the perfect backdrop to joyous, multi-generational festive gatherings, dinner parties with genial guests, mildly tipsy and care free or a busy breakfast time, where no one is ever screaming their head off or throwing Weetabix on the floor.
Don't get me started on how stressful a sit-down family meal can be, and I don’t just mean the special occasion ones. As for the uncluttered worktops or crumb-free breadboard…forget it.
What I want to say is, be honest with yourself about how you and your household use a kitchen. If you are not someone who puts the crockery away and wipes the surfaces down now, then it’s possible that more cupboards and more surfaces might be the catalyst to the new you... but it might not. (And my next post on the kitchen shit-shelf is definitely for you.)
Your Starter Questions
So now we've got that out of the way and we are free to conjure up our perfect kitchen here's what you need to ask:
What kind of cooking do you do?
How many people would you expect to regularly accommodate for a meal and how many might you want to fit for a special occasion?
How many appliances do you need to put away? ( food mixers, blenders, sandwich makers etc)
How many appliances would you want ‘out’ ( toaster, air fryer, coffee maker, microwave etc)
Do you drink coffee with friends in the kitchen?
Do you expect a link to the garden? Back door to the bin?
Do you need to be able to keep an eye on small children?
Do you have to fit a washing machine and cleaning cupboard in?
Having a feel for these things will tell your designer how you want your kitchen to work.
What do I mean?
Well, these are some of my first thoughts based on possible answers:
batch cooking / large steaming Asian cooking / I butcher my own pigs (yes, I've actually had this one)
needs extra good ventilation, needs lots of worktop, needs storage for bulk bought ingredients
or
quick dinners / individuals cooking and eating at different times / I make my own TikTok videos
needs less worktop but generous fridge/freezer, would use bar stools and breakfast bar, needs island worktop with units as backdrop
2. we are a family of 4 and we eat together every day / the kids often have friends over / I want to have everyone over for Christmas, all 19 of us / meal times are a nightmare, we never eat together
needs a dining table for 6 to 8, or a high level 'breakfast bar', or both, suggest going out for Christmas dinner, don't bother with a dining table - enjoy TV dinners.
3. number and types of appliances will inform amount of cupboard space separate to food / pots, pans and crockery. It can also spark a discussion about larders and back kitchens
4. yes, room for me and a friend to drink coffee somewhere comfy / I'd like to have somewhere to sit myself when things are quiet / my teenager likes to chat with me when I'm cooking (really????)
would you consider sitting at a kitchen table - maybe think about comfy dining chairs - room for a sofa or 1 or 2 easy chairs
6, 7 and 8 are more self explanatory but will inform where your kitchen could be successfully positioned in your house or what needs to be designed into the room itself, not just the kitchen fit out.
Just as your kitchen is going to be the prime driver for your project, it's going to take a good chunk of your budget, so make it work for you - be innovative and don't follow the crowd just because it looks good in the adverts.
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