'You should always start your kitchen design process by understanding how you might use your space, especially when preparing and cooking meals,' says Al, Founder of Olive & Barr.
'It’s the little things that make a kitchen perfect, such as making the fridge easily accessible when cooking, having a special place for your chopping boards and knowing where to put your bin so the functionality of your kitchen is flawless.'
Think about the day-to-day activities that will take place in the kitchen and go from there. 'Before selecting a kitchen it’s important to be realistic on what you can achieve and how you can use the area most efficiently,' says Ben Burbidge, Managing Director, Kitchen Makers. 'Any structural work should be considered at the initial stages as including skylights, changing entrances, moving pipes and rewiring will make the renovation a much larger, more expensive, undertaking. Considering this at the start will help ensure your project runs smoothly and to budget.'
And always make sure you fully understand what your kitchen will look like before you let the building work start. 'Many good independent retailers now have 4D theatres in their showrooms, enabling you to experience being in your dream kitchen before any decisions are made, with the use of virtual reality,' says Nathan, Virtual Worlds. 'This technology enables you to properly spatially visualise the space - open cupboards, walk around the island unit and check if there is enough room to move and even try out lighting schemes.'