Create The Ideal Kitchen For Your Family

Follow these guidelines to create the perfect kitchen for your family!

Work triangle A 'work triangle' in your kitchen - keeping the fridge, cooker, and sink in very close proximity to each other - is the best advice for kitchen design. But these are some other ideas to help you get a kitchen that you are satisfied with.

Appearance Neutral colours like black, white or even mocha should be used for worktops. Fashion changes can be made by papering/painting the walls etc, but the worktops should be 'timeless'. Granite or marble worktops are recommended, as they add to the feel of quality of a kitchen and also never go out of fashion.

Sturdiness Kitchens have to withstand hot pans, knives, finger prints, and spilt drinks etc. Use durable substances, so avoid sprayed or hand-painted unit doors etc - as they'll get knocked and chipped very quickly.

Convenience Storage is vital in kitchens, so deep draws are a great practical solution - as things placed at the back of the draw are easy to reach. Also consider investing in soft-closing doors and drawers - as if pushed lightly, they will sophistically close themselves fully, and this will help them keep the kitchen neat, safe, and prevent 'slamming' noise.

Easy To Clean Choose materials that will resist or can be wiped of felt pens marks, for example. To avoid regularly wiping finger marks off units then avoid high gloss units, which may look nice in showrooms and brochures etc, but will prove to be a major cleaning headache. Simple designs are recommended, as patterns are more likely to collect dirt.

Safety Look out for appliances with controls that are lockable - hobs and ovens are a good example - so that only adults are able to switch them on.

Andrew Parker has written many articles relating to property development, building, and design with his media work with leading Warwickshire builders Charrington Oak.