Top Questions to Ask your Kitchen Designer

Renovating your kitchen is a huge undertaking. Nevertheless, it can also be very exciting. You’ll have lots of ideas about what you want your kitchen to look like, and you may have already decided on the kitchen range you’re interested in. But don’t leave things to chance – seeking the advice of a specialist kitchen designer is a necessity to make sure your kitchen is functional and practical as well as stylish. At the initial consultation stage, a kitchen designer will ask you a lot of questions to get your thoughts on your new kitchen, as well as find out how you and your family intend to use it. However, it’s also important to ask your kitchen designer lots of questions, especially if you’ve not yet made up your mind about what you want your new kitchen to look like.  

Here are our top recommended questions to ask your kitchen designer: 

What’s the best kitchen layout? 

There’s no point having a stunning looking kitchen if, when you come to use it, your kitchen doesn’t function well. There’s also no point in planning for a kitchen that won’t fit into the space you have available. Therefore, you need to ensure your appliances are in the correct proximity to each other for ease of use and there are plenty of electric sockets for those appliances. If structural changes are also being made to your kitchen, the new kitchen layout will need to take these into consideration. 

What’s the best equipment to use? 

It is probably a while since you last needed new white goods and appliances for your kitchen, and it’s good to bear in mind that there will have been many improvements in technology in the meantime. A specialist kitchen designer will have an in-depth knowledge of kitchen technology and will be able to suggest useful technology you may not even be aware of yet. 

What style of kitchen should I choose?

This very much depends on your own tastes and the age and architectural style of your home. You’ve probably already got a good idea about what you’d like, but it’s always worth listening to the views of a professional designer who’ll have the experience to know what works in different environments. If you haven’t made up your mind yet, your designer will help you decide on the best style for your new kitchen, whether you want to create a modern, contemporary space or are going for a more traditional look. 

How much storage can I have? 

As much as possible! You can never have too much storage space in a kitchen, and these days there are numerous options available. The wall units of our German-designed and built Schüller and Nobilia kitchens can be configured to suit your needs, and there are many accessories that will help you make the most of the space available. These include corner carousels, deep pan drawers, sliding rail systems for bottle racks, pull-out larder units and a host of other ingenious options.

What lighting should I go for? 

Lighting is hugely important in the kitchen. You’ll be doing a lot of work in it, so you need to make sure all the surfaces are well lit so you can see what you’re doing. We’ll help you work out where lighting needs to go so you don’t end up working in the shadows. The clever use of lighting will also create the illusion that your kitchen has more space, making it even more impressive! 

Could I have an island? 

Kitchen islands are really popular as they’re a great way of making the space more functional and also provide a great space for everyone to congregate. However, they do require a lot of space. We recommend that you leave at least 900mm-1000mm around the island – this will give you enough practical space so you can open cupboard doors and drawers and walk around other people without it being an inconvenience. So when you are thinking about whether to have an island in your new kitchen, how much space you have to play with should be the first thing you discuss with your designer.