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FINDING INSPIRATION
BY MARK BYERS OF OLIVER GREEN KITCHENS
The period between Christmas and New Year is the time many of us look ahead and start to plan holidays and projects we want to tackle around the home . Kitchens are big projects and knowing where to start can be daunting . I ’ m hoping I can help give you some pointers in this month ’ s article .
The big decision areas for a kitchen project are style , appliances , sinks , taps , and surfaces .
Style is about what you like and not labels .
Most of us are familiar with style labels like shaker but at the end of the day what really matters is seeing examples of kitchens and creating a short list of the kitchens you see and like . It ’ s why we continually add examples of kitchens to our web site . But I recognise we are a destination once customers have had a good look around at all the options there are out there .
Fortunately finding examples of lots of kitchens is easy with the internet . We use the internet all the time to find inspiration for new projects . You can do the same to build a list of what you like before then talking to kitchen companies .
The online places I recommend you visit to start getting inspiration for your new kitchen are Houzz , Instagram , and Pinterest .
Houzz . com is the largest home improvement site globally . It isn ’ t just about kitchens so if your plans involve other rooms then it ’ s a great place to spend time .
Instagram and Pinterest are excellent places to see what businesses and consumers are finding and sharing . Pinterest is really good for building your own mood board of what you find and like . You can share any board with the kitchen companies you later engage with when getting your ideas turned into a design .
Appliance types
In the early planning stage of your kitchen project it ’ s best to think of what appliance types you want rather than specific appliance models . I say this because it ’ s all too easy to limit options if you focus on a specific appliance brand and a specific model too early in your project .
You will need to eventually make decisions about specific appliances but you don ’ t need to do this at the start . For example , induction hobs that have extraction integrated in them are increasingly popular . More appliance manufacturers are making these . It ’ s hard to know which is best and this is not always determined by cost . Deciding if you want this type of appliance is more important to a designer than having a specific model . The designer will be able to explain options and help you eventually settle on a specific brand and model .
Sinks and taps
When it comes to sinks and taps the options are extensive . Like appliances it ’ s better to know the type of sink and tap you want rather than specific brands and models . For example , we often get asked to include a Quooker tap . In practice what customers want is a boiling hot water tap and Quooker is not the only show in town . As kitchen designers we can and do explain the merits of the different options that are available .
For sinks you will want to decide if you want something very traditional like a Belfast sink , or a sink that ’ s mounted under the worktop , or a sink that ’ s mounted on the worktop . If you want to have drainage grooves you will be excluding sink types that fit on top of your worktop .
Surface options
To avoid any confusion when I refer to surfaces I mean what you are going to use as a worktop and what you plan to use on your walls .
Material choices for surfaces include laminates , natural wood , quartz , ceramics , and natural stone . The order of this list is an indication of low to high costs . Within each of these broad groups are sub-groups so arriving at a specific surface choice is not easy to make at the outset of you project until you understand the positives and negatives of each material option . Again , it ’ s what a designer can explain to you .
One final thing I personally ask you to consider at an early stage is how environmentally responsible you want to be and how important indoor air quality is to you . These two things are important to me and to my business . You are going to have your kitchen for a good many years . It makes sense to have a kitchen that ’ s better for you and better for the planet .
OG Kitchens wants to help you with your forever kitchen . Pick up the phone , email us , or come and see us . Our showroom and design studio is at 34 Hamilton Square , Birkenhead , CH41 6AZ .
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