The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s where we enjoy a cup of tea in the morning, make breakfast on the weekend with our loved ones, and catch up with our little ones over an after-school snack. With this in mind, it’s no wonder kitchens need redecorating now and then! They get a lot of use, so wear and tear is to be expected. To really enjoy your kitchen, it should be beautiful, practical and well-equipped with everything you need to suit your lifestyle. But, if you’re planning a new kitchen installation, you’ll know that trying to tick every box can be complicated!

With this in mind, we’ve created a list of everything you need to consider when planning a new kitchen, from light installations to cupboard styles. With our helpful tips and advice, planning your brand new kitchen installation can be a fun and enjoyable experience.

Choosing the right kitchen flooring

Let’s work from the ground up. Flooring is a key part of every stylish kitchen, but choosing the right flooring isn’t just about visual appeal. After all, you wouldn’t lay carpet in your food preparation area, would you? When deciding on the perfect flooring for your kitchen, consider the following factors:

• Cleaning and maintenance: When you’re cooking, you can expect mess to build up on the floor. With this considered, you want to choose a flooring style that can be cleaned quickly and easily.
• Waterproof: Again, you can expect spillages to happen from time to time. Your floor should be waterproof and not easily damaged by spills.
• Durable: There’s bound to be a lot of footfall in your kitchen, in addition to heavy appliances and furniture. With this in mind, you’ll want your kitchen flooring to be durable.
• Stylish: Of course your kitchen flooring should be practical, but there’s no reason why it can’t also look great! There are many stylish options to choose from, so it all depends on your personal tastes and refurbishment budget.

There are many different types of flooring that tick every box, but vinyl tiles are particularly popular. This is because they’re also cost-effective and work for every budget.

Choosing the perfect kitchen cabinets

When designing your dream kitchen installation, you must also consider cabinets and storage. This is where your pots, pans and plates will be kept – not to mention your food! – so it’s important to choose your cabinets carefully. When choosing kitchen cabinets, consider the following:

• Storage space: This is the most important factor to think about! Your cabinets must be large enough to store everything you need in your kitchen. If you have lots of different appliances (such as juicers, blenders or baking equipment, for example) you’ll need even more space.
• Fitted cabinets vs moveable cabinets: Depending on your design preferences, you may like the look of fixed cabinets or you may want to opt for moveable cabinets. Fitted kitchens are particularly popular because of their stylish look and space-saving qualities, but the choice is yours!
• Style: Another important factor to consider is style. You’ll want cabinets that match your flooring and kitchen worktops, so think carefully about your dream design before fitting kitchen cabinets.

Once you’ve chosen your cabinets, your kitchen installation design will slowly start coming together! Next, it’s time to figure out which worktops are the perfect fit for your new food preparation area.

Choosing the right kitchen worktops

If you’ve opted to install fitted kitchen cabinets, the kitchen worktop will often come attached. However, you still need to decide which style is right for you! Your kitchen worktop is perhaps the most subtle yet effective decorative piece, and the way it looks will hugely affect the overall appearance of your kitchen. When choosing the perfect worktops for your new kitchen, consider the following:

• Colour: What colour scheme are you following? Your preferred colour palette will affect which worktop colour you opt for. Remember – your worktops will also need to complement your cabinets, as they’ll often be fitted together.
• Natural vs artificial material: This is one of the most important decisions to make when choosing your worktops. Do you want worktops produced from a natural material, such as wood or marble, or would you prefer laminate worktops that simply imitate your chosen style? This decision will largely depend on your budget, as option one is typically more expensive than option two.
• Finish: There are also many different finishes to opt for. For instance, you might want to choose a natural-looking woodgrain finish. Or, you might want a granite-style finish that exudes luxury. It all depends on the style of kitchen you’d like!
• Design: You also need to focus on the practicality of your worktops, in addition to style. For instance, if you have children, rounded corners may be safer than sharp corners.

When designing your dream kitchen installation, don’t forget to seek help from the experts. Kitchen fitters have lots of experience in designing and building kitchens and will be well-equipped to answer your questions!

Choosing the most suitable kitchen lighting

Choosing your kitchen lighting is another key part of designing a beautiful and functional food preparation area! If your lighting doesn’t meet your requirements, your kitchen won’t be a comfortable space where you can whip up delicious meals and share them with your loved ones. The lighting also needs to make sure your kitchen is a safe environment where you can chop and cook food safely!

When choosing your kitchen lighting, you might want to illuminate specific zones. For example, you could install lights for:

• The whole room: Whether you want spotlights or a suspended light fixture, installing a ceiling light is a great way to tie your interior design together.
• Underneath wall-hung cabinets: Installing lights underneath your cabinets is a great way to illuminate your worktops and sink. If you’re making dinner or washing up and just need a little extra light, these will do the trick!
• Suspended above your dining table: If it’s dark outside, you may want to create a cosy atmosphere with lights suspended above your dining table. This means you can leave the rest of the room dark while spotlighting the delicious food you’ve just served up!

The right lighting is key to ambience, so think carefully about the perfect styles for your new kitchen. Again, this is something professional kitchen fitters can help you with!

Choosing your dream appliances and accessories

Once you’ve fitted your brand new kitchen with everything it needs, it’s time to focus on the fun part of refurbishment! Now, you have the opportunity to choose your new appliances and accessories. This is where you can be really creative and choose pieces that suit your design tastes and complement your dream kitchen space.

When it comes to choosing appliances, it’s important to think carefully about your space restrictions in addition to energy usage. You may already have a refrigerator, but if it’s years old it may no longer be as energy efficient as it should. If this is the case, it’s worth investing in modern new appliances.

When it comes to choosing your accessories, you can be as subtle or as creative as you like! For instance, you may want a large dining table for the whole family to sit around or a stylish breakfast bar that suits you perfectly. You may like to keep your walls bare to achieve a minimalist look, or perhaps you’d rather fill the space with framed family photos. The choice is yours!

James Dunn Roofing: Professional kitchen installations in Oxford

If the time has come to revamp your kitchen, look no further than James Dunn Roofing! We have over 35 years of industry experience and are proud to be the go-to kitchen fitters for customers in Oxford. With our standard of professionalism and attention to detail, we can bring your kitchen design dreams to life. We specialise in all aspects of kitchen design, and will even take care of any electrical and plumbing works that you need to be completed.

For more information about our range of kitchen installation services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at James Dunn Roofing today. We’re always happy to help!