Original article featured in Cambridgeshire Agenda March 2008. Photography courtesy of Ludlows of Holloway, Smith and Wareham, Vanessa Arbuthnot and Woodbury Furniture.

Before you make big changes to your kitchen, it’s worth taking a step back to examine what you do and don’t like about the room – it may need a total overhaul but it also may have more going for it than you think. Cate Burren looks at the options. The first step is to look at how your kitchen should work for you day-to-day. The modern trend is to have the kitchen at the heart of the home, often a large living space with a family dining table and sometimes a sofa and TV. However, you may really just want to use your kitchen as a separate space just for cooking, so recognising how you really live, or how you want to live, is the most important basis for the design and layout of your kitchen.

The next important consideration is the amount of storage you need and what type. Units are important but there are lots of additional options. For example, if you keep a well stocked kitchen, a walk-in pantry may be useful, a dresser or sideboard near to a dining table looks great is very practical and open shelving can work well in a kitchen for regularly used items such a plates, mugs and glassware. If you like to keep wine or cookbooks to hand, incorporating wine-racks and bookshelves into you kitchen gives it a personal and homely look.

Appliances also need some careful consideration; start by deciding what you need and if the kitchen is the best place for it. For example, the washing machine tends to end up in the kitchen but if you are short of space, there may be another place for it elsewhere in the house.

The importance of good lighting in your kitchen cannot be underestimated. For cooking you need light in front of you so consider under-counter lighting if you have wall units of shelves above your units, or downlighters in the ceiling directed onto your worktops. You will need lighting over the dining table if you eat in the kitchen and some general overhead lighting and it is best if these are on separate switches so you can change the lighting depending on how you are using the room.

The look of the kitchen is something that is often deliberated over the most – do you like country charm or clean and contemporary. Do you want a glossy kitchen to make a big impact or a cosy welcoming space for family and friends? The best start is to find pictures of rooms you really love in magazines, books or brochures and build up a picture of what you consistently like. If you do this before you go out looking at kitchens on display, you are less likely to feel overwhelmed by the enormous choice available.

Remember that the look of the kitchen is not just created with your units and worktops. Flooring, wall colours, blinds or curtains at your windows and tables and chairs are all part of creating the end result and it is helpful to consider all these aspects before starting the work.

Having considered all these options, you may be thinking that the layout you have works pretty well for you, the appliances are fine and you actually just want update the look. If this is the case, don’t rush to change the units. There are lots of replacement doors companies that will make new doors to fit your current units or it may even be an option to paint the doors you have and change the handles. The worktop can also be changed if it is tired and these updates coupled with a coat of paint on the walls, improvements in lighting and a few new accessories may be all you need.

Finally don’t be afraid to consider getting some professional help. Architects (if the project is large or structural), interior designers and kitchen designers will help with all aspects of the design of the room and will help you to identify the best use of the room, provide layout options and recommend products will work best for you.