Designing a kitchen is one of the most overwhelming tasks you’ll face in a home renovation as there’s such pressure to get it right. In fact, this is one room where a consultation with a professional designer (try The Expert for starters) can really pay for itself in dodged bullets.
Will Eaves, International Design & Development coordinator at British Standard says "Designing the right kitchen can be daunting, and while colours and accessories can be endlessly updated over time, it's a lot harder to change fixed kitchen units or worktops. We often find our clients have previously sided with aesthetic pieces over practical. Consider the materials you choose and make sure you're investing well in things that will last".
When you’re a lover of design – for better or worse – the decoration of a room has a direct impact on your mood, meaning practicality might not be the first place your brain goes. Nothing stirs emotion and makes palms clammy quite like a spectacularly beautiful kitchen. But when you fall head over heels with minimal stainless steel one day and then colourful Shaker style the next; the agony of aesthetic decision-making can mean smaller, functional things are overlooked. The depth of a cabinet, the durability of a worktop, the absence of anywhere to put a kitchen bin.
A new kitchen isn’t a pair of pyjamas – you won’t be getting a new one every Christmas, so every micro decision counts. We’ve asked 12 creatives to share what they wish they’d done differently with their kitchen renovation.
Florrie Thomas, fashion editor and brand consultant
“We had a fixed budget for our kitchen renovation, so we had to be strategic about where we spent and saved. I knew I wanted to splash out on the things that would make the room, so for us that was the porcelain tiled floor (I was tempted by wood for the warmth but with young children, tiles are so much more practical and easy to clean), the arched doors and also digging down to increase the ceiling height.
To save money, we chose an IKEA kitchen with Naked door fronts and my husband commented that sometimes when he opens the cupboards and notices the cheaper interior, it feels less special, whereas this doesn't bother me as I knew some corners would have to be cut. Unless you’re working with an unlimited budget (we weren’t) you have to really know yourself and what you’re happy to compromise on, versus what you’re not.
One small regret is choosing to add two ovens because I’m definitely not a cook but I am a professional Deliveroo orderer. I love to think that I will potentially become a cook, and the optimism is perhaps what the two ovens represent, but we barely use them and I don’t really know what I was thinking! In fact, one of them is just a storage cupboard now for oven trays and dishes. It was a classic case of buying something that fits a vision of how you wish you were, or what you want to be. Instead, I’d recommend focusing on the reality of your lifestyle and cooking habits. What do you genuinely use and what do you need to make life easier?
Our kitchen extension is quite a big room and the kitchen runs along the full length of the wall, plus there’s an island too, so the room is very much dominated by this huge kitchen, with a sofa in one corner. I sometimes wish I’d put the kitchen in one half of the room and created a proper living area in the other, but also I love that by dedicating so much space to the kitchen, we didn’t need to have any wall cupboards, which is such a luxury and it makes the room feel very airy and bright. It also leaves the walls empty for artwork and other additions that can evolve over time. So again, consider what feeling you want to get from the room and prioritise that.”
Twig Hutchinson, interior stylist and brand consultant
“I wish I’d paid more attention to getting electricals off the kitchen worktop. I thought I’d done pretty well getting the microwave into a cupboard but what I really wish I’d done is to create a dedicated (contained) space for everything breakfast-related, so at least the crumbs and wires were all in one place, out of sight. We have recently moved house and I’m starting to think about the design of our new kitchen. In my dreams, there will be a large cupboard that houses all my tea-making paraphernalia, the toaster, the bread bin and the kettle – ideally a hot water tap in there too. The great joy – but also pain – of styling interiors for a living is that you’re constantly visiting other houses and coming across ingenious ideas for things. Having been able to try out a few, I can definitely say I’m a breakfast station/cupboard convert.”
Phoebe McDowell, journalist and founder of @thepinterior
“I knew exactly which tap I wanted for the sink – I’d admired it in other people’s kitchens for years – but in a bid to claw back some cash, I bought an alternative for a third of the price. It showed. The shape was bog-standard and the finish bordering on offensive. But with the hole in my new marble worktop already cut, in it went. Surely I’d grow to like it, or feel indifferent towards it at least? Nope. It was never going to work. So of course, off I went to buy the original aged brass Perrin & Rowe tap that I wanted all along. That meant covering the single hole in the marble and drilling two new ones. What a palaver. In trying to save money, I actually spent much more. My advice therefore, is not to scrimp on the stuff you’ve long had your heart set on. Especially a tap that you’ll see and touch everyday. Think about the cost per wear (or wash).”
Gemma Moulton, founder of East London Cloth
“Know when to DIY and when to not. We sourced a reclaimed parquet floor for our kitchen and when we failed to find someone to fit it, we decided to do it ourselves. The fitting was surprisingly easy, however the sanding and finishing took hours and hours of work. As that left us tight on time, I didn't test the finish first and ended up ruining the floor. It had to be entirely re-finished after the kitchen was fitted. Costly in both time and money.
Also, be wary of cheap built-in appliances. We looked at a lot of dishwashers, but because our previous dishwasher had been second hand and always worked perfectly well, we decided to go with the cheapest option and invest in the oven and fridge instead. This was a grave mistake. The dishwasher is not very good at all but since the unit fittings had to be customised around the dishwasher, now we’re pretty much stuck with it.”
Christian Bense, interior designer
“This could apply to any renovating decision but I think you need to have a real conversation with your significant other about the type of person you are and how you like to live. In a kitchen especially, you can really discover the true nature of someone. When it comes to material choices, I am definitely a ‘let it age, let it weather, it’s all part of the character’ type, whereas my partner is more on the side of ‘I want no sign that anyone lives here or has ever used this’. We chose a stainless steel kitchen for our last flat, and our separate approaches to the upkeep of that made us realise that we’re fundamentally different humans. We’ve just started the renovation of our new place, so we’ve sat down and discussed who we are in terms of materials and patina and letting things age, then we know where to set boundaries and what we can and can’t compromise on.”
Siobhan McFadden, colour consultant and founder of @home__stead
“I regret not having a proper extractor fan. I really didn’t want a big extractor hood coming down from the ceiling over the island – I wanted my kitchen design to be as simple as possible – but in hindsight, I should have spent more money on this. We make do with a small extractor vent in the wall but it doesn’t remove grease or moisture from cooking, so the kitchen can feel damp in winter months with no air circulating. In my next kitchen, I also wouldn’t put the oven or hob on the island as I don’t think you can accessorise the area very well when it’s part of an island – it just ends up looking messy.”
I also regret not having a backsplash by the sink area. I didn’t want a tiled backsplash and so I opted for a simple lip on the worktop but it’s just not sufficient behind the sink and I’m now considering adding some patterned tiles to that area.
Issy Croker, food and travel photographer
“I would definitely have my sink, dishwasher and bins in more convenient proximity to one another! And the same for where we store all the crockery and glasses. We moved in and realised the dishwasher had been plumbed in at the complete opposite end of the kitchen to the sink, and then we had to put an island in too, so now every time I load and unload the dishwasher, it means doing laps of the room. The placement of everything in a kitchen needs to make logical sense.”
Sarah Srinivasan, interior designer and founder of @sept_septembre
“I visited a friend the other day and watched in awe as she opened her oven door at the side (like a microwave) rather than pulling it down: no steam scalding your face and no burning your hands bending to remove the hot pan! More than any other room, the kitchen is where the design needs to be tailored to one’s specific needs. Something we sadly realised too late when renovating our London flat a decade ago. One of the little oversights that annoys me is having a deep, one-door cabinet which stores our electric standing mixer, small appliances, various utensils, extra kitchen rolls, boxes of kids drawings… you get the idea! Taking anything out of that cupboard feels like a game of Tetris. I am working on a house in France at the moment and I’m having the kitchen maker include a large pantry cabinet with double doors for easy access, plus storage-friendly drawers and fairy racks in the doors to easily access smaller items.
Whilst my kitchen seemingly has a lot of prep space, it’s not designed for the preparation of more elaborate dishes. Although we have a large island, the only real food prep area is on the left of the hob as the rest of the countertops have cabinets sitting on them. The key here is to always think about the depth and not just length of your cabinets or island. And don’t forget to add a socket close to your hob, plus wherever you’ll need to charge your phone or laptop (especially if you use the screen to follow recipes).
Lastly, stand your ground on what really matters to you. Our caesar stone countertops are a daily reminder of my caving in and agreeing against marble, something I felt strongly about and now regret.”
Kaitlyn Coffee, stylist, creative director and founder of @harrisvintage
“I had a very specific vision for our kitchen renovation. I wanted it to be all wood, seventies, teak stained, sleek, no hardware and I got exactly that but in the midst of the reno (at the point when we had already hemorrhaged money and we had just gone over budget on something else), it was presented as an option to save $1500 by not having a concealed fridge. We were already scarred from overspending so much and for some reason we made the call to not have a panel front on the fridge, as it seemed like a ridiculous amount to spend. I still kick myself for it now as it would have made all the difference in keeping the clean, unbroken lines in our kitchen and it has changed the look of the room. When you’re in the midst of it all, it seems like a lot of money but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not, and I still curse myself for compromising on that. In conclusion, do not change your mind on something that was in your original plan. Be discerning, be firm and stick to your guns to get exactly what you want.”
Alice Gaskell, interior designer and founder of @alicegraceinteriors
“We removed some wall cupboards in our kitchen to replace them with open shelving and the cupboards originally had lighting underneath, which we disconnected. In retrospect, I wish I'd kept this electric source to allow for the inclusion of a wall light, as I’m a huge fan of multiple lighting options, particularly in a kitchen. If lights are in place already, I would always recommend keeping them, even if they aren’t used, otherwise rewiring is a potential expense for a later date. Having said that, if hardwiring isn’t an option, I have seen more and more plug-in wall lights coming on to the market, as well as rechargeable wall lights.”
Reena Simon, writer and founder of @hygge_for_home
“In hindsight, there are a couple of things I wish I’d designed differently for our kitchen (they’re soon to be rectified, in fact). The phrase “why didn't I think of that?” often springs to mind – especially with missed opportunities such as adding a coffee niche or cupboard where functionality blends seamlessly with aesthetics. The morning brewing ritual could have been made all the more warm and comfortable with a separate nook or space dedicated to all of our coffee equipment. Also, I should have embraced storage wherever I could and installed floor-to-ceiling upper cabinets, rather than forgoing those for a four-metre shelf which, whilst beautiful, provides little to no space for function.”
Natalie Sytner Yandell, founder of Bettina Ceramica
“Our house is a converted church vestry, which means we have large open-plan rooms on the ground floor with a ‘loft’ type feel. The space is great but it means we need to zone the spaces cleverly, because there’s no obvious place for anything. Pieces that work in more traditional Victorian houses can appear dwarfed by a large open-plan space, and we made that mistake in our kitchen. To define the kitchen ‘zone’, we had an island made, and I really wish we’d taken the advice we were given about playing around with its proportions. We’ve ended up with something a little too narrow for the space. It’s the same size as the island in our previous home but this room could have handled something much deeper and perhaps with added book shelves, etc. We should really have marked out the space first and lived with it for a while, but we were in a hurry to get it done. What works in one house may not work in another!
Cobbie Yates, costume designer
“One thing I wish I’d done differently in my kitchen is to create more display space. I have one small area above my microwave for plates, but I’ve collected lots of beautiful ceramics and pieces during my travels over the years and when I designed the kitchen, I didn’t anticipate how much I’d want to have on show. I feel like I’ve run out of wall space and if I were to do it again, I’d open up the space more by moving the boiler.
Also, I now wish I’d tried to incorporate a space within the layout of the kitchen to have a proper pantry. I could have done this if I’d moved a few things around but it would have meant reconfiguring the whole room, which I chose not to do at the time.”
