If you’re thinking of starting a new kitchen development in your home, slow down, think about the project at hand, and think ahead. Is your kitchen going to be entirely useful for years to come? Have you thought every detail through? Don’t get too caught up in colours and decorations, missing the stuff that truly matters… Function! We’ve got you covered with the 5 things that you NEED in your kitchen. Keep with upcoming trends, or throw the rulebook out the window and go with what you want, but here’s 5 things that should DEFINITELY make an appearance in your kitchen.

1) A beautiful, feature island

If you have the space, you can’t afford to not use an island counter, they add another dimension to your kitchen, whilst giving you a plentitude of space. Just think how much easier making a Sunday roast would be with all that counter surface space. You also get extra space for cupboards and appliances. Don’t forget to leave room for a breakfast bar too!

2) Task lighting

And then he said… let there be light! Giving each part of the kitchen its own lighting source is a smart way to highlight features, and make the most of the lighting. Often in rooms, we can have ‘blind spots’ or areas where the light doesn’t quite reach, and is constantly in shade. In a kitchen, everything should be illuminated, as each component is important! This kitchen is fitted with pendulum lights above the island, and feature lights above the work tops in the cupboards.

With energy saving bulbs, keep them on, and create an amazing ambience in the evening.

3) Easy to maintain surfaces

For the majority of us, cleaning is a chore that we’d rather avoid, BUT, if we have to do it, why not make it a lot easier? Choosing a stone counter top like marble or granite, not only looks good, but is super easy to wipe down. Stone is a lot harder to stain than traditional woods, meaning that cleaning is a breeze. They also don’t chip and scuff as easy. Although more costly, stone is the way to go as it’s easy to clean, easy to maintain, and made to last.

4) A mix of the old and the new

When designing your new kitchen, it can be tempting to go overly modern by having exclusively new trends. We think that by combining the best of the old and the new, you create a timeless kitchen that’s completely person to you. This modern kitchen, has used a vintage style oven with hood to accent the room. It creates a motif of style, and sophistication, and is then entirely personal to you, as opposed to being from a catalogue.

5) Sneaky storage

Let’s all be honest, we could all do with an extra cupboard or two. In a kitchen, there’s no such thing as too much storage. Why not mix it up and add a bit of hidden storage? Keep your best wines in there, or your favourite biscuits! Or just have it as a ‘wow’ feature inside of your home!

Need a little more kitchen inspiration? Check out the best trends for spring and summer of 2017 or why not look at our previous projects?