Next to our home and car a new kitchen is probably one the biggest purchases you are ever likely to make. Whether it is a new build or remodel the choices available are endless. Everything in the home focuses on the kitchen so it is very important to get it right and optimize whatever space you have. Throughout our lives we collect a vast assortment of gadgets and utensils, some we never use and some we can't live without. Even if you are not a 'pack rat' we are all guilty of that impulse buy like the pasta maker, bread machine and the espresso maker collecting dust on some counter top.
Trying to house these appliances is quite another matter. All our needs are different yet fundamentally the same, to create a space that is function yet as personal and individual as you are. It needs to be able to grow with us over time as our families expand yet still be stylish and clutter free.
The number one priority in a new kitchens design is always going to be aesthetics, whether modern or traditional, granite or wood etc. It's not just a place to cook it speaks volumes about who we are and how we live. I'm no 'Martha Stewart' or 'Jamie Oliver' but I know what I want in a kitchen. Show me one person that hasn't left the 'Ideal Home Exhibition' without one culinary contraption tucked under their arm. So after you have the basic style of your kitchen worked out the next step in the design process should be a list of your must have appliances and build the units and cabinets around these.