How To Get The Measure Of Your Kitchen

For me, the heart of our home is shared equally between the living space and kitchen, in fact, I'd be inclined to say that I spend more time in the kitchen (entirely willingly I might add!) than anywhere else in our house. I enjoy the ritual of coming down in the morning to make my son his milk, honey and cinnamon (I made a rod for my own back the day I introduced him to that!) baking cookies or making our evening meal which also doubles up as time for me to unwind whilst Rob takes over the childcare.
At the beginning of the year we were all set to buy what we thought would be our next home. It was a little rough around the edges, but that's what we loved about the house, that it was open to change. As viewings went, we were neither enamoured or deterred by anything we saw-the decor was relatively neutral save for the red "feature wall" in the front room, but still, it was all very standard as late Victorian 3 beds go. Until we reached the kitchen. I knew then that I had to have this house. What hit me first was the space there was available and the light streaming from a pair of French windows at the end. There was room for a table and a double oven-I could see it all before us; the family meals, helping Reuben with his homework at the table. Ok, the units were not to our taste and the layout didn't entirely flow, but being "project people" we relished the thought of re-designing the space to suit our needs.

So what's the best way to plan your kitchen layout before you go to the expense of having it fitted? Magnet Kitchens have created a helpful guide as part of their Quick Quote service to highlight the basic rules as well as how to draw out a basic floor plan. If you're also lucky enough to be planning your own kitchen re-fit then take a look at the latest trends - I'm drawn to white gloss units at the moment like Planar White with clean, simple lines and a timeless look.

Sadly our purchase fell through and with the pressure of baby Tabitha's imminent arrival we decided to move into a rented property until we could find the time to start the process of house hunting again. So, the dream kitchen is still on hold but given our experience of small, badly designed kitchens to date, there's no doubt in our minds that we'll be going to a professional when we're ready!

*This post is in collaboration with Magnet.