From the Studios of Global Interior Design, London’s Hassle-Free Design Team

From the Studios of Global Interior Design, London’s Hassle-Free Design Team

Designing Stylish Kitchens

Recently I was online, busy with some e-catalogues from a kitchen studio for a project in London that is being managed by our interior design firm. It made me think about some do's and don'ts of kitchen design, the most important of which is that "doable" does not equal "advisable!" On occasion, our interior design firm encounters a client who craves massive architectural modifications in their kitchen. This can be doable but may be very pricey, without guaranteeing any particularly splendid outcomes that could not be achieved more economically. In these cases, our interior design team will come up with ideas for more subtle ways to reach the design of our client's dreams.

In all cases, your London interior design firm should be giving you guidance and regular updates on the key decisions and costs involved.

Luxury for Aspiring Chefs

When I am teaching my interns about kitchen design, I always remind them to think about special extras! The interior design firm in London should always explore the client's needs and desires. For example, will the home regularly be visited by London's landed gentry, who enjoy fine wines and restaurant-style meals? Does the aspiring chef desire a high-end rotisserie for flame-grilling chickens, or a floating-lid panini maker, or a granite-topped island with extractor fan for preparing marinades? Does the kitchen area need to serve multiple purposes, perhaps as a drinks area for visitors during summer soirees? The interior design team should work hard to understand their clients, anticipating needs even before the clients know themselves!

Use Cases for Kitchens

Junior interior designers often have difficulty imagining themselves in the shoes of their clients. Certainly, London is highly diverse, and people from different cultures and cuisine heritage regions will use kitchens in different ways. But in my view the interior design team needs to lay out what I call "use cases" to guarantee the most appropriate kitchen design. For example, the interior design professional should ask their client whether children will ever be in or near the kitchen? Should child-proofing of dangerous appliances be made a priority? Alternatively, some London residences need to feature panic buttons for older relatives - the kitchen can be a great place to install such a system. Does the kitchen need to serve as overflow for larger gatherings or garden parties? And will it be a vegetarian kitchen, or one that serves only Muslim-approved foods, for example? Today's modern London interior design professional needs to understand all these possibilities and more.