I recently had the opportunity to work with a family of 3 based in Milton Keynes putting together a concept design for their kitchen. This is the first, of hopefully, many designs that I work on remotely whilst we ride out the rest of 2020.
The client contacted me through Linkedin after seeing me share content on my personal page from My Claybrick Home.
The Consultation
As with all new clients I offer a free consultation by phone and for this we used Zoom. The client walked me around their space using their phone camera and we talked about what they would like to achieve in their space. They also sent a selection of photos by email which is always super helpful, and a great reference tool when designing.
The family moved into the home 5 years ago and have decorated one room in the house. They are now ready to start taking on some larger renovation projects and the kitchen is number 1 on the list.
The only element to remain in this space is the new American Style Fridge Freezer that was a very recent purchase.
The main asks for this space are: Easy to Clean, Storage Storage and then more storage, plus working appliances in the right places.
By asking questions on how the clients uses the space and what they want from it I am able to build up a picture of family life, and how the 'heart of home' is used.
Putting the concept together
Before starting any design work I need to get the key measurements for the space and I provided the client with a guide on what I needed measuring with an easy to follow diagram.
I also set up a Pinterest board to share. Once I loaded around 30 pins into the board I passed over to the client to collect their feedback.
As the husband and wife team have very different styles it was great to get both of their independant feedback through the comments on the pins. This exercise really cemented for me the need for an easy to clean kitchen - no fancy handles to collect dirt from grubby hands.
Design Phase
Using the measurements I first start to work in 2D - putting in window and door openings. This kitchen was unsual as it had 3 doorwarys - 1 from the main hall into the kitchen, 1 from the utility and 1 from the dining room. We did discuss the option of taking down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room but the family did not want to go full open plan (their lounge and dining space is already one large open plan room).
I then start to work on the layout of the cabinets and the placement of the main appliance: cooker, hob, hood and dishwasher. Its always imprortant to discuss the amenities for a kitchen - this one does not have gas which works for the family as they wanted an induction cook top. Its always possible to add gas into a kitchen but it needs to be factored into the budget. The current cooker is an undercounter cooker and the client wanted to move to a wall mounted one to up her baking capacity by opting for a 1 and 1/2 cooker.
Sinks typically are situated by a window and this one just needed adjusting to fit under an off centre window. By shifting to the right, from its current configuration, I was then able to pop the inegrated dishwasher under the sink unit.
By working in a scaled plan I was able to work with off the shelf cabinets in the space as the sizes worked out well. To keep within the budget I looked at a number of options from Howdens through to B&Q.
Once the layout is complete I am then able to start working in 3D by 'pulling up the wall' and start adding wall cabinets, shelves, tiles and decor pieces to the spae.
Presenting to the client
The presentation to the client took place on Zoom with a copy of the design both then emailed and posted for reference. The design presentation includes the original concept images, the floor plan layouts, elevation views of the space and a number of persepective views. For this client I also added details on material plus a budget guide.
The key features of this kitchen to hit the main asks for the space were: Flat front (easy to wipe) cabinets, simple but substansial handles, and around 50% more usable storage space than the current kitchen configuration.
Fly Through Video
The final part of the design and presented to the client is the short fly through video which helps the client visual the final design.
Get in Touch
If you are looking to removate a kitchen, bathroom or any room in your home get in touch to see how I can help.
To find out more on Facebook, Instagram or You Tube check out the links at the top of the page. You can also find me on LinkedIn, click here to see my profile, or on Houzz.co.uk
Or feel free tto drop me an email at vicky@myclaybrickhome.com or give me a call on 07890 826567