Kitchen Guide - Winter 2021

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THIS ISSUE: KITCHEN GUIDE

102 STYLES

106 COSTS & SCHEDULE

118

110

UNITS & ISLANDS

ELECTRICS

100 OVERVIEW / 104 DESIGN 114 WORKTOPS & SPLASHBACKS / 116 TAPS & SINKS 120 COOKERS & EXTRACTORS / 122 DESIGN PROJECT 124 SOLID WOOD KITCHEN PROJECT / 128 FARMHOUSE KITCHEN PROJECT WINT ER 202 1 / SE LF BU I LD / 9 9

KITCHEN GUIDE / OVERVIEW

Let’s get cooking!

The kitchen is at the heart of the home and as such, deserves all the attention it can get. It will have to cater to family life, seamlessly work with the rest of the home, and perhaps most importantly, make daily chores as straightforward as they can be.

image: Freepik.com

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or most people, the kitchen is the most important room in the house.

It’s certainly the one that gets the most attention, whether you’re renovating an existing space or building a new one. It needs to be functional, hardwearing, easy to clean, easy to access, calming, inspiring, comfortable, and it needs storage, storage and more storage. No pressure then!

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The move towards open plan living means that the kitchen is no longer just a workspace; it’s a place for dining, entertaining and relaxing too. Even the process of preparing food and cleaning up after it has become more social and the popularity of kitchen islands and peninsulas reflects this.

So the first thing you need to do, before you even go online, read a magazine, visit a showroom or talk to a designer, is think about how you will use your space. It’s all too easy to convince yourself that a marble splashback or a hot water tap is essential once you’ve seen it in someone else’s picture perfect kitchen.

Think about seating, storage, lighting, appliances, heating and your own style preferences.

Make a list of must-haves and a separate wish list. How do you use your current kitchen? What do you like and dislike? Let your lifestyle lead your design.

Sometimes the best reason to look at trends is so you can avoid them. Thanks to the internet and the ease of access to photos, kitchen colours and finishes come into and out of fashion faster than ever before. A style you love today might look dated in five years’ time, so when you’re browsing websites, try and look at what was popular three, five, ten years ago.

Keep the bones of your kitchen – the layout, cabinets and surfaces

– as classic and timeless as possible and then you can use accessories to update it as often as you like.

It’s also important to consider the room itself, not just as a standalone space but as one that connects and responds to the spaces around it. If your kitchen opens onto the garden, think about how you can integrate the outdoor and indoor space to maximise light, views, access and flow.

If your kitchen space includes a dining and living area, think about how each separate zone interacts with the others and how you will define them in terms of structure, lighting, colour and texture. Consider also the continuity of light, colour and texture from your kitchen to any other connecting rooms – hall, utility, bathroom, bootroom.

Sunlight is not a constant so keep in mind how the patterns of light and shade will change over time. Track the path of the sun in your space during the day and also across the seasons. Even if you are remodelling an existing space, even if your orientation is not ideal, there are techniques you can use to grab that sunlight when you can.

Rooflights, clerestory windows and mirrors in combination with well-placed artificial lighting will allow light to flood into the darkest of spaces.

Fiona McPhillips Author of Make the Home You Love, fionamcphillips.com

When choosing materials for your kitchen, make sure they are durable and will withstand heat, water, spillages, droppages, children and pets. Marble makes a beautiful worktop but it’s a porous natural stone and it absorbs liquids. An oiled oak floor may be the perfect partner to your gloss cupboards but just watch that oily pesto seep into the grain. Ask suppliers for samples of flooring, worktops and cupboard doors, take them home and do your

survive your lifestyle.

And finally, the boring bit: budget. Be honest with yourself, make a budget and stick to it.

Buy the best you can afford but shop hard and don’t be afraid to ask for discounts. If you find yourself having to make tough decisions, cut anything you can buy in time. You need to get the bones of the kitchen right from the start, everything else can wait. Don’t rush into buying furniture, lighting and other

‘It’s all too easy to convince yourself that a marble splashback or a hot water tap is essential once you’ve seen it in someone else’s picture perfect kitchen...’ worst – stab, scrape and throw heavy objects on them, place hot cups of tea and coffee on them to see if they leave marks, soak them in red wine, water and olive oil.

Rigorous testing is the only way to know for sure if a material can

accessories you don’t love. Shop online, buy second hand, wait for sales and one way or another, you will get your dream kitchen in the end.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / STYLES

Kitchen styles overview Much like the external appearance of your house, you can pick your kitchen out of a book or you can design it yourself, mixing and matching elements you like.

Words by Marion McGarry, compiled by Astrid Madsen Walnut cabinet kitchen

Minimalist Scandi style kitchen

Island layout below, peninsula right

Single galley below, double right

Add warmth

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Sergei Sushchik

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L shaped below, U shaped right

Kitchen layout examples

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Traditional

Traditional styles can hark back to nostalgia for kitchens past; the warm fuzzy feeling of a grandmother’s kitchen that may or may not ever have existed. They might also suggest feelings of country or rural living as opposed to urban.

Traditional kitchen styles embrace decorative elements such as ornamental plate racks, fretwork, dresser shelves and pilasters. Traditional kitchens are often the realm of Belfast sinks and free standing range cookers.

Colour coded Laurence Katz

rarchitecture.com.au, photography Dylan James

integrated handles would suit a 1970s bungalow (recent-modern) and so on. See p110.

Contemporary

There are two broad categories of kitchen styles: traditional which evokes pre-twentieth century design versus the contemporary styles emerging from the post war period. As a fixed piece of furniture that’s expensive to replace, the kitchen should usually fit in with the overall style of your home.

Therefore a classical panelled door might suit a period Georgian house (traditional); a shaker style might suit a cottage (traditional); or a plain wood panelled style with

Contemporary kitchens are chiefly concerned with function: with no decorative elements or dust collectors included. Doors are usually plain which aim to complement the high tech appliances.

Any current design trend can take hold in the kitchen, be it Scandinavian (clean simple lines with reliance on wooden effects and often white as a prevailing colour) or minimalist. In general, an emphasis on manmade materials for worktops and panels, with glass and metal effects on doors and appliances, look more towards an industrial aesthetic as seen in the commercial kitchens of restaurants and hotels.

Green kitchen with golden accents

In many instances a prevailing colour will define the kitchen, be it the classic white or a stronger colour like blue, black or even green. The colour can be defined by a material as opposed to a shade of paint, e.g. wood.

Cat Han

Handlless kitchen with waterfall island.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / DESIGN

Easy access Kitchen design is all about how you are going to be using the space; here are the design parameters to know about.

Extracts from Marion McGarry, Paul McNally, Nicola Jones, Brendan McAlister and Shauna Stewart and Astrid Madsen

Guiding principles

Universal Design principles were devised to future proof your house so that it can be used by people of all abilities. The guidelines provide helpful kitchen tips/advice and dimensions to take into account; they are free to access on universaldesign.ie Even though parts of the building regulations take into account mobility needs for all ages and walks of life, mostly in the form of access, Universal Design principles are more thorough and provide practical, everyday living, design guidance.

Speaking of the building regulations, they will limit some of your choices. For instance, staircases need to be a certain distance from the kitchen for escape routes and heat emitting appliances must conform to standards, not forgetting the need for a heat detector (as burnt toast will set off a smoke detector).

There are also what can be loosely referred to as eco design principles, or a Less is More approach. Reducing the size of your kitchen comes first, meaning not being pushed into 1 0 4 / SE LF BU IL D / WIN TER 2 021

buying gadgets or appliances you don’t need, and keeping the kitchen dimensions fairly compact.

Choosing materials that are sustainably sourced and that emit low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can at times be easier said than done. But it is worth persevering to find out the credentials of the kitchen components you are buying.

Waste management is another part of the eco movement, and by extension, choosing to buy regional foods without packaging.

evening preparing food, then sit for an hour, then relax for three hours at the dining table and sitting area.

So a light filled living and/or dining area with the kitchen in a darker spot, using task lighting from above and beneath presses, is a very viable option.

Ceiling height is important to maintain at 2.5m at least, and if you can go more in the kitchen area, do. The devil will be in the detail to make sure everything fits, without any element looking like it was shoehorned in. This will require making choices about where everything will go early on.

If you dream of an island, the rule of thumb is that you need a room that’s at least 4m by 4m. In an L or U shape kitchen you will need a 1m to 1.2m gap between island and worktop.

precious to be wasted on a sink and, with modern plumbing and lighting you don’t have to keep to the old way. Sinks are now sited on islands or hidden away depending on the cook’s needs.

Window seats are also becoming increasingly popular in open plan configurations, especially in corners but these can be nestled elsewhere in a well crafted design.

Kitchen triangle

Traditionally, before the advent of dishwashers, the sink was placed under a window looking out onto the garden or back yard.

The practical reason for that was

The famous kitchen triangle refers to the path between your cooker, fridge and sink. The route to each should form a triangle for ease of use.

You will need the three to be close to each other, especially in larger kitchens. Keeping food prep (around the sink and hob) and cleaning areas (around the sink and dishwasher) separate is crucial, however.

To be a practical design, the layout should place each of these on one side of the triangle whose total length should not exceed 7.9m and be of no less than 4.3m. This is to allow the best flow in the main kitchen area;

light and being able to watch the children at the same time as tidying up.

The area next to a window is arguably a prized spot, too

any deviation around awkward corners should not exceed 300mm.

If you do a lot of cooking, consider an additional food

Window placement

Room size

The design and size of your kitchen will be determined at the earliest design stage. For some, the bigger the space you give the kitchen the better. That’s if it will be your main living space, between cooking meals, doing homework and browsing the internet.

As with all aspects of design, consider how much time you will actually spend in the room and how you will use it.

Consider that most people spend approximately 30 minutes in the morning and an hour in the

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Zoning

‘In an open plan configuration, the island will delineate the kitchen...so you may want to make your island stand out with a different or bolder colour/finish. ...’ evenings are short and precious.

It’s not ideal to have the children in one room while you’re cooking in another.

In an open plan configuration, the island will delineate the kitchen from the other areas. So you may want to make your island stand out with a different or bolder colour/finish.

Areas can also be separated by furniture or shelving. Different floor finishes, be it the covering or a rug, will also give a visual cue as to what space you’re in.

On the topic of furniture, don’t forget to factor in your dining tables and chairs; these must allow you to circulate easily. Consider how you can move them or change their size for entertaining. As for built in benches and tables, know that they are restrictive to sit at (everyone is the same distance from the table) and tend to be a lot less comfortable, but they are

very economical of space, provide storage underneath and you will get a lot more people sitting on a bench than on chairs.

Pocket doors, meanwhile, are an excellent means to close off one area from another. They slide into the walls, in a casing, and therefore need to be planned for in advance. Sliders that hang above a door opening (with the mechanism on view) can be added later on; however these may need reinforcements.

For a clean finish, keep the form simple. The number of elements shouldn’t exceed much more than three, e.g. island, tall storage, counter with integrated sink. Use colour to visually merge zones.

Recent studies have somewhat overtaken the original kitchen triangle concept, with workflow and convenience now the main design drivers. A zonal layout to include consumables, non-consumables, cleaning, preparation and cooking allows everything to be at hand for a particular task.

To maximise storage, pullouts with solid bases are the way to go. Be they drawers or larders, they will make all of the usable space accessible. You will always need to share spaces but there are endless dividing and separation systems available to help your kitchen remain clutter free.

For a sleek finish, there are push to open systems which are now up to the level of durability and functionality of the more traditional systems. You can also pick up locking systems to keep little hands away.

If you go handleless, know that J-grip door designs aren’t suitable to those with restricted hand or finger movement, or if you like to maintain long nails.

The main thing is to go for what you like in terms of design and then make the space work for you. If you choose not to have wall cabinets, you will of course be restricting your options but in a larger kitchen you should easily be able to make that work. In smaller spaces you need to make the most of what you have so wall units will probably be necessary.

Roadstone

The kitchen configuration will form part of the initial design stage discussions with your architectural designer, and will take into account how you will circulate in this area and how it connects with the rest of the house.

Most common is the open plan, which refers to integrating living/kitchen/dining areas in one space. Semi open plan or broken plan refers to the same idea but with some element of zoning or partition.

Post pandemic, most of us will have intimately experienced what works (and what doesn’t) in our existing homes. While open plan living may have lost some of its lustre, for working parents

Forget the triangle, and go with the flow

LVT Weathered Hickory

prep sink – a small inset bowl close to the cooking area. An additional sink in a utility room is a must, for messier jobs such as handwashing clothes and watering plants.

A single crockery storage unit right beside your dishwasher (to one side of the sink and away from the cooking area) will allow you to stand at one point and empty the dishwasher, while another person uses the kitchen to cook or clean.

The dishwasher next to the sink enables you to rinse plates and load the dishwasher all in one movement. So does locating the pull out bin near both of these.

But in reality, not all rooms are shaped to accommodate the working triangle. And so as with most design rules, it can be broken.

For some cooks it will make sense to have the hob and sink on the same surface. In fact, according to Universal Design principles this alternative provides a way of reducing the need to carry hot food or liquids from one worktop to another.

An L or U-shaped layout, where pans and containers can slide from hob to sink, is another option.

Ronan Duggan, Sales Manager with Flanagan Fittings, fff.ie For further advice and inspiration check out thekitchenthink.co.uk, cleverstorage.com and dynamicspace.com

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KITCHEN GUIDE / COSTS & SEQUENCE OF WORKS

Bean counting All aspects of a self-build are affected by the budget. This is particularly true of the kitchen, where costs can quickly mount.

Bulthaup (Hanover Quay, Dublin)

Extracts from articles by Keith Kelliher, Marion McGarry and Astrid Madsen

In the world of kitchen design and manufacture, all kitchens are created fundamentally equal. The shell, which is made up of structural units known as carcases, tends to be crafted out of laminated manmade composite materials, usually chipboard or Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF).

This ensures the interior is practical, hard wearing and easy to clean. Other elements that are hidden from view, including shelves, drawer backs and panels, also tend to be made from these materials.

You should always ask what this skeleton is made of. A few manufacturers may offer carcases made from solid wood or veneered timber which are at the higher end of the cost scale.

The cost of the kitchen will therefore usually have much more to do with your choice of doors, exterior end panels and worktops than the structure 1 0 6 / SE LF BU IL D / WIN TER 2 021

upon which they’re laid.

The door style is likely to be your first costly component as it will profoundly affect the overall aesthetics and feel of the finished kitchen. Choosing a door made from a manmade composite material usually keeps costs down, the opposite is true of highly crafted or premium material doors, e.g. solid timber.

Don’t forget that appliances as well as fixtures and fittings such as water taps all need to be included in the price of the kitchen to get a full picture of cost. Indeed, a kitchen manufacturer will struggle to give you a quote without at least the room measurements and your electrical appliance list.

How much does a kitchen cost?

A basic kitchen might come in at 3k but when the cost of

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a second hand bargain online or buy an ex-display from a kitchen company.

Also, kitchen companies or flat pack suppliers can supply the units for your joiner to fit; this could turn out to be more cost effective than sending their fitter to do the job.

Another cost saving option is to opt for a standalone kitchen which is made up of units or pieces that can be bought separately, i.e. different pieces of furniture, and require no fitting, mostly used with free standing electrical appliances. Good if you’re creative, have a clear vision, and are able to source items individually.

fitting and electrical appliances is added, it could increase to 8k or 10k and well beyond depending on your choice of materials.

Things like solid timber doors or granite worktops will obviously inflate the figure.

So a flat pack kitchen, mass manufactured according to standard measurements, will be at the lowest end of the scale.

These have a cost per unit worked up, and might only cost a couple thousand excluding appliances and accessories. A fully kitted out kitchen of this type can creep up to 10k including fitting.

But more often than not, tens of thousands are spent on a fitted kitchen. In fact, at the higher end of the market, it is not unusual to come across some kitchen companies that charge a minimum cost.

If you’re on a budget but want a designer kitchen, and if you look for long enough, you could find

Don’t be afraid to book a consultation with a kitchen designer; they will be able to apply their experience to your particular circumstances.

Bring your house plans or room measurements along with your list of preferences including storage needs, spatial preferences and whether you want the kitchen to be a social space. First consultations tend to be free when booked through a kitchen manufacturer.

No matter the type of fitted kitchen you choose, an experienced kitchen fitter is key to the whole process: a top quality kitchen is no use if it is fitted incorrectly. This can be someone from the kitchen company or a joiner you hire directly.

In all cases you will require an experienced plumber and registered electrician to install pipework, wiring and fittings. If you plan to use gas, you will also have to avail of the services of a registered gas installer.

The running order of getting your kitchen

Figures published by onlinetradesmen.ie in July indicate that tradesmen are currently charging €1,300/sqm or about £120/sqft to build an extension, excluding both VAT and the cost of the kitchen.

For any quote you receive, it’s important to check what is and isn’t included. Usually a build price will include the groundworks and foundations (check who pays for waste disposal), the superstructure (the building built above the foundation), and first fix (including floors and ceilings, and inserting cables for electrical supply and pipes for water supply).

Allowance for demolition, structural alterations (e.g. creating a structural opening from the existing house, often supported with a steel beam), and connection to the existing house (e.g. flashing) will be extra, up to 10k.

Redesigning work, such as reworking an interior layout start from €390 per sqm. These onlinetradesmen.ie figures exclude VAT. Oftentimes second fix and carpentry are also included (this includes finishing work, which is generally done after plastering, like fitting floorboards and architraves, doors and windows) but if it’s a build cost only, not all of these elements will be included. Always go through the finer details and get a cost breakdown.

The following is a guide based on what Irish Denise Kavanagh

Who’s who

Extension costs

homeowners are getting quoted for building work via the onlinetradesmen.ie service in 2021, excluding VAT: Build costs (single storey): standard €1,300 per sqm, then with windows, lighting fixtures, standard electrics and heating included €1,900 to €2,200 per sqm. For extensive renovation work and higher specification finishes, fixings including flooring, from €2,600 to €3,000 per sqm.

Kitchen costs: the kitchen installation costs are extra.

Some builders will not fit kitchens, others will offer a quote in addition to the construction work. Kitchens can start from as little as €2,400, however, a recent quote obtained for a standard kitchen of approximately seven linear meters asked for €6,500 excluding appliances and accessories.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / COSTS & SEQUENCE OF WORKS

designed and installed.

Architectural design

draw up full kitchen plans at the preplanning stage, as the house design is likely to change as a result of the planning permission process.

Showroom visits

After you secure planning permission, the best time to consult a kitchen designer will be when you have your builder lined up, or your commencement notice approved (ROI) / Building Control plans approved (NI), as well as your construction plans at the ready.

The construction drawings need to have details of the final window/door sizes and positions as well as the room dimensions.

Based on your requirements, the kitchen designer will then draw up your plans on their in house software, which is done quickly once all of the elements are decided upon.

You will discuss your kitchen with your architectural designer well before seeking planning permission. At this stage room measurements and basic circulation spaces will be pinned down, along with the flow of the room. This is when you decide on room placements, including separate pantry or utility, where the windows go, etc.

Foundations stage or demo

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As long as you have drawings, including elevations, then advice from kitchen designers is available from the earliest stages, even before you get planning permission. This could be helpful if you are unsure about window/ door sizes and placements, because after you get planning permission it will be difficult to change your openings (how big they are and positioning).

But it would be premature to

Initial kitchen plans

In the case of a kitchen remodel, you will need to take the old kitchen out (your builder may or may not do this, always check). Once that’s done, the first draft will show where all of the plumbing and electrical points will go exactly, so the builder/electrician/ plumber can place the services correctly (at the foundations stage in a new build). In the case of integrated appliances, pipes should preferably be chased in the wall.

Site check

Brandt Design

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The site visit happens once the walls (at least plasterboarded or otherwise finished) have gone up. In some cases, the plumbing may not be in the right position, which either means it has to be repositioned or the

plans adjusted to move the sink or appliance it corresponds to.

At this stage the fitters can mark out where exactly sockets need to be put. The electrical points can also be decided by the electrician, who would base them off the final kitchen plans when ready. Don’t forget the fridge if you choose to have it plumbed for water or ice cubes.

Additionally, your island will need power points – sockets can be useful here for things like phone charging or vacuuming.

Final kitchen plans

Final plans can only be drawn up after a site visit, but these shouldn’t be far off the draft plans. The final plans will reflect the as built dimensions of the rooms

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and the positions of every kitchen element, based on the site visit.

Order placed

Once the order is finalised, and you’ve checked the drawings are all ok, the kitchen is built from the plans. This can take as little as two to three weeks. At this stage you will need to book in your fitter and pay your deposit.

The fitters will install the units first then fit the appliances, including fixing the extractor fan, ready for the electrician to connect. The hob is left loose for the connection to be made and once that’s done the electrician secures it with the fittings supplied. The plumber is in charge of connecting all of the sinks, dishwasher and plumbed fridge (if any).

any issues, and they are identified at this stage, they should be promptly looked after. Final payment is then due.

Final finishes

Painting happens next and wall tiles. Light fittings are then added last by the electrician when the painting/other finishes are done.

First finishes

It’s best to install your tiles or other floor finishes before the kitchen is fitted, to provide a neater finish. For the walls, tiling usually takes place after the kitchen has been fitted.

For walls that are to be painted, it’s advisable to only apply an undercoat as the fitting process may lead to scratching when the units are getting fitted. Also some caulking is likely to be necessary for fit out, and this will need to be painted over with the finished colour.

Kitchen installed

Installation usually takes anywhere from one to five days.

‘It’s best to install your tiles or other floor finishes before the kitchen is fitted, to provide a neater Snagging finish...’

The kitchen fitter will check everything is as it should be with the homeowners. If there are

How long will my kitchen take, from design to completion?

On average, you can typically expect your kitchen to be installed within six weeks of placing your order.

The final appointment to view the floor plans is crucial, don’t rush the sign off, and always do it in person inside the showroom if possible.

The amount of time it takes to then build the kitchen can be as little as two weeks, with installation taking one to five days depending on the complexity of the job and whether it’s just a kitchen install or one that also includes utility and wardrobes.

The fitter’s schedule is really what determines the total lead time after that.

A lot of self-builders would come to us asking to be slotted into the fitter’s schedule as soon as possible, which is fine for us, but to avoid disappointment it pays off to be realistic about how quickly your build is progressing.

For us to fit the kitchen you need electricity connected and flooring in place. During the busier summer months, the fitter’s schedule can be booked up three to four weeks in advance. Therefore, changing the installation date without enough forewarning will set your schedule back. January/ February is usually the quietest time of year, so rescheduling can be done more quickly then.

Adam Butler, Cash & Carry Kitchens Designer

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KITCHEN GUIDE / UNITS & ISLANDS

How you plan to move around the space, where and how you store things, and at what height, will all have an impact on your design.

Storage is the key to success – tidying up won’t take as long if everything has its place, and you won’t have to do it as often.

originalbtc.com

Words from articles by Keith Kelliher, Marion McGarry, Paul McNally, Shauna Stewart, compiled by Astrid Madsen

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Robert Logan Architects

Kitchen units and islands

Carcase types

The carcase is the structure onto which, doors, drawers and countertops are connected, and it is the part of the kitchen into which all items are stored. It is generally constructed from chipboard at the lower end up to solid timber on the higher end of the financial scale. You can also find designs available in metal and other materials although these are less popular.

Within each material you will have further choices with some kitchens built with a carcase as thin as 10mm and others up to 12mm and even 15mm. The thicker the carcase, the stronger and more durable the kitchen will be on completion.

The carcase can be finished in veneer, laminate or it can be directly painted if made from MDF or solid timber.

The carcase will generally be produced into cabinets, generally 300mm, 450mm, 600mm, 750mm and 1000mm in width, although different manufacturers

may operate different standard sizes and it is important that you check.

It is from this standard size of cabinets that most kitchen designs are developed. Any design that requires a purpose made unit will add to the final cost so try where possible to stick to standard sizes.

A carcase can then be finished with a single door (either a solid or glazed door), two or multiple doors, it can have a number of drawers inserted into it or it can be left open to receive an appliance or other item.

A single door will obviously cost less than two or more doors and a single door will also cost less than drawers, due mainly to the additional mechanisms required.

Doors and ironmongery

For doors, premium manmade composite materials are popular with either high gloss lacquered or heavy matt finishes. Flush

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are various types of inbuilt hoover systems, the cost of which can run from the low hundreds and up depending on the extent of the system selected. You could also replace the trusty broom with a chargeable vacuum cleaner; these are now just as light and easy to use.

Facings or filler panels are also used at the top of the cabinets and at the sides to make up for any measurement shortages.

These small details will make a big difference when you are using the kitchen every day; they are available for both flatpack and bespoke kitchens.

What’s an in ? en frame ktoitincstalhl the doors

doors with no panel mean they are practical and easy to clean. But some say these lack character.

Glossier styles can be demanding in terms of how often you have to wipe them down, with handprints showing up more readily. The wrapping can be made of vinyl but more durable is acrylic, which provides a higher gloss effect and is applied in layers. Some even have flecks of metal to reflect light.

Popular materials for traditional door styles, from shaker (plain door with a square solid frame and recessed inset panel) to large square panel doors, are solid timber (pine, oak, maple) sometimes with hand painted finishes (often from a palette of warm creams and greys).

Doors are generally constructed in MDF or solid timber (but again a variety of finishes in metal are also available) and are finished in laminate, paint or similar.

How high should you go?

To make the house

ways accessible to all, There are two es. They can either be as rc you should aim to ith w l, el sh into your ca e onto the carcas e facing, or make your finished directly fitted th of the space g worktops 900mm lin fil st or fir do e e th ted onto a fram high. For comparison, they can be fit ched to the carcase. ta at a standard dining table en th is th ch ng whi ides more stre is 750mm high. Ideally The latter prov in an to as have some sections of and is referred worktop height adjustable frame kitchen.

Each door or drawer will require a handle and fixing mechanism which will work towards the end cost. Indeed, advances in soft closing and anti slam devices, quick release hinges and the array of available finishes in handles, have resulted in an extensive amount of cost been taken up by ironmongery so don’t forget to factor these in.

Facings

At the base of the cabinets is a toe kick; it can be faced with a decorative or straight filler moulding to make it look flush with the finish above.

You can include a hoover outlet in this kickboard to allow you to sweep crumbs into. There

or use a combination of fixed height worktops between 760mm and 900mm high.

For universal access, wall units shouldn’t be placed higher than 450mm above worktop level.

Consider too that pull out drawers are easier to use than, say, deep shelves under your worktops.

Cabinets that go all the way up the ceiling, framed with or without a bulkhead or moulding, help prevent dust build up and can be more visually appealing than locker-like arrangements (where there is a gap between the ceiling and the presses).

Universal Design also factors in the fact that many people can find blank elevations to cupboards confusing. The methodology therefore suggests a mix of open shelving and glass fronted units to act as a reminder of what’s inside

and to allow easy checking of contents.

That said, there is a design trend for a clean contemporary look with sleek, uncluttered lines.

Drawers

Drawers are most efficient at storing things you can access, especially if you kit them out with convenient wire baskets and inserts. Larger ones can take the weight of pots and pans. They come 600mm long to match standard appliance sizes but also 800mm for cutlery and pots and pans; depth is usually up to 500mm to fit in the standard 600mm carcase.

Note that if you have large drawers in a small space, and someone is standing in front of them, they will have to move for the drawers to open.

Internal fittings in drawers, but also cupboards, make for a super organised space. Your options include plate racks, peg boards, pull out spice racks, individual cutlery holders and saucepan dividers. A 500mm wide press can hold a full pull out bin system.

These add to the cost but are likely to be worth the investment to help keep everything in its place.

Pantries and cupboards

For some chefs a pantry is also a must have, with all items on view in a walk-in area, but for others kitchen cabinets provide sufficient food storage.

And so a large food cupboard and a large crockery cupboard can be a good place to start in tandem with convenient storage solutions, such as pull out racks and shelves.

But remember that if the pull out larder presses are too tall, the units can be heavy to open and difficult to access. Always check the mechanisms before buying.

It can be a good idea to WINT ER 2021 / SE LF BU I LD / 1 1 1

KITCHEN GUIDE / UNITS & ISLANDS

Multi generational living

Paul McNally, MRIAI

hannawayhilltown.co.uk,

Roughly every five years, your needs as a family will change. As the children grow up, and, eventually move out of the house, you’ll see a shift in how living areas are used and what is needed from them.

With toddlers and young children, the true open plan lifestyle is ideal. You can potter about while keeping an eye on what the kids are up to.

Children this age will explore so give them access to some parts of the kitchen to help satiate this need, e.g. with easy to reach, hazard-free presses. Also be conscious of discouraging the use of items that pop in and out, e.g. concealed sockets, as they may quickly become a favourite toy!

7+

As your children gain independence, their need to be in your company diminishes. To cater to this, segregate the open plan area with French or sliding doors.

This will help break things up to achieve privacy in the living area, on demand.

In fact, in a typical semidetached house from the 1960s or 1970s, knocking the front room through to the kitchen with a set of doors is the most straightforward way to create an open plan. With demolition work, the addition of French doors can set you back around 2k to 3k while sliding doors, due to the 1 1 2 / S EL FBUI LD / WINTER 2 0 2 1

freepik.com

2+

mechanism and need for second partition, will cost double that.

If you’re building new

adding a small, 12+ consider separate sitting/tv room

into your design. That’s an optimal set up, built to last. You will end up using this room as a teenager hangout – with social media so invasive nowadays it beats sending them to their room. It will be a place for you to get a break too.

18+ It’s no harm thinking

about the children fleeing the coop, how will the space work for you as a couple? That set of doors could come in very handy and the island, which is likely to double up as your dining table. Will some of the children continue living at home? That spare sitting room will be a godsend if they do.

combine a couple of systems in a double tall larder press, creating a complete centralised storage solution. You could take this a step further by incorporating back lighting, so that the back panel illuminates on opening.

Don’t forget to look beyond everyday items and think of where you are going to house glassware, saucepans, large bowls and platters. Everything needs a place. Would you prefer to shut these away or do you have a beloved collection that might merit glass display doors – with lighting? All options are open.

Corner units

In kitchens where corner units are required there are no perfect solutions: if left as shelving these can be tricky to get into and may result in lots of items stored at the back which may never see the light of day.

On the other hand, pull out shelves and carousels

might be cumbersome and expensive. A diagonal corner unit (shelving with triangle at the back blocked off) might be the best compromise in such circumstances.

Magic corners incorporate two tiers of shelving, at front and back. The front set is attached to the door. As you open the door, the front row pulls out and the back row pulls forward, providing access to all four shelves.

Carousels feature two levels that spin around a centre bar. A Le Mans carousel has two kidney shaped tiers that manoeuvre out individually; these don’t tend to have the same storage capacity due to their shape.

Reputable brands are worth investing in when it comes to smart solutions and inserts, as they will stand the test of time and allow for changes as the family grows.

Islands

Islands are very fashionable

Guide Selfbuild

a viable option and it’s now quite commonplace. It is also viewed as a more sociable and interactive alternative than cooking with your back turned to guests or family life.

Consider that with children in the house, it’s preferable to have a separate area dedicated to dining for mealtimes and only use the island as a breakfast bar.

The most compact set up, however, would be doing away the prepping activity from your guests.

Sink or hob at the island?

The first thing to do when you design your island is decide what you will use it for: prep, storage, seating.

So the answer boils down to how you will use the island and the kitchen itself. Some people choose not to have their hob on the island, to avoid splattering guests who might be sitting at it while the chef cooks.

But with downdraft extractors, and windows taking up a lot of wall space, it’s become

with the dining area entirely – in that case an island that allows for seating in an L shape will be more conducive to a chat than seating on one side only. Where space is tight, you could also consider a drop down dining table arrangement from the island. healycornelius.com

but there is nothing worse than seeing a narrow, ill proportioned island shoehorned into the middle of a kitchen, with the bare minimum of space to walk around it.

You need at least one meter to get around comfortably, and only after other kitchen units on walls are factored in. Island sizes increase exponentially when functions like using it as a workspace or seating area are added. The width of island will need to be at the minimum 600mm but 90mm, 120mm or more will give you more breathing space.

Ideally, provide 1300mm between opposite work areas.

This gives enough room to manoeuvre without being so great that unnecessary steps are taken.

If space is tight, a peninsular breakfast bar is sometimes a great alternative solution as it continues the flow of worktop space and can provide a useful partition to traffic for the central kitchen space.

Islands and peninsulas can have two heights: a standard counter height (600mm to 900mm) and a taller one for standing or eating (1100mm high). The double height can form a ledge which can hide

WINT ER 2021 / SE LF BU I LD / 1 1 3

KITCHEN GUIDE / WORKTOPS & SPLASHBACKS

Worktop materials

The big cover up Worktops, splashbacks, taps and sinks will be used all the time, so take the time to choose ones that are hardwearing and visually pleasing.

Words from articles by Keith Kelliher, Marion McGarry and Astrid Madsen

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The worktop or countertop is the main worksurface of your kitchen and its selection will need to take account of many factors including cost, scratch and stain resistance, heat resistance, durability and ease of cleaning.

Most common are laminate, manmade composites, solid wood, stone (marble, granite), concrete, metal and glass.

The laminate finishes are at the lower cost end and are a plastic finished layer bonded to manmade board which mimics the appearance of hundreds of different finishes, from weathered wood to veined marble. Laminate worktops are generally available for less than €100/£80 per m for a standard 600mm wide 40mm thick worktop. They generally come standard in about 3m lengths.

Natural stone (granite and marble) is one of the most popular choices for its durability and for being associated with luxurious kitchen designs. They are however expensive, and depend greatly on stone choice, colour, thickness and slab size.

Always go and view your slab as each one varies, and you might get more of a particular fleck than you were expecting.

For top quality products manmade composites are often comparable in price to natural stone. Composite materials offer seamless styling and stain resistance but may be prone to scratching so always check the quality. Quartz, which usually refers to a crushed stone bound with plastic resin, will generally be available above €300/£280 per m for a 600mm wide length but prices vary greatly depending on quality and colour.

Solid wood worktops have been around for generations and with the increases in costs of timber, have also become more expensive. Depending on the chosen material, solid timber worktops are available in oak, 600mm widths at 40mm thickness for €120/£100 per m and up, with iroko or walnut at prices in excess of €180/£160 per m. They require twice yearly oiling. Note that beech is said to have natural anti bacterial properties.

In recent times glass has

Guide Selfbuild

Worktop dimensions A major consideration is how much of a run of straight worktop you need, for baking, food prep, stacking plates, etc. Three runs of 1m to 1.2m is a good rule of thumb for daily cooks if you can afford the space. At a minimum allow 300mm, with fixed worktop space or a pull out shelf, on either side of the hob and to one side of the oven and fridge/freezer to be able to put things down.

ivanasteiner.com

arrived as a contemporary option.

Clean and versatile but expensive and needs regular cleaning.

Concrete is hardwearing, although may be prone to staining when in contact with acids, and is also at the higher end of the cost scale.

For those looking for an industrial feel in their kitchen, stainless steel is a good option as it is the go to material for most commercial kitchens, being hygienic and easy to clean. It is also perhaps the most eco friendly option. Even though steel is notoriously energy intensive to make, it is unique in that it can be recycled over and over again without losing its properties; it also does not involve quarrying or present the possibility of high VOCs.

Zero waste kitchen designed by Austrian architect Ivana Steiner to combat the current climate crisis; the prototype is made of recycled stainless steel (arguably the most eco friendly worktop finish) and recycled glass.

concretefair.ie

The key is to keep worktops plentiful and not allow gadgets and everyday appliances encroach upon such precious workspace.

Microwave ovens and coffee makers can be built into the presses but these models tend to cost more.

A useful solution, which also applies to electric kettles, toasters and food processors, is to house them into a countertop roll up/ roll down tambour unit (along with some of the foodstuffs that go with them), or a larder (pull out or behind a cupboard door), so you can quickly and conveniently close them off when not in use.

Other basic tips include not crowding the sink in a corner, it should be 460mm away from any return in the work surface, and the standard distance between worktop and cupboards is 400mm.

Splashbacks

Splashbacks consist of the area between the top of the kitchen countertop and the underside of the high level kitchen wall units.

These can be limited to the area behind the cooker (usually 600mm in height, minimum 450mm) or extend along the entire cupboard length (usually 100mm in height).

Historically, the kitchen splashback was painted or tiled.

In more recent times, worktop surfaces, stone upstands and glass have taken centre stage in this area. Both materials add significantly to the end cost particularly when additional costs of cutting around power points are required.

Suitability

Check the standard dimensions of the type of worktop/splashback you are looking for – you may need to have two sections which would involve jointing. Where possible, and where the surface will be repeatedly exposed to water, heat or staining, try to get a straight run of the material.

Cutting can be specialist work, e.g. for the sink, tap, power points, etc. This needs to be factored into the total cost, as does installation which may need to be done by the supplier.

Regular maintenance as per the installer’s instructions is important as some surfaces will otherwise stain or weather. Ideally, check how it weathers by visiting a real home.

Some surfaces cannot withstand a hot pan or oven dish, so check this too. And, even though you should always use a cutting board, check if you can cut directly on the worktop surface.

Sinks

Approximately 75 per cent of

Floors and walls Flooring is an important decision, not just for practicality but for aesthetic reasons as it sets the tone of the space.

Ceramic and porcelain tiles remain the traditional floor finish but laminate flooring is fast becoming a popular alternative.

Other options include linoleum, cork and cushioned varieties of these. Also polished concrete, engineered wood, vinyl and stone.

For a professional finish, the floor covering must go on before the kitchen is installed to avoid having to cut around the base of the units.

As well as selecting a material that ties in with the overall look of your kitchen and suits your budget, consider durability and ease of cleaning. Polished ceramic tiles can be very slippery when wet but they are excellent for reflecting light.

Full bodied porcelain are very durable but are hard to walk on; both of these are not forgiving if you drop plates or glass, unlike cork and linoleum which are great to walk on but the former does require maintenance.

Wood floors look wonderful but are not waterproof.

Floor finishes aren’t usually included in the kitchen cost, and neither are wall finishes apart from the splashback if you have it in the same material as the worktop.

Tiled worktops have somewhat gone out of fashion, but can be a cost effective alternative for a country look.

You can also get a more modern feel with classic subway tiles or mosaic tiles. These can complement virtually any type of worktop finish.

WINT ER 2021 / SE LF BU I LD / 1 1 5

How about tea towels?diators

KITCHEN GUIDE / TA P S & S I N K S

GoodHome Kitchens available at B&Q, diy.com

l ra introduce smal towels; an Some people eir tea th m ar w to the waste in the kitchen to make use of dry them alternative is to p ta er at w t ho towel heat from the have your dish out. You could tank to air them out. the drawer above sposable reliance on di To reduce your you could invest in s kitchen rolls, cleaning towel quick washing dried in a be have to either buy an n that ca similar way. undermounted sink or one

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ceramic although these are subject to chipping.

Composite have the wow factor but you need to take care sharp cutlery doesn’t do damage.

Bear in mind too that composite sinks are not suited to extensive use of cleaning products.

If placed at the window, consider how the sink will bounce off light. Mechanical food disposal units fitted under the sink with debris posted in down a drain mean you can remove immediately strong smelling items such as fish skin. You must run the cold water tap at the same time and the motor is quite loud, remember to reverse the blades to ensure even wear.

Accessories include chopping boards that sit over sinks, providing extra space, and baskets to collect vegetable peels.

Under or over mounted

If you opt for manmade surfaces or concrete, the sink could be moulded into your worktop with a tap hole drilled behind it. But in most cases, you will

mcmonaglestone.com

our time in the kitchen is spent around the sink: washing vegetables, filling pots, straining pasta, washing up, filling the kettle. If you’re a daily cook, consider at least a bowl and a half – this allows you have two sinks on the go for different tasks.

Sink sizes will vary according to your configuration but standard dimensions allow for approximately 450mm width to comfortably fit into a standard 600mm carcase.

Think about style, size and type of sink that fit your requirements and budget. How many draining boards? Would you prefer a traditional Belfast sink if you are going for a granite worktop?

The three popular sink finishes in ascending order of cost are stainless steel, ceramic and composite. Square corners can be difficult to clean and Belfast sinks tend to be deeper than normal and so harder on your back.

Stainless steel can be cleaned with everything from scouring powder to steel pads, as can

that sits on the worktop, often referred to as an inset sink.

Laminate worktops require an inset sink as the core is susceptible to moisture. You or your joiner can cut the sink opening out with a jigsaw as per the sink dimensions, install the tap and add the sink on top.

There is usually a tap hole in the sink structure.

Undermounted sinks sit under the worktop and are usually better suited to impervious finishes such as manmade composite materials or natural stone. The tap is usually then drilled into the worktop or wall mounted. Undermount sinks are usually more expensive, e.g. the Belfast sink, and harder to install

than inset ones.

Taps

Taps are made of metal, most commonly stainless steel or chrome steel, then possibly brass. You will see reference to the metal being brushed or polished, this is how the metal is finished and the look will be matt versus gloss respectively. Other metals include nickel, pewter and copper. Colours can be applied on top of these.

There are two basic mechanisms to turn on taps: the simple turn type or the push type which tends to be more hygienic. Taking it a step further is the smart tap with some touch free models; more smart features include measuring and temperature indicating LED lights, among others.

The tap head can either be fixed or flexible. Pull down, retractable and/or flexible hose extensions are most common nowadays as they are handy to rinse out the sink and clean vegetables.

Water filters to remove limescale and/or other impurities can be added (if you don’t have one for the house already) while integrated soap dispensers will unclutter the otherwise pristine look of your work surface.

The introduction of the boiling tap to the market in recent years has added a significant cost with the majority of systems retailing at over 1k.

You can choose between a separate boiling water tap with accompanying mixer, or one through which you can get all three (hot, cold or boiling). A child safety system is available and the tap sits on the worktop, with a tank underneath. These can now make sparkling water too, at an extra cost. While these eliminate the need for kettles, running costs tend to be similar.

Last but not least, at a time when we are all more conscious of our domestic water consumption, fitting taps with aerators is a practical move as they provide more pressure and use less water.

This clever cabinet SPACE TOWER by Blum makes optimal use of the storage space available. Provisions can be kept together and clearly organised.

Book an appointment to visit our showrooms to see our full range of storage solutions and accessories.

Flanagan Fittings, Falcon House, Dublin Airport Logistics Park, St. Margarets, Co. Dublin K67 F303 Ph: +353 (0)1 844 8400 Web: www.fff.ie Email: sales@fff.ie

KITCHEN GUIDE / LIGHTING & APPLIANCES

Powering up There’s a lot of electrics in the kitchen, from appliances to sockets. But music systems and undercounter and inbuilt lighting could also readily be added to your list. You need to know what you want, and where, at the earliest design stage.

Words from articles by Keith Kelliher, Paul McNally, Marion McGarry, and Astrid Madsen

Lighting

Paul Lindsay, paullindsayphoto.co.uk

On self-builds, hiring a lighting designer is not the norm but it’s worth considering if you have the budget. Lighting may seem easy but it’s actually quite tricky to get right.

Effective lighting is a must in kitchens, both for functionality and to create atmosphere, with mood lighting particularly important in open plan designs.

Task lighting normally

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involves white lighting for food preparation and other activities where clarity is needed. Warmer ambient lighting promotes relaxation. Dimmer switches for mood lighting can work especially well in an open plan area, as this becomes important when the family winds down and prepares for bedtime.

If the kitchen is in a darker part of your home, you can create a feel of natural light

by adding fluorescent or LED tubes over cupboards; the light will hit the ceiling which can be painted in light reflective paint.

This will bounce the light around the room, providing indirect illumination. For a conversation point, suspend a light box from the ceiling.

Undercounter and inbuilt lighting is an integrated part of any kitchen design at present, with most kitchens now including some element of lighting feature.

From lights in glass door cabinets, integrated lighting on the splashback to undercounter strip lighting, costs can vary greatly depending on the extent and quantity of lights designed.

With shelving, consider introducing an LED strip in a groove, to provide task lighting.

Deep drawers will benefit from adding LED strips inside them too; lights in kickers and pelmets are also an option.

Directional lights are flexible in that they can be orientated to hit the spot where you want the most intensity, after the kitchen has been installed. Pairs of

directional LED downlights will brighten up the island and cover all angles, for example.

It should always be kept in mind that power to, and connection of, these lights may well be in addition to the cost of the kitchen. Because this will most likely be done by your electrician, as will any sound system you choose. Plumbing costs (connecting to waste pipes, water connections) will of course also cost extra.

Choose appliances early

Appliances in general tend to be expensive. Including the fridge, oven, cooker... with extras such as a microwave and coffee maker you could easily be looking at a budget of 5k or more.

So doing your research on your chosen electrical appliances at an early stage will allow you to shop around for bargains, have the measurements ready for the kitchen manufacturer, and delivery organised for the fitters well in advance.

It will also help avoid

Guide Selfbuild

panicked decisions in a busy showroom, blurting out that you want a range when what you really needed was a hob. Whatever appliances you choose, they will all make a major impact, not only on your budget, but on the dimensions of the room/ wall lengths, and on the overall feel.

All appliances are rated for water and energy efficiency; both should be taken into consideration before purchasing.

Ovens

freezer.

Undercounter freezers are handy if you cook with a select few items, such as peas and fish fingers, on a regular basis. This can be switched out for a drinks fridge when dietary requirements change.

Fridges Practical points For any appliance, to note are not but especially the to have the fridge, always underfloor compare heating capacity. u yo at where you th e tiv ra e, it’s impe To reduce nois ng machine and dryer plan to American hi move the was plan area. en op place your i m fridges se or out of any open washers nowadays fridge; are prized sh di ly ul Thankf they don’t rly noisy, and same goes for their aren’t particula on tv viewing anymore, ct for the rule look but massively impa fans can still cause a or ct tra of thumb remember ex . t el bu od m e th on ing ruckus depend d double height that they of making an Hard surfaces sign features are usually sure the oven de e ceilings ar r. fo t ou to watch

Think of the noise

isn’t right next to your fridge.

That said, take advice from your kitchen designer as this may not necessarily be an issue if there’s enough ventilation behind the fridge and the partitions are well insulated.

Other appliances

Dishwashers haven’t evolved as quickly as other appliances – most are of a standard size (600mm wide and deep), with the only difference tending to be the internal configuration (e.g. cutlery in basket or on top drawer) and wash settings. They can come in lamaison.ie

If you have a back problem, set both oven and hob at a comfortable height, and if family meals are important, then multiple ovens and timers might be things to consider. Plate warming ovens can be helpful too.

Smart ovens will help you time your cooking to perfection, while slick opening/sliding mechanisms will make handling dishes that bit safer. In fact, temperature control is now much more accurate and some manufacturers offer a unique residual heat function whereby the electronics decide when there is enough heat left in the oven to finish the cooking and it can safely switch off.

Other smart features include automatic switch off after a preset time, and ovens which stop heating when you open the door so saving energy, and the list goes on.

freestanding, taking up a lot of space. Check the model you like as sizes vary widely. You you could easily be looking at 900mm by 700mm depth so larger than standard carcase depth. And they usually don’t have a huge amount of room inside due to the ice making machine and/or water dispenser.

The fridge to freezer configuration in general will wholly depend on how you shop, and how you cook. If you mostly buy fresh and hardly use anything from the freezer, a double fridge might be better than a fridge

the more compact size of 450mm x 600mm deep.

Coffee makers, oftentimes integrated as you would your oven, are becoming more commonplace, along with wine coolers.

expensive product to purchase than a standard prefinished appliance. Semi-integrated usually means hidden behind doors but with the controls visible.

A variant on the theme is to conceal the pantry or utility room behind similar hidden door arrangements.

Sockets

USB sockets are a good idea as phone charging is likely to take place around the island area. You could consider wireless charging points too.

Popup sockets give you the option of hiding the sockets and revealing them as needed.

You can also hide sockets in a press, drawer or behind a larder door. Check with your electrician where you can and can’t place the sockets as there are safety rules, e.g. around water and unventilated spaces.

Most common is to have sockets placed on the wall but this will have a visual impact, and a need to cut the wall covering around them. This can yield an untidy finish, entail more work for the tiler or if buying a slab cost more as the company is likely to charge for each hole they cut into it.

Integrated appliances

Freestanding appliances sit in an open casing and can be taken with you, should you move house, whereas integrated appliances are hidden in a cabinet and faced with a kitchen door to make it blend into the overall kitchen. These are common in many kitchens today.

By their nature, integrated appliances require that you purchase a door for it, and they are also, generally, a more WINT ER 2021 / SE LF BU I LD / 1 1 9

KITCHEN GUIDE / COOKERS & EXTRACTORS

Steam team Cookers go hand in hand with extractors; find out your options.

Hobs

Nowadays most kitchens will separate the oven from the hob, although hobs can be integrated in a range or simpler cooker combination. When separate from the oven, they are usually fitted directly within the worktop.

The choice is then between

The presence of a detector ensures that the ring only heats up when there is a pan on top.

When in use, a ceramic hob glows beneath heat resistant glass which has a smooth finish and is easy to keep clean.

Copper, aluminium and pans with a rough base should not be used

electric or gas powered. The controllability of gas has long given it an edge over other types, but this position is being seriously challenged by the new generation of induction hobs which work in a similar way to microwaves and can boil a pan of water in four minutes.

With electromagnetic induction, using a spiralled copper coil with a ceramic glass surface, no heat is released until the base of the pan touches it, and some are sophisticated enough to adapt the heated area to the size and shape of the pan being used.

on a ceramic glass surface as they will damage it.

Gas hobs usually have four burners although the fifth wok burner in the middle is handy for both this type of cooking and also so the pots don’t bang against each other when using the cooker to full capacity. Cast iron grating, to place the pots on, completes the set up.

Stainless steel is the most common gas hob surface but glass and enamel are other options. The latter two are more likely to come in white or black; a word of warning, gas flames are hard to see on black finishes.

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Ranges

The range cooker remains as popular as ever for an all in one solution. Note that a wider than average range style cooker will require an appropriately large extraction overhead. You may then decide on a surround which will take up more wall space than you currently have on your plans.

Even though range cookers were once synonymous with back breaking stoking or nauseous fumes, times have changed and there are now electric models. Whilst these too have come into the modern world and offer customised colour enamel finishes, if they have a dual function of heating the hot water and/or radiators as well, they can never be just quite as flexible as a purpose designed cooking instrument.

On a range cooker, ovens can be single or double cavity, incorporate a microwave, fan, rotisserie, kebab unit, steamer, defrost facility, use only half the grill and finally, thankfully, clean themselves.

An oil, solid fuel or gas fired range will hold its heat for many hours without electricity if there is a power failure, and many now offer some of the features of standalone cookers such as a pull out section to provide more hob space, or a combined gas/ electricity unit.

Although lots of warmth from a cooker is great for bigger homes, too much heat isn’t good for a well insulated house and many of us don’t want the upkeep of a large space we don’t need, a factor that manufacturers have responded to with mini models suitable for an apartment. There’s even a gas fired flueless range cooker which can go anywhere; it’s on castors.

Cost is always an issue as

these items are more of an investment than an impulse buy, so if your budget is tight, look out for re-conditioned models. A properly re-conditioned cooker will have new burners, new insulation and even new enamel, if you wish, and are an excellent option.

Maintenance

Stainless steel and aluminium are the current cool in kitchen finishes. Very hygienic, they don’t chip like enamel, there is no rust, are moisture resistant and can withstand very hot foods or liquids spilling onto them.

Fingerprints are quite visible on smooth polished surfaces, but cleaning is quick and easy with warm water and mild detergent, which must be dried off otherwise the surface will become spotted with water marks.

For touch marks on any cooker, avoid using scouring pads or abrasive cleaners as they can scratch the surface. Better instead to use a proprietary cleaner suitable for chrome, enamel and china.

A stubborn stain on stainless steel will probably yield to a hot solution of sodium bicarbonate and, if buffed up afterwards with a few drips of baby oil, will regain its showroom shine.

Hood/extractor fan

All cooking produces water vapour and in our increasingly well sealed homes, the threat of unwanted condensation is never very far away so a hood has to be an integral part of your design. All extractor fans need at least 150mm or 6’’ ducting and are usually made of stainless steel; many integrate lighting and composite plastics.

Traditional extractors suck the steam upwards. There are various configurations for these, including the canopy which is

Guide Selfbuild

set into an existing or an artificial chimney, telescopic which is activated when pulled out, integrated where the hood is coordinated with your kitchen units and is switched on by opening the front flap, and finally the classic type which is fixed to a wall or under a unit.

If possible, duct it to an outside wall, but, if this is impractical or causes problems with your airtightness layer, use a hood lined with a charcoal filter which will recycle the air. These can be wall mounted or ceiling mounted, with the same pipework at the back.

Heights can be adjusted (although

there is a maximum distance between cooker and hood) so make sure it’s placed so no one is likely to bang their head against it.

Downdraft extractors are newer to the market, and tend to be quite a bit costlier. These direct the steam downwards, with the extractor either placed within the hob unit itself or behind it in a periscopic or pop up configuration.

The downdraft extractor ducting goes in the floor, making it more readily airtight as the ducting is put in at the earliest stages of construction. Just as importantly, allowances also have to be made for the mechanism under the countertop and you need to make sure you will have enough space for it.

Downdraft extractors are especially popular for islands as the other alternative, ceiling mounted extractors, can be costly when suspended (not fixed against a wall). Downdraft extractors have in fact become increasingly popular because they are pretty much invisible, unlike their updraft counterparts which tend to be at eye level.

To find the correct size of hood, there is a formula: length x width x height x number of air changes per hour required (minimum of 10). Note that despite technological advances, noise can be an issue, especially in open plan configurations.

Claim Your Exclusive Self-Build Package At AGA Belfast Today.

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Belfast 247 Castlereagh Road, Belfast, BT5 5FL T: +44(0)28 9045 0103 W: agabelfast.com

*Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.

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KITCHEN DESIGN PROJECT / C O D O W N

Hubble bubble… cooking up trouble!

It made sense to design our house around the kitchen, simply because we will spend so much of Brian Corry our time in it, writes self-builder Brian Corry who’s on a mission to build himself an eco house in Co Down.

My wife Karen and I started thinking about the kitchen during the initial design phase, when we were doing up the floor plans with our architect. This is when we came up with our basic kitchen configuration: one side wall for the units and a large island to host everything else.

As we were starting with a blank canvas, our focus was to make the kitchen easy to use.

Everything will happen in this room, from entertaining, to family meals, homework supervision and relaxation.

Method and budget

Read up on ney Brian’s jour Building so far in his eries the Dream s .ie on selfbuild

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Budget wise, we were fairly constrained but luckily neither of us had a burning desire to have something hand made from rare imported timber! We felt we could achieve the style and look we wanted, within budget, by buying directly from manufacturers and getting a skilled joiner to put the kitchen together.

Eric Black, who is a builder and joiner by trade, is the person who is going to build the kitchen (and help build the house) for us.

We started the design process by taking all of our pet peeves and sketching out a

rough drawing of how to avoid them. In our current kitchen we are constantly bumping into one another and fighting for space as there is just one corner where you can actually do anything.

This is just one example of dozens of things that we would love to change as it is laid out so poorly.

Then we drove down to Eric’s home in Co Tyrone for a cup of tea and to go through our ideas with him. He produced these sketches as a result of our chat.

The total cost for the kitchen should be about £10K including appliances, and factoring in Eric’s labour. We arrived at this figure after Eric brought us to visit a manufacturer in Cookstown. There we looked at all the different options for the surfaces, doors and handles, and picked what we wanted.

Form and function

We have a young family so being able to keep an eye on them whilst still doing the cooking and chores was foremost in our thoughts. We wanted a seamless transition from kitchen on one side, to comfy living room on the other, with a large dining table in between.

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Early on Karen and I decided that we wanted a big island for food preparation. By having the food prep on the island it is open on two sides and there is plenty of space for people to move around each other.

Having an integrated food waste bin close at hand, in a pull out drawer, will also be very helpful as we currently lift ours out from under the sink about 10 times a day. And that’s just for cups of tea!

After that we opted for the kitchen triangle arrangement, with the placement of the sink, fridge and cooker within reach of one another, and then expanded on it by placing the appliances in the most suitable places.

For example, we had the dishwasher placed beside the sink (where stacks of plates will accumulate) so that the least amount of movement would be needed to fill it. Similarly we wanted a nice big fridge and freezer so that everything would be easily accessible to the prep area on the island.

We also thought about where

we will store the plates and crockery, from the point of view of accessing them to set the table, as well as putting them away after being washed.

The ovens and microwaves, meanwhile, will be in a single

stack at waist to eye level height to keep small hands and fingers from getting burnt. Another advantage is that we won’t have to bend down to see if the turkey is burning.

Last but not least, we are

definitely going to be using drawers for everything. With cupboards, you lose things at the back and only what’s stored at the front is really accessible.

Passive house constraints

Finally, nothing is ever straightforward when building a near passive house. The cooker hood cannot have an external vent as otherwise it would compromise the airtightness.

Instead, we will use a hood with a charcoal filter. We will also have a ventilation inlet close by, from the mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, to hoover up any steam and moist air.

Also the cooker you see in the sketches is not a range cooker – the heat it produces would put you out of the house given the amount of insulation we have. Instead, we have chosen an induction hob that gives off very little heat.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / C O G A L W AY F I N I S H E D P R O J E C T

Semiopen plan

The design of the house in general came about from a lot of thinking, consideration and travelling the country to view different types of building designs. My wife Cathriona and I had fully made up our minds on our design at an early stage, prior to submitting plans to the local authority.

We had a couple of ideas and items on our wish list before we looked at the kitchen design; from the start we loved the idea of the Belfast sink and the colour

Michael Daniels shares how his kitchen layout embraces the room’s large number of windows and doors, both internal and Island of the external. the idea We toyed with t hen island bu sink in the kitc ing the hob ac decided on pl akes it a real m it as d instea e; it makes ac communal sp at with it easier to ch when nds family and frie cooking.

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palette of creams and greys. We wanted to keep a warm feeling to the kitchen area.

We started by visiting showrooms and chose the company we felt had the best designs, great customer service, all at the right price. They guided us through our choices.

The one company supplied and fitted our kitchen, and they were a dream to work with from start to finish. We had our own plumber and electrician and had to coordinate this with the

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WINDOW SEAT The window seat came about because we wanted to both maximise the window area and also because we felt finishing the kitchen at the fridge would have given the feeling of coming to a full stop abruptly. The continuation of the seat and display cabinet really finishes the kitchen off and uses all the space we have.

CABINETS The kitchen cabinets were painted in a warm neutral mussel, complemented by a dusty grey on the island.

Style

WORKTOPS The quartz worktop is Petra white; the island has a solid white oak section too.

Contempora ry so wood kitchen lid with country feel.

kitchen fit out – being in touch with all our trades meant there weren’t any delays waiting on any one person.

We realised early on that when laying out the house, you need to know very early on the positions of electrical sockets, light switches and lighting design in general, where the hob/ extractor fan will go (pipes often need to go in the floor for this), positioning of the fridge, plumbing for the mechanical heat recovery unit and heat pump unit because every element needs to be taken into account. The flow of each room has to be well considered, especially your kitchen!

EXTRACTOR FAN The extractor fan has a filter, and we were lucky enough to have the space in our kitchen island to accommodate the unit as it is quite bulky but it’s working a dream.

KITCHEN TRIANGLE - The positioning of the oven, fridge, and dishwasher was all done for practical reasons all of which are very important in a working family kitchen. Having that triangle of workspace where everything is at arm’s reach is a must.

Thankfully we had no issues or concerns with measurements prior to the kitchen installation.

This is because our electrician had helped us with the positioning of our main appliances and made provisions for extra sockets before we had entered into the planning stage for the kitchen.

So we knew the space we had to work with before the installation took place. All was in order when the measurements were double checked on site.

All the carcases were installed first, then the measurements taken for the quartz worktop and

PANTRY One of our favourite features is the walk in pantry which has double doors. The shape of our kitchen meant that a standard door would have made it awkward, so this was an ideal solution and one we couldn’t imagine not having now.

UTILITY ROOM A separate functional utility room with elevated washing machine and drier were top of the wish list from the start.

Remember too that the heat recovery unit and the air to water unit are quite substantial in size and may cramp your utility room, so you will need to find a designated area for all the equipment.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / C O G A L W AY F I N I S H E D P R O J E C T

for the appliances. After that the appliances went in , then the kitchen doors, finally the quartz top.

It took about six weeks from start to finish for a fully functional kitchen to be installed.

Cost

The total cost of our kitchen and utility including appliances was €21k in 2018. The cost of materials and labour have gone through the roof recently, so first time self-builders really need to research and price out every aspect of their build attentively.

The kitchen is a big budget item so you will definitely save by shopping around for the best quality/price ratio.

Our entire project was direct labour, with Cathriona and I holding down full time jobs.

I looked after the build from the beginning to the very end; Cathriona took charge of the financing, organising different

“The kitchen is a big budget item so you will definitely save by shopping around for the best quality/price ratio.” trades and ordering materials.

I worked manually on the build myself (as I have a background in same) assisted by family and neighbours. Their help was of huge benefit to us, as you cannot do it all on your own.

SUPPLIERS Kitchen design and layout Mark Lohan Kitchens, mlk.ie Appliances Expert, Martin Dolan Electrical in Loughrea, Co Galway, expert.ie Kitchen furniture Homeworld, Oranmore, tel. 091 388848 Carpentry Trevor Slattery Carpentry, mobile 087 6305548 Paint Aiden Dixon Painter & Decorator, mobile 086 0732016 Colour: Dolmen and surround walls Oysterbed from Colourtrend NI calling ROI prefix with 00353 and drop the first 0

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KITCHEN GUIDE / COUNTY DOWN FINISHED PROJECT

Centre stage Richard Armstrong shares how, with his wife Clare, he designed his entire house around the kitchen.

Style

Traditional fa rmhouse kitchen with a modern twis t.

“We were told we should design our house around the kitchen and I’m glad we did.”

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We were told we should design our house around the kitchen and I’m glad we did. Ours is part of a 96sqm semi-open plan area that also includes the dining and living rooms.

The first thing we did was decide what view we wanted from the main kitchen window, then placed the sink under it.

We then spent a lot of time with the architect making sure door and window placements made sense.

For all of the rooms, I imagined myself walking around the house and have it suit our lifestyle and needs including how the house would work, e.g. access to the house for unloading the car, for hanging laundry, etc.

Once all of the windows and doors were on paper, we had

a blank canvas to design our kitchen. My brother had used a kitchen supplier and was very impressed with their work, so I went to visit their showroom. I too was impressed.

We started the process by sending them the architect’s plans, along with the list of what we liked from the showroom, and Brendan the designer was able to work around the plans to make it all fit. It took two to three months to bounce ideas back and forth.

Everything fitted in perfectly apart from the ivory mantle above the stove, so we had to move one doorway to get the cooker on a longer wall for the mantle to sit on.

We were very thorough deciding where everything was going to go. At the foundations

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stage, services have to be in the correct place to avoid any problems later on when fitting out. So we took time to do that right.

For electrics we went through the kitchen plans with the electrician and placed all the electrical points on the plans.

The walls were then chased for electrics, pipes at the ready for taps, appliances, along with waste pipes. When we signed off on Brendan’s plans, he sent his fitters to double check measurements. We did have to move a socket and conduit as a result, but that was it.

The kitchen was delivered in boxes on a Friday; the boxes filled the entire 96sqm of open plan!

The fitters then went to work first thing Monday morning and had the entire kitchen, boot room, utility and pantry fitted in a week.

The fitters were fantastic, they got all of the details perfect.

Cost

We got a local joiner and another kitchen company to price up our

PATIO DOORS When we had the house designed, Clare and I spent a lot of time with the architect figuring out how the kitchen would work and how to best lay it out on the plans.

We have a set of double doors out onto the patio, and it took time to choose the best kitchen shape and layout to accommodate them.

DRINKS CABINET There’s a 3m opening to the living area, with a section of wall that didn’t serve much of a purpose until our kitchen designer Brendan suggested we put in a drinks cabinet in the same style as the rest of the kitchen.

BULKHEAD OVER ISLAND The idea to put in a modern, recessed ceiling shadow light above the island was taken from a house account on social media.

MANTLE OVER COOKER In the showroom, there was a kitchen on display with a mantle over the cooker in an ivory colour – it was exactly what we wanted! This ivory colour became the central theme and our starting point for the colour scheme. That’s why we chose cardamon green for the cabinets, and liked the purple heather grain running through the marble worktops.

SPLASHBACK AND WORKTOPS The worktop we found in the showroom was quartz, but when we went to the supplier it was discontinued.

Thankfully we were able to find a very similar alternative, in granite.

It turned out to be cheaper than the quartz so it worked out well. Both quartz and granite are meant to be porous but it’s polished so well it doesn’t stain. It’s very easy to clean, a wipe down and it glistens. We find it very durable.

MAIN SINK The main sink at the window has the dishwasher beside it.

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KITCHEN GUIDE / COUNTY DOWN FINISHED PROJECT

CHROME ACCENTS The sockets and plugs are chrome, as they too go with ivory. The handles are also chrome; our kitchen designer Brendan advised us on that.

CURVED WALL The curved staircase is on the other side of the kitchen’s curved wall, and we plan to turn it into a photo gallery.

TILES We chose the tiles to tie in with the cardamon green island; we then used tile samples as our guide to make final decisions on the cabinet door colour and the wall colours. Grey beige was the consensus.

UNDERCOUNTER FRIDGE We have the undercounter fridge for milk and other everyday items. So when we make our coffee in the morning, the milk is to hand. The meats and veg are in the American fridge freezer in the pantry.

plans, to give us some context and to get an idea of where we stood with the price Brendan gave us.

It turned out the cost of the kitchen, boot room, utility and pantry all came in more keenly priced from Brendan than the others had for the kitchen alone.

I’m not sure why; it may be that we’re building a large house and they felt they could charge a premium.

We got most appliances from Brendan as he told us at what price he could get them, which was better than what we could secure. We let him guide us, simply because he works with these brands day in, day out and knows which are reliable.

ISLAND SINK The sink on the island is for cleaning vegetables, with integrated bin at arm’s reach.

COOKER The induction hob cooker has drawers for saucepans right beside it.

SOCKETS The more sockets the better! Brendan gave us the option of a popup socket – when flush it’s a wireless phone charger. When you pop it up there are regular sockets plus USB and HDMI sockets too. The HDMI is handy for cameras to keep an eye on the kids when we’re in the kitchen.

STORAGE The island has more than enough storage but the utility, which is the size of a normal kitchen, stores the bed clothes, towels and a selection of clothes for the kids. The only thing it’s missing is a laundry chute. The utility also has a big sink, which is a hand washing station.

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SUPPLIERS Kitchen design and fitting Make Kitchens, makekitchens.com Granite worktop Lamont Stone, lamontstone.com Pendant lights over the island antiquesandfinefurniture.com

“For all of the rooms, I imagined myself walking around the house and have it suit our lifestyle...”