Present2Sell - Exeter Living Jun 2009
Crafty Kitchens
Getting a designer look at a value price, whether selling, renting, or staying put, is all to do with visual coherence.
Streamline your decision-making by being clear from the outset about your budget, your ideal way of using the kitchen, and your accent colour.
Starting with broad areas - worktops, walls, ceilings, lighting, equipment, cupboards, prioritise the areas most in need of attention then subdivide your budget accordingly.
A new look is emerging from today's economic conditions - we'll be seeing more eclectic, quirky styling in interiors, with effusive use of pattern, texture and layering. The key to getting this look right is in knowing which colours to put together and in which proportions.
Choose a range of shades of your accent colour and lift these with one opposite colour, plums with pale green for example.
Build up a layered effect by placing objects on open shelves, in glass cupboards, on walls and windowsills. There must be colour, shape and pattern relationships though, otherwise it will look cluttered.
If replacing your flooring, do install underfloor heating if possible. Not only will it definitely boost your EPC rating, when you come to sell, it will reduce fuel bills in the meantime. Flooring materials represent a great opportunity for pulling a look together, and new products are constantly evolving - Emctiles have just launched a new range of porcelain tiles that look exactly like wooden floorboards.
Apparent flooring area is reduced by changes in material so combining wood with tile for example, can subtly define different areas of use in a large area where space shrinkage is not a concern.
Replacement cupboard doors provide an instant update but the position of the hinges on the new and old doors must be identical to avoid drilling-out and filling-in. If you must resort to this, do the work on the carcass, rather than on the new door. Where the sides of the existing carcasses are visible, consider replacing the whole of that unit. In true austerity-chic style, mix and match some wood, some colour and some glass, but keep the aesthetic under control with good colour-discipline.
Next you'll need new door handles - www.thedoorknobshop.com supply a delicious variety of shapes in coloured lacquer. Mix these with metals to build coherence into the new look.
Give the units a quick lift by fitting downlit LEDs under plinths or wall mounted cupboards and amplify their effect by choosing reflective materials on adjacent surfaces. www.ecokitchensonline.com do a great stainless steel down-lit backsplash, as well as pure white worktops made from recycled yogurt pots - stylish and eco-friendly!
