Kitchen plans were the first aspect of home remodeling that my wife Isabel got her teeth into. She loves designing and usually has several versions of home plans in her mind – especially if it involves kitchen remodeling plans. A word of warning though – no matter how great the kitchen layout and design may be, if you’re not there for several years to enjoy the results, it could be a waste of money. So my first point on kitchen plans is – make sure they fit your career move plans!

Back in the early 1980′s my company opened a new sales office. We had to move house to be nearer my base in Newmarket, and bought an unusual detached house in Isleham, a small village nearby. The house was only about 15 years old, but the kitchen was “tired”, and although a good size, the layout failed to take account of typical work-flow for either food preparation or dish washing etc. So redesigning the kitchen floor plans and replacing the kitchen cabinets and fittings became a high priority for both of us – although it took us a couple of years to get round to doing anything about it.

We contacted several local specialists, and Isabel outlined her kitchen design plans and priorities. In this case it was important to provide for crockery, kitchen equipment and utensil storage, space for cooking and to prepare meals, washing dishes, wash and iron clothes, as well as having a table for family meals. (There was a separate dining room we’d use when we had guests.)

There was no scope for kitchen islands, but Isabel’s remodeling kitchens plans did give us a good-sized breakfast bar, and a pull-out ironing table. As expected, all the suppliers we contacted had kitchen designs to meet our requirements, so the next question was how to select the right one for us…

We were surprised to find a wide variation in prices, depending on a combination of their kitchen building plans, the quality of equipment and material proposed. For example, choosing oak cabinet doors and finishes pushed the price up steeply, as did selecting German appliances. Also, there was a big difference between the carpenter-built kitchen proposals and the pre-manufactured equivalent offerings which just required assembly and fitting on site.

In the end we compromised to get the best value we could within our budget and choose a Schreiber pre-manufactured design with beech doors and facings, but engaged a local carpenter to fit and customize the kitchen cabinets plans and installation.

Choosing a pre-manufactured base also meant quicker installation, so the project was complete within 2 days after delivery, except redecoration. We were delighted with the result, and Isabel enjoyed seeing her own design implemented exactly to plan.

The irony was that about 3 weeks after the new kitchen was complete, I was asked to help set up another new office about 500 miles away in Aberdeen! It seemed an excellent career opportunity, so we reluctantly left Isleham and our custom designed kitchen, and moved to an almost new bungalow in Westhill, a suburb of Aberdeen.

Oh well, at least we learned how to create good kitchen plans!