6 savvy tips for designing your dream kitchen

And over the years, its role has gradually transformed from a functional cooking area to a hub of activity.

As Julia Kendell, interior design expert for the Homebuilding & Renovating Show for the best part of 20 years, and founder of Kendell + Co bespoke kitchens, puts it: “A kitchen is no longer just a place to cook.

“It’s where families gather, where friends congregate with a glass of wine while someone else is at the hob, where homework gets done and plans are made.”

“Getting it right, truly right, takes more thought than simply picking a cabinet style and a worktop,” highlights Kendell.

Here, the television designer across several shows such as 60 Minute Makeover and DIY SOS shares what she’s learned, after years of designing them…

1. Start with the architecture, but let the interior lead

“If you’re building an extension, the single most important thing you can do is nail the kitchen design before the foundations are dug, not after,” underlines Kendell.

“The interior design should lead the architecture, not the other way around.”

It sounds obvious, she notes. “But so many people finalise their floor plan before they’ve properly considered what they actually want the kitchen to do, and then spend years regretting it.”

She says to ask yourself: Do you need space for an American fridge-freezer? A walk-in pantry? A run of cabinetry long enough to actually be useful?

“Establish that first, and let those requirements inform the dimensions of the room.

“Sometimes moving a window just a few cm to the left or right is the difference between a layout that flows and one that frustrates,” warns Kendell.

In existing spaces, she says it’s worth asking whether you can steal a little square footage from an adjoining room, a redundant dining room or underused utility, to create a walk-in pantry or bring in more light.

2. The importance of light

“Light can make or break a kitchen,” opines Kendell. “In extensions especially, the original part of the room can become significantly darker once building work is complete, so plan carefully.”

Position key activity areas such as food preparation and the dining table in the sunniest part of the room, she advises. And push storage into the darker zones where natural light matters less.

“If you have large sliding or bi-fold doors and you’d rather not dress them with curtains or blinds, there’s a brilliant trick for avoiding that bleak ‘black mirror’ effect after dark… illuminate the garden.

“Lighting planted beds, a tree or a pathway beyond the glass immediately draws the eye outward and transforms the window from a dark void into a feature, even at midnight.”

3. Forget the work triangle

The ‘work triangle’, the principle that your sink, hob and fridge should form a neat triangle, has driven kitchen design for more than a century, suggests the 58-year-old designer.

“But modern kitchens are bigger, more open-plan, and we use them very differently now. Instead, I design around distinct activity zones, each with its own mini-triangle of related elements.

“A food-prep zone, for instance, should have a sink, a bin, a clear work surface, and easy access to knives and chopping boards, all within arm’s reach of each other.”

She continues: “A breakfast station with bi-fold or pocket doors can house the coffee machine, a compact fridge and everything needed for the morning routine, so that task runs completely independently of whoever’s preparing lunch.”

As Kendell points out, the goal is to stop family members orbiting the same small area, creating pinch points and general chaos.

“This theory should be applied for every daily ‘chore’.”

4. Optimise storage space

Deep drawers under a worktop will change your life…

“After a certain age, honestly, after any age, getting down on your hands and knees to retrieve something from the back of a base cupboard loses its appeal fast,” she quips.

“Drawers give you full visibility and full access every time.”

Indeed, replace wall cabinets with a tall larder or pantry unit wherever you can, she advises. “Everything is at eye level, nothing gets lost, nothing quietly expires at the back.

“Open shelving is another option I use regularly as it keeps the room feeling airy and unenclosed in a way that rows of upper cabinets never can,” explains Kendell.

“My personal favourite detail? A wide, shallow spice drawer with angled racks so bottles lie on their backs, labels facing up. You can see everything you have at a glance.

“Simple, but genuinely transformative.”

5. Spend wisely

Invest in the things you touch every single day, she suggests. For example, good handles and a quality tap.

“You use these dozens of times daily and cheap ones will drive you mad within a year. If the budget is tight, prioritise the worksurface over expensive cabinetry; a beautiful stone or solid timber top elevates the whole room.

“And resist the temptation of appliances packed with functions you’ll never use, or trend-led gadgets that will feel dated in no time,” she adds.

6. The island

“Everyone wants an island, and honestly, I understand why… they’re sociable, practical and anchor the whole room.”

“A couple of thoughts, though. I’d strongly advise against putting the sink on the island.

“It’s inevitably the messiest part of the kitchen, dirty dishes, splashes, washing-up clutter, and that’s not what you want as the centrepiece of the room,” warns Kendell.

For seating, she says to avoid the single row of stools along one side. “It feels like a coffee shop counter. Instead, design the seating around a corner.”

Ninety degrees creates a much more natural, conversational arrangement, she advises. And in smaller spaces, consider an island on legs rather than a solid plinth base. “Seeing the floor beneath it keeps the room feeling open and light.”

A truly great kitchen doesn’t happen by accident, she underlines. “It happens when you slow down at the start of the process, ask the right questions, and design with real life in mind.

“Get that part right, and everything else falls beautifully into place,” Kendell says confidently.