A Guide to Islands and Peninsulas: Which One Is Right For Your Space?

One of the most frequently asked questions we get and receive on a daily basis is how to decide between choosing an island and a peninsula for your new kitchen. We’ve decided to break it down for you!

Firstly some basics: An island is a free standing structure, offering an all round access, whereas a peninsula is essentially an extension of your kitchen, being attached to a wall and offering three open sides.

Islands and peninsulas both offer great benefits and are highly functional. From creating extra work surface, additional storage and more room for socialising with your favourite people! Although the decision making process between the two may seem daunting at first, in reality it’ll more than likely come down to two major factors: the shape and size of your kitchen & livability (In other words, how do you and your family function within a kitchen and how will that be affected by the structure.)

On average, we would recommend an island for larger scale kitchens and peninsulas for ones on the smaller side. However, when talking about the available space in your kitchen, we might not always necessarily mean whether your kitchen is tiny or extremely large. It could be that your space is in fact on the larger size however the shape of it may not allow for a full island, therefore dictate over the island VS. peninsula decision drama. This is something you will want to discuss with your designer during your first design consultation with your kitchen’s plans at hand.

All in all, it really depends on the shape and size of your individual space. Either way, whether it be an island or a peninsula, you’re guaranteed to love it!

A Guide To Plants: Say "Aloe!" to Kitchen Plants

Bring the outside in with some kitchen plants! Plants are a great way to add life into your kitchen. As well as looking beautiful, they'll purify your air and add life to your kitchen.

Drape some English Ivy, Spider plants or a String of Pearl over open shelving or up and around a window for an easy way to make your kitchen look green and full of life.

Keeping a small kitchen garden on a worktop is a great way to add a natural, fresh and multipurpose element to your kitchen - they can also be used to spice up any recipe! Keeping an aloe near your sink may come in handy in case of any burns, mint, basil and coriander are some more great candidates as they're easy to maintain; they're basically indestructible!

Adding plants as well as fresh flowers is an excellent way to bring in brighter colours into your kitchen without the commitment of a paint job.

Some easy ways of ensuring your flowers remain fresh for longer are making sure to top them up with cold water and avoiding any direct sunlight. A myriad of shapes and colours on an island or windowsill add an additional interest and make a space feel instantly brighter!

A variety of live plants and flowers can easily transform your kitchen into a greener, eco space. Play around with height by adding smaller plants on high spaces like shelves and placing larger foliage like a Monstera Cheese plant or a Rubber plant on the floor in emptier corners that “just need something”. All in all, plants are a cost efficient way of updating a space and bringing in colour to your kitchen.

 

Choosing Handles For Your Kitchen

Choosing handles for your kitchen is one of the many important decisions to make during the design process. There are many different options available, but our clients usually end up choosing from Armac Martin’s range of solid brass handles. They are available in a range of finishes, including Satin Brass, Burnished Brass, Satin Nickel and Satin Chrome. Each handle is made in their Birmingham factory and finished by hand.

Our favourite handle collections are now available to purchase from the Herringbone Pantry along with a selection of decorative tiles and stone flooring. There are a range of styles, traditional, industrial and contemporary handles. We have used all of these on our classic framed shaker door and we love that they are versatile designs that can be customised to reflect your own personal style.

A recently completed kitchen in Essex with Satin Brass Sparkbrook pull handles

We design and make bespoke kitchens from our studio and workshop in Canterbury. We are a family business and we believe that kitchens should be built to last, from first steps to first dates. For more examples of the handles our client’s have chosen, have a look at our Projects page where we post images of kitchens we have designed and made together.

If you have any questions about choosing handles for your kitchen we would love to help, you can drop us a message on Instagram, by email or just give us a call on 01227638066.

Tea for Ru

On Saturday 16th June we will be joining others from across the UK to raise awareness and money for RU's Fund. Ru was a very happy little boy, who sadly passed away last August after being diagnosed with a rare form of paediatric cancer. Since than his parent's have done an incredible job at raising funding and awareness for rare and underfunded paediatric cancers.

Ru had a malignant rhabdoid tumours (MRT), which is a very rare but very aggressive tumour that occurs in childhood, with only a few cases diagnosed each year in the UK. Because the cancer is so rare, it is also one of the most underfunded.

Ru's Fund is a named fund for the Grace Kelly Ladybird Trust which aims to-

• raise awareness of childhood cancer

• educate about the early signs and symptoms

• provide grants for research into rare and underfunded cancers

• support families of children with rhabdoid tumours

On 16th June there will be fundraisers held all over the UK and Northern Ireland to commemorate one year since Ru's diagnosis. We will have tea, cake and information on rare and underfunded paediatric cancers on the day, at our Canterbury studio in Palace Street from 10 AM-5PM. This is a cause that is very close to our hearts. You can read more about Ru by clicking here.

Kitchen Trends in 2017

We know, we know, it's the end of February and we are only just getting around to talking about trends for 2017. But so far 2017 has swept us off our feet, many of you are doing kitchen extensions and your own kitchen renovation projects so we have been busier than ever before and are so very thankful for all of our clients and the very interesting and fun projects we have planned so far this year.

 

So what trends have we been noticing for 2017? You'll see some repeats from last year but mostly 2017 is the year of buying local, not following the crowd and turning your kitchen into the new family 'living' room- making it the social hub of the home.   

 

1. Bolder Styles

We are finally noticing kitchens coming out of the clinical style. We haven't made a gloss white kitchen in a long time. Our newest range Westgate, designed and named after Westgate Towers in Canterbury near our studio is a very bold design. The structure of the kitchen is bold and strong, while we've detailed it with greys and marble in our showroom to highlight its versatility. This is definitely our favourite range (are we allowed to have favourites?). With attention to detail in that you can choose every element of your kitchen from the hinge colour to the type of wood in the interior (we love the walnut on display) this kitchen range has pushed us as a company to continue to think outside the box. 

2. Granite  

We love marble just as much as the next design junkee but are glad to see unique granites making a come back. Granite is a more durable stone, making it more practical in the kitchen. Where wine and curry can be marbles Achilles heal, granite just wipes it away. But don't get us wrong, marble will always hold a place in our hearts for its beautiful and subtle features and if you are one of those homes who can look after it well, we greatly admire you

3. Buying Local  

For this trend we are eternally grateful. We've noticed a real push back from the big national companies. Our clients tell us they want a more bespoke approach, building relationships with local businesses and keeping traditional trades alive and thriving. We couldn't agree more- when you buy your kitchen from us it supports local families, businessss and craftsmen. We are appreciative of this and work hard to give back to the community through charity. 

 

4. The Extension

This isn't as much a trend in 2017, as it is a way families are improving older homes for modern family living. Gone are the days when one person (normally a mother) cooked meals on their own in a kitchen- families and couples now a days use their kitchen as the social hub of the home. About half of our clients are doing kitchen extensions (he have a longer post about kitchen extensions here). We tell people it is best to get in touch with us as soon as possible and if not before, than definitely right after planning is granted and before the building work begins. That way we can work with you before the build to make sure that you are getting what you want out of the kitchen extension. It is very sad when couples come to us after the building work has started, only to find out they won't be able to do certain things they wanted like put a sink in an island, or they have overspent in other areas only to realise their dream kitchen is now not affordable.

If you are thinking of updating your home the most important people will be the planning office, builders and your kitchen company. We think kitchen company is most important, because the whole purpose of the build is the kitchen (but we would say that!) 

 

 

5. Making it Work for You

 Recently we've had clients who want things like making the entire kitchen one big island, to brass worktops and pegboard cabinets. We love it all! A kitchen needs to be a place you enjoy spending your time in and works practically for you. If that means you want an island the length of a double decker bus, then let's do it! The best trend of 2017 is that people are starting to not follow trends, but follow what they like- and that is something we can all really get behind!