Majjie's Blog

First of all - my sincere apologies for all the work I should have done over the last five weeks, which has not been completed. I hate to let people down, especially if you've already paid for the work, but I'm afraid it's been unavoidable.

This blog is an invitation blog. It's not a guest blog because I have written it ... but I was invited to write it as a sort of sequel to a blog called Small Kitchen Designs and Ideas written by Tim Foley over at Kitchens Fitted. He's been musing about tiny kitchens and about how a lot of the interior design blogs don't cater for the typical small kitchen of his youth "oop north". Well, I hate to break it to you Tim, but we had a fair few tiny kitchens down south too (I come from Dorset and Sussex originally).

Here's a guest post from Ryan Hirst (who writes for Eurofit Direct) all about kitchen cabinet hinges. Not very sexy - but essential if you need to replace any!

The first thing to remember when searching for a replacement kitchen cupboard hinge, is that most of those used in the kitchen industry are generally called ‘concealed hinges’ – purely because they are completely hidden inside the cupboard.  Another thing you will notice when talking about hinges is the use of the word ‘carcass’ – this is the name used for the cupboard or frame which the doors attach to.

I did a bit of research on the internet, to investigate people's opinions about hot water taps - and it’s surprising how heated any discussion of these taps can get. Some people regard them as being an entirely frivolous waste of money, whilst others (often suppliers it’s true) will tell you that they’re energy efficient and eco friendly – and a necessity for any self respecting new kitchen.

For a kitchen with a very modern, sleek look; you need unit doors with no handles. Handleless kitchens have very clean lines, without the distraction of knobs or metal bar handles, especially on sets of drawers. I can see the attraction … but I’m still not a big fan. Knobs or bar handles are much more practical. If you do want the look, though, there are several different ways of achieving it.

I wrote yesterday about the kitchen work triangle and how it was a bit outdated. So has there been any more recent research into kitchen ergonomics? Well, yes, there has been some – notably by the kitchen component manufacturer Blum.

Practically everybody – who’s given kitchen design even a tiny bit of thought – has heard of the kitchen work triangle. You’ll see it mentioned on umpteen web sites and trotted out in glossy magazines and newspaper supplements.

It can be a tricky business, fitting everything you want into a new kitchen but don't get carried away. You need to work with the space you have available. Here are five things to avoid ...

Here's a guest post from Britannia Living - telling us all about their Best brand island cooker hoods and how to use them. The brand was introduced to the UK at a trade show a couple of years ago - and very impressive the hoods looked too; they were quite a talking point. Here's one I incorporated into one of my kitchen designs (the Secret):

Apologies to consumers and kitchen buyers … this site is for you really … but I keep getting sucked into the industry debate about how to provide better training for kitchen designers and what, if anything, should be done to certify existing professional kitchen designers. Well – ok – it might be more accurate to say that I (and others) keep stirring up the industry debate! And it is relevant to kitchen consumers – since the quality of your kitchen design is very important in determining how good your new kitchen will look.