DESIGNER STORIES
Natalie Jahangiry
These 4 decisions will make or break your kitchen renovation, and they're probably not the ones you think.
If there's one room in the home that deserves careful planning, it's the kitchen. It's where family life unfolds, guests gather, homework gets done, and someone always ends up standing with a cup of tea while you're trying to cook dinner.
It's also one of the biggest investments you'll make in your home. But after designing kitchens for clients (and renovating myself), I've learnt that the most successful kitchens aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or that follow the latest trends. They're the ones where the decisions made right at the beginning support the way the family actually lives.
So before you start obsessing over paint colours, worktops or whether you should finally invest in that boiling water tap, here are the four things I'd encourage every homeowner to think about first.
1. Design your layout around how your family actually lives
People often start a kitchen renovation by saving inspirational images on Pinterest. Beautiful cabinetry, gorgeous lighting, dream-worthy marble splashbacks. However, none of those things will rescue a kitchen if it has a poor layout.
The first question I ask clients isn't "What style do you like?" It's "How do you actually use your kitchen?" Do you cook together as a family? Are two people preparing dinner at the same time? Do the children do homework at the island? Is hosting friends and family important? Does everyone naturally gather around one corner of the room?
These answers should dictate the layout long before aesthetics enter the conversation.
I've never believed kitchens should blindly follow the traditional kitchen work triangle. Yes, it's a useful principle, but it was created decades ago for homes that looked and functioned very differently to the way many families live today.
Modern kitchens aren't simply places to cook. They're offices, dining rooms, homework stations and entertaining spaces. Rather than forcing your layout around an outdated rule, think about your own routines. If everyone naturally gathers around the island, make that work harder. If you bake every weekend, prioritise generous worktop prep space. If your children constantly raid the fridge while you're cooking, perhaps the route between the fridge and the seating area shouldn't cut straight through your cooking zone.
Good kitchen design should support your family, not a diagram. Because once the cabinetry has been ordered, changing the layout becomes expensive. Getting it right from the outset means every design decision that follows has a much stronger foundation to build on.
2. Layered lighting isn't the finishing touch, it's a key part of the design
Lighting is one of the most overlooked parts of a kitchen renovation, yet it's often the detail that transforms a kitchen from functional into something that feels warm, inviting and beautifully considered.
Too often I see homeowners rely solely on ceiling downlights… ohh how I loathe a runway strip of spots in a kitchen!!. The result? A room that's evenly lit but completely flat. The best kitchens use layered lighting.
Think practical task lighting under wall cabinets, statement pendants over an island, softer ambient lighting around shelving or cabinetry, dimmable lighting over a dining space and decorative wall lights that create atmosphere long after dinner has finished. A few wall or USB lamps work a treat also. Lighting should evolve throughout the day, adapting to how the room is used.
It's also one of the easiest ways to inject personality. Beautiful fixtures don't just provide light, they become part of the design story, adding character, texture and sculptural interest even when they're switched off. It's these considered finishing details that quietly elevate a kitchen without shouting for attention.
3. Plan your electrics far earlier than you think you need to
If I could give every homeowner one piece of advice before they begin a renovation, it would be this: finalise your electrical plan early on.
Your lighting layout, socket positions, appliance locations, pendant drops, under-cabinet lighting and even future charging points all need thinking about before walls are plastered and cabinets are installed. The electrical plan should work hand in hand with your furniture layout and lighting scheme rather than becoming an afterthought once the kitchen has already been designed. Thinking ahead also gives you flexibility for the future. Perhaps you don't need feature shelving lighting immediately, but having the wiring in place now means you won't be opening walls again later. Trust me… your future self will thank you!
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4. Don't underestimate the power of fixtures and fittings
It's often the smallest details that have the biggest visual impact. The tactile finishes you touch everyday. Handles, taps, switches, sockets and lighting all work together like jewellery for your kitchen. Individually they might seem insignificant, but collectively they create a space that feels intentional and beautifully resolved.
I'm a huge believer in choosing fittings that complement one another rather than trying to make every element identical. Mixing metals can work brilliantly when it's done with purpose. A warm brass pendant paired with darker cabinet hardware or aged finishes can add depth and make the room feel far more layered than sticking rigidly to one finish throughout. These are the details people touch every single day, so don't leave them as last-minute decisions.
Overall Takeaways
Great kitchens are planned in advance. The kitchens I admire the most aren't necessarily the biggest, the most expensive or the most trend-led. They're the ones that quietly support everyday life with personality and practicality working hand in hand. They've been designed around the people who live in them, layered with thoughtful lighting, finished with beautiful fittings and planned carefully enough that everything simply works.
Because while cabinetry may steal the attention, it's often the invisible planning and the considered finishing touches that make a kitchen feel truly exceptional.
Written by Natalie Jahangiry
Interior Designer & Ideal Home Columnist
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