Renovating your kitchen doesn’t have to be daunting or complex. You can reduce a lot of stress (and often cost) when you plan ahead, know what is coming, and anticipate the challenges. Here is what you can expect, and some ‘Dos and ‘Don’ts’ for the project.

What to expect when planning your community kitchen renovation

Once you have decided to renovate, there will be lots of things to establish about what kind of kitchen you need, and how to get it.

• What sort of kitchen do you need? You might be replacing a worn and/or ill-equipped kitchen, and you want to make sure the new one will last. Steelplan Kitchen always recommends a semi-commercial kitchen, with a Zintec polyester powder-coated carcass and stainless-steel worktop, or a wooden carcass with a screwless tongue and groove system. Those offer a strong and durable metal kitchen, or a robust wooden carcass that creates a user-friendly environment that is ideal for community kitchens.
• What challenges does your kitchen have? Limited space, position, ventilation, and gas lines can dictate design and specification choices, or present challenges to overcome. Your kitchen adviser can offer the guidance to overcoming those hurdles.
• What (and who) is your kitchen for? The renovation is an ideal opportunity to make the kitchen more accommodating and useful for your community members, or indeed for external groups who might like to rent the space.

Kitchen Renovation ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’

DO…

• Consult a design expert. Someone with experience in designing community kitchens will bring vital insight to the process
• Think about your kitchen specification and users. You don’t want a kitchen that is either over-equipped or under-equipped, which would be either frustrating or excessively expensive. Choose a design that meets your requirements specifically.
• Choose materials carefully. It matters a lot what your kitchen is made of, and how it is constructed. A shared kitchen gets a lot of heavy use, so you need to be sure that your new kitchen is durable enough that it won’t need replacing again after a few years. That is why we always recommend Zintec polyester powder coated mild steel carcasses and stainless steel worktops or screwless tongue and groove wooden kitchens

DON’T…

• Choose a cheap kitchen. It is tempting to get several quotes for a kitchen and go with the cheapest. However, if you choose a kitchen based on cost, you are not choosing it based on requirements, so your new kitchen could end up not fit for purpose. It is safer to gather quotes to make savings on remedial installation costs instead.
• Don’t forget the kitchen is meant to be fun as well as functional. With all the considerations and challenges of a renovation, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the kitchen is supposed to be an enjoyable place. Look to incorporate colour to bring a splash of joy into the renovation. We offer 18 different finishes in mild steel, and four elegant wooden door styles to suit the personality of your community.
• Don’t assume something is unachievable. There are always limitations to a renovation project, but you might be surprised at what clever design can achieve. Talk to an expert about your ambitions, and they can advise whether it’s viable, and how it can be done.

How to get started with your kitchen renovation

If you are considering a new kitchen for you community group then talk to Steelplan about the best approach, the bet materials, and bets design to achieve what you need. If we’re nearby, we can come and look at your kitchen and discuss your needs, or if we’re far away, you can send us some photos and dimensions.

Once we’d discussed what you want and need, we can create a 3D mockup of the new kitchen design for you to approve or ask us to tweak. If you’re then happy, we can agree the details and begin the project.

For a no-obligation design consultation, call 0208 254 0090 or email [email protected].