There are a million little details that need to be covered when planning any kind of makeover or remodelling. Lets cover a few of them here. In Naples, kitchens can be either outside or inside, or even both. Our climate allows us the freedom to cook inside or outside for a large part of the year. Most residents will take full advantage of this, and for the sake of this post, we’ll talk about an internal kitchen.

When you are planning on spending a significant amount of money on a project for your home it is essential that you get it right first time. Everything from the concept to the finished product needs to be planned, costed and implemented in the best way possible.

When at the planning stage, make sure you make the best use of the space available. A kitchen can make or break a home, and it can be extremely expensive to put it right. Try and design a kitchen so it can serve as many purposes as possible without compromising the overall usefulness. Things like having wall built ovens instead of taking up a lot of cupboard space, or having cabinets go to the ceiling to maximize storage. Things like this will allow you to make the most of a space and the equipment within it. You need to assess how much storage space you need for your family, and build in a little contingency in case the family expands.

Ensure that any fitted units allow free access around the room and all the doors can open fully. Compromising space is something we want to avoid at all costs. Also ensure there is adequate light, both natural and artificial. A kitchen needs to be light and airy, otherwise all the furniture in there will look stuffy. Not a good look. You want to create a space where the whole family likes to be, because it is where most of you will spend your time.

Visit all the kitchen shops, DIY stores, open houses and any other inspirational places you can to get ideas. Take a camera with you to record it all as you’d be amazed at the different pictures people draw when they get home! Have photographic evidence will save a lot of arguing later!

If your kitchen is going to be completely gutted, get all the first fix plumbing and electrics out of the way as soon as the old kitchen has been removed. The new kitchen can then be built around them and appliances and amenities can be installed very easily. Planning the electric needs and socked placement in advance will allow for a much smoother build and far happier contractors.

It pays to plan and cost a “fantasy” kitchen before starting work as you may have to compromise on things to bring it in on budget. A good architect or contractor will be able to advise you more on this. They will be much better at costing the project too, as any homeowner doing it themselves always seem to underestimate how much work and time it takes to complete work like this to a high standard!