How long do you think a kitchen should last?
It’s one of the biggest investments you can make in a home, so it’s important that every penny goes towards something which lasts the distance. The last thing anyone wants is to look at their kitchen two years later and wish they’d made different choices.
Modern kitchens aren’t just used for food preparation. They’re entertaining spaces, kids’ playrooms, and, increasingly, home offices.
That makes our job all the more challenging – but we love it. And, recently, we were reminded of just how long a well-designed and constructed kitchen can last.
Two decades later…
We love it when a customer gets back in touch after several years. This is for two reasons: firstly, it proves that they remember and trust us. Secondly, it means that whatever we did back then really has lasted the test of time.
This was certainly the case with Patricia, a customer in Warwickshire who has called on Modern Homes to renovate four rooms in her home. One of those was the kitchen, which we originally created over 20 years ago!
Patricia recently got in touch to see if the kitchen could be given an update. Thankfully, it turned out that the work we undertook nearly two decades earlier had significantly reduced the investment needed for its next iteration.
In fact, the kitchen was so well designed originally that there wasn’t really any point in messing around with the layout. It still worked perfectly for Patricia, so we set our sights instead on modernising the aesthetics.
A lot can change in two decades when it comes to kitchen design and trends, but we decided to make any changes as cost-effective and non-disruptive as possible.
A splash of colour – and light
We quickly realised that the kitchen space in Patricia’s home could be a little brighter. As any interior designer will tell you, the introduction of more natural and artificial light can have a significant, positive impact on any room.
So, we focused on making the whole room look brighter, both with better use of natural light, new lighting fixtures, and a splash of colour on the walls.
The overall result felt fresh, with cleaner lines, and a new tone, thus significantly brightening up the room and increasing the perceived space.
The small (and not so small) details
As with any renovation, it’s often the smallest details that have the biggest impact, and that’s definitely the case with kitchens.
For this project, we realised that one of the biggest improvements we could make would be to replace the cabinet doors. We opted for our handless gloss range, which transformed the look of the kitchen.
For the worktops, we opted for a beautiful grey Mirrorlux quartz, and accented them with orange splashbacks.
These changes combined resulted in a kitchen which looked brand new. By brightening up the room, the space looked bigger, too.
We turned our attention to some larger elements, as well. For instance, the flooring was changed to a Karndean grey slate effect and we opted for a more modern oven and a ‘gas on glass’ hob. The fridge freezer, washing machine, and dishwasher remained untouched.
“Tina’s product knowledge and experience resulted in a design that really suited my personal style and budget,” enthused Patricia. “The Modern Homes team are highly skilled and courteous, and ensured all work was completed to the highest standard and on schedule. My new kitchen is perfection; I absolutely love it! This was the fourth room Modern Homes have completed for me, they have continued to provide excellent after care service, and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.”
Ready to renovate your kitchen?
If Patricia’s story has inspired you, it might be time to give your own kitchen a makeover.
It doesn’t matter whether we created your kitchen twenty years ago or not – you’ll be amazed by what can be achieved for such a modest investment. Do get in touch with Modern Homes to find out more.