Making The Most Of An Open Plan Kitchen An open plan kitchen and dining area can be a fantastic use of space, whether you have a small kitchen and you want to open it out, or whether you have large rooms but you want to create an even larger and airier space to socialise and entertain in. No matter what your reasons for settling on an open plan design, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you make the most of the space you’ve got. Let there be light The best part about open plan living is the light and air it adds to your space. Make the most of it with large sliding doors facing out onto a patio or balcony, and consider adding a skylight for even more natural light in the room. If you don’t already have an open plan kitchen but you’d love one,

Top Kitchen Gadgets Earlier this year, top celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal unveiled a new set of kitchen gadgets in his new Sage range.  These state-of-the-art kitchen gadgets include such items as a fully automatic tea maker, an espresso machine and a variety of blenders and juicers all designed to make your life in the kitchen that little bit easier and more interesting to boot. These fantastic accessories are sure to help you create your own masterpieces in the kitchen, but they’re definitely not cheap! However, looking over the elegant range in its strong, shiny stainless steel, it got us thinking here at My Beautiful Kitchen about our favourite kitchen gadgets. You may not be able to have them all, but there are always one or two gadgets that are necessary to turn your kitchen work from a hard slog into a true delight. We picked out our favourite

Best Budget Kitchens In the current economic climate, you might be looking at your tired, worn out kitchen and resigning yourself to the fact that you can’t afford to change anything for the foreseeable future. However, lacklustre taps, boring work surfaces and ill-fitting cupboards don’t mean you have to win the Lotto to get the kitchen you deserve. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have the budget to redo everything plus the kitchen sink, because we have some great ideas here at My Beautiful Kitchen to give you a brilliant kitchen on a budget. It’s all about the finish So long as your cupboards aren’t about to fall apart anytime soon, you could leave them be. Instead, it’s worth investing in good worktops, as they take the brunt of the day-to-day kitchen activities and they’ll be the first to show the strain. Go for good, solid materials such as the gorgeous

Black Gloss Finish If you’re thinking of getting rid of your old, worn out kitchen, or if you fancy sprucing up the space you’ve got, then a black gloss kitchen will do the trick. When considering a new kitchen, black is often overlooked, as people fear it will make their kitchen seem dark and dank. However, with a high gloss finish, your kitchen will seem anything but dark. The subtle shine adds depth and unexpected warmth to any room, making it an inviting surrounding for dinner parties and entertaining. Having a black gloss kitchen instantly updates and modernizes any space, but in order to avoid the dreaded dinginess that concerns most people, it is important to keep floors, walls and ceilings in light, bright, neutral shades. If your kitchen is on the smaller side but you still fancy the intriguing lustre of black gloss fittings, then you should consider having

What's Trending  As stated by the inimitable Coco Chanel, “Fashion comes and goes but style lasts forever.” The same rules can be applied to the modern kitchen as ensuring that yours stands the test of time comes from incorporating tried and tested kitchen styles into your design. However, there’s nothing to say you can’t have some fun with the latest trends for kitchens in 2013 if you blend them seamlessly into your already elegantly formed kitchen. Here at My Beautiful Kitchen, we’ll show you how to get all the greatest looks without looking like a kitchen fashion victim. All natural Natural stone and wood finishes are very popular right now, and luckily enough they are also a timeless and classic look that is easy to pull off. Consider granite work surfaces combined with a natural wooden counter top for the kitchen island. Natural colours are big in the kitchen right now also, with white leading

Refresh Your Kitchen  Do you wish you could overhaul your whole kitchen and make it fresh and new again? Well, with a few nifty tips and tricks you can do just that, without it costing you a fortune. There’s nothing we love more than designing a brand new kitchen into a home. But here at My Beautiful Kitchen, we know that funds don’t always make that possible. That’s why we’ve decided to let you guys into a secret. There are plenty of ways in which a few small changes here and there can help you see your kitchen in a whole new light, without breaking the bank… Inject some colour You’ll be surprised at the difference that a fresh new shade can make. Stop your kitchen looking dull and drab by enlivening the walls in a bright new wash. Even contrasting shades of light and dark work particularly well if you

Different Kitchen Layouts Here at My Beautiful Kitchen, we don’t just like to design kitchen layouts…we LOVE it! Some people get their kicks playing golf. Others have a passion for reading. For us? Well, it’s all about sitting down with our customers (with a nice cup of tea, of course) and mapping out the kitchen of their dreams. The regular U-shaped kitchen works well. This is where you have two longer worktops, with a shorter surface at the end (often where a sink is placed, or your oven and hood can be housed). Ideally, the three main kitchen components should be set out in the perfect ‘working triangle’, an ergonomic principle that is applied to most kitchens to ensure they can be practical and efficient. The goals of a good kitchen work triangle are to place the three most common work sites (fridge, stove and sink) the most efficient

Designing A Family Friendly Kitchen In a family home, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house. It is the central hub where all meals are made and it is often where the family gathers to talk, laugh, cook together and socialise. When you are designing your kitchen, you will want to create a space that is welcoming and usable for all members of the family including the little ones. A family friendly kitchen means that young children will be able to easily and safely enjoy the room. Of course, your little ones won’t be small forever, so you need to design a kitchen that is accessible and child friendly but is also still functional for adults as well. This means thinking about the kitchen as a whole and how your family will use it over the years. What can you do to make your kitchen

Must Haves For Master Chefs Ever fancied yourself a dab hand in the kitchen? Think you could create a far better blancmange than that chap on MasterChef?  Well now you can ensure you have the kitchen on your side for your next culinary adventure. BBC’s MasterChef has been whetting our appetites for far more than the latest take on a Sunday roast. Audiences have become used to seeing gleaming, stainless steel kitchens with powerful ovens, stocked full of all the latest gismos and gadgets for the fancy chef. Brand new features, formerly only used in commercial restaurants, now make their way into the everyday kitchen. Telescopic oven shelves, like those in the picture, may sound like something aboard the space shuttle, but their presence on our television screens have made them something of a must-have for the aspiring master chef. These shelves allow you to pull them out at

The Retro Kitchen Every so often, we love a walk down memory lane here at My Beautiful Kitchen. Sometimes it’s nice to reminisce about the kitchen designs we’ve seen come and go down the many years we’ve been in the business. But it’s good news for those who like to go back in time…because retro fashions are great to use in your kitchen and can provide your home with a truly striking room. So, to turn your kitchen into a real conversation piece, you can get ahead in the style stakes by injecting your kitchen with retro goodies. Remember, if you’re looking to take your old kitchen out and replace with a retro style, we’re bound to have something you will like. In fact, if you give us a call, we can always help you while you’re in front of your laptop to suggest styles which may suit. But there are