Kitchens come in all shapes, sizes and styles, from French farmhouse-inspired rooms with exposed brick and strings of onions to super-sleek future kitchens with touch-controlled stove tops and soft-close drawers.
All very well and good, but if it takes you 20 minutes to find a mixing bowl, you've not built a kitchen: you've built a labyrinth and stocked it with wooden spoons.
Just ask Paul Bagguley, kitchen designer at fitted kitchen specialists In-toto Batley. With the firm boasting 46 kitchen showrooms across the country, they know a thing or two about what's popular in kitchens at the moment - and as Paul attests, it's important to speak to those who are in the know before you plan your kitchen to make sure you get it right.
"Talk to the experts," says Paul. "Trained, experienced kitchen designers know how flexible kitchen cabinets can be and can plan the space to its maximum potential."
And as Mr Bagguley notes, he and his team often use creative lighting solutions - or bright, coloured LED lighting - to create space and interest in kitchens large and small.
"Using a light or vibrant colour scheme with interesting lighting can create the illusion of space in a small kitchen," he says. "The light reflecting qualities of gloss or glass fronted cabinets create a sleek, streamlined modern look. Minimalism is key with small spaces, so create clever storage areas in corners with the use of carousels and drawers."
And interior design guru Rebecca Weir agrees that the affordability of LED lighting now, coupled with the widespread adoption, makes coloured lighting schemes more of a reality. "With the introduction of, colour has become more and more popular," she says.
Ceiling spotlights and chrome fixtures can also really make your kitchen shine. Recessed into the ceiling, they don't dangle or take up space - meaning you needn't climb on a chair and dust them - but offer practical illumination to cook, stir and not chop your fingers off to.
