The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home part 3: Lighting

It may seem obvious but you need good levels of light for preparing food in all areas of your kitchen.  However, your kitchen is also a gathering place and the correct lighting is needed to set the mood.  We were so impressed by Salley Storleys 10 points on great lighting for kitchens that we have provided it here:
 
1  Forget grids of downlights; use light only where it is required. Work surfaces need good task lighting, whether it is from downlights or pendants. As well as adding impact and visual interest, a row of pendants over an island will help provide a visual divide between the dining and kitchen areas. 

2  Under-cupboard lighting is usually best for task lighting because it is well hidden and stops your shadow obscuring the worktop. The latest LED products have less heat output, which saves money and prevents cupboards and food becoming too warm. Using a continuous Contour LED strip or individual fittings of only two watts is an easy way to create practical and attractive lighting. 

3  Think creatively about where you put your light sources. For example, incorporating lighting below an island unit will make it appear to float. In kitchens with high ceilings, try adding uplights to the tops of cabinets. It adds general light to the space so you will need fewer downlights. 

4  Layer the light. I’ve mentioned general and task lighting, but also add some accent and ambient lighting. Using a number of different sources lends a more ‘three-dimensional’ feel and so helps you create the mood you want. Each source should be controlled individually so that the scheme can create anything from the feeling of bright daylight to an intimate atmosphere over dinner. 

5 The latest developments of LEDs means the most recent downlights are only eight or 10W rather than 50W. A large kitchen with 14 downlights and under-cupboard lighting can now be lit with only 200 watts. Be sure to check the packaging for a colour temperature of around 2,700 Kelvin and a CRI (Colour Rendition Index) over 90 to ensure you end up with a warm, attractive light. 

6 If your kitchen or dining area is small, you can increase the sense of space by using directional spotlights angled towards the cupboards and walls. The light is reflected back into the room and is much more effective than shining the light straight down at the floor. 

7 Try to ensure that lights fitted near hobs fit flush to the wall or ceiling – making them easy to wipe clean. Using fittings with a covered glass is ideal. 

8 If using track lights, the key is to position the track so that spotlights never shine in your eye. Too often the track is located in the centre of a kitchen, meaning a central island may be lit effectively but people sitting to one side are in danger of being either in shadow or full glare. 

9 Spots should be placed where you need the light. Selecting directional versions gives added flexibility. For example, lights over a kitchen counter often work best placed above the edges of the counter, but angled across it to create glare-free lighting. 

10 With glass cabinets, I prefer to light them internally. They become almost like wall lights, so make sure you don’t mind people seeing what you have inside them. 

For more inspiration have a look at some of the luxury kitchens on our website which Richmond Homes has created for our clients 

The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home part 2: Choosing surfaces

This is the second part of our top tips on how to make your new luxury kitchen the heart of your home, this time focusing on the range of surfaces available for worktops, cabinets, quality appliances and flooring.  These important aspects can be properly designed and planned to make the kitchen the favourite family living and gathering place while, at the same time, making the necessary utilitarian functions of a kitchen a pleasure instead of a chore.
   
The worktop.  Worktops take all the wear and tear in your kitchen so if you want to keep that pristine look, think carefully about what worktop to choose.  These days there is a lot of choice from specialist worktops such as granite, quartz, Corian, glass and LG, and non-specialist worktops like laminate, maia, wood and bamboo.  

Cabinets: No single item affects the look, cost, and longevity of your kitchen as much as cabinetry so buy the very best that you can afford.  Think very carefully about the purpose of each unit from pullout drawers for pots and pans, oversized drawers for baking sheets and designated cabinets recycling. Accessories like lazy Susans, built-in spice racks, drawer organizers and other cabinet extras make the kitchen a much more efficient and enjoyable place to prepare and serve meals as well as the less enjoyable job of clearing up!

Quality appliances: Kitchen appliances, from refrigerators to dishwashers and ovens are constantly changing. New products, concepts and designs emerge into the marketplace every year so your choice of appliances is a very personal one. Kitchens are also becoming more environmentally friendly, using recycled materials, environmentally friendly products and incorporating “greener” lifestyles.

Flooring Materials: Your kitchen floor will help establish the style of the room but also take a lot of wear and tear so it’s very important to choose the right flooring for you.  There is a bewildering range of materials on offer but we felt this article could be very helpful in making the choice.  Find out more>

Wall materials:   Your kitchen will have a mixture of wall coverings for the different areas.  From wallpaper or painted surfaces in the sitting area to tiling and splash backs in the kitchen, it is important that these blend together to give a cohesive style.  The majority of surfaces will be regularly cleaned so you want to be sure that they keep their appearance over time.

For more inspiration have a look at some of the luxury kitchens on our website which Richmond Homes has created for our clients

Our final blog post on designing your luxury kitchen will be posted on October 24th - considering an often neglected aspect of lighting

Richmond Homes is awarded Commendation at the Herald Property Awards 2014

The Herald Property Awards for Scotland ceremony was the biggest night for the property industry in Scotland.  Everyone agreed that the 2014 awards have attracted an outstanding response. This year’s ceremony took place on Thursday, 25th September with a gala dinner in Oran Mor in the city’s west end.  The event, in association with Wheatley Group, saw hundreds of figures from across the house-building and development industry gather in Glasgow.

After months of reviewing all of the entries the judges had decided firstly on the finalists for each category and on the night announced the winner and commendation in each category.  Richmond Homes was delighted to be awarded a commendation in the “individual new build” category for our bespoke luxury home at Barnton.

This substantial 5-bedroom luxury home blends the original arts and crafts features of the coach house to the front of the property with a contemporary and spacious design to the rear, delivering a truly exceptional bespoke home.  Find out more about our award-winning bespoke home here>

The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home: 5 top tips for planning and designing your luxury kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home; properly designed it can be the favourite family living place while, at the same time, making the necessary utilitarian functions of a kitchen a pleasure instead of a chore.

Here are five of our top tips in planning and designing your luxury kitchen.

Size matters: the size and layout of your kitchen space will depend on your lifestyle.  The current trend for home life is to be more casual in dining and entertaining with the kitchen often the informal gathering place for family and friends.  If this is your taste in living you will want to be sure your kitchen is big enough to accommodate a cooking area, a dining area and a sitting area so that everyone can socialise together.  Open plan has been popular for many years, but families sometimes find that a layout which is suitable for a young family may not work so well for noisy or studying teenagers.  Having the option of partitions may be something to consider for all stages in a growing family.

Circulation and movement: If you have the luxury of designing your kitchen from scratch, why not size everything just as you like it to make movement around your kitchen as easy and efficient as possible? The kitchen work triangle is a design concept that can help create efficient use of kitchen work spaces. The idea is that a line drawn to the refrigerator, sink, and range should create a relatively even-sided triangle within which the major kitchen activities take place. The triangle layout can reduce unnecessary movement in the kitchen, making your use of the space more efficient. You can also look at counter height, counter depth and the clearance of upper cabinets and shelving to suit your particular needs. Having a kitchen island can be a great way to make use of extra space in your kitchen, as well as provide you with an accessible and comfortable place to prepare meals. Many kitchen islands also double as a place to have a quick bite to eat.

Ventilation system: Cooking produces heat, smells, grease, smoke and steam.  So while you are focusing on the enjoyment of designing the appearance of your kitchen, remember it is vital to incorporate top quality ventilation systems so that cooking does not have an undesirable impact on the pleasure of the kitchen as a gathering place for friends and family.  A major facet of ventilation is a hood to absorb all cooking smells and vapours. With so many options on offer you can choose to minimize the hood’s presence or make it the focal point of the room, whichever suits your taste and style.

The designated cooking space: Your kitchen may be the hub of the home but there is no getting away from the fact that its main purpose is as a working environment to produce meals for the family.  Therefore the ease-of-use of the cooking and clearing-up area of the kitchen and the way it relates to the social areas of dining and family relaxation requires careful planning. 

Your kitchen as a workhorse: You want your kitchen to keep its lovely new look and yet it takes such a lot of punishment on a daily basis it is worth thinking through which surfaces will keep their appearance.   

Dont miss our next article, published on October 15th which will focus on the range of surfaces available for worktops, cabinets, quality appliances and flooring. Have a look at some of the luxury kitchens on our website which Richmond Homes has created for their clients