White matter: an intelligent kitchen like this in West London, you can add eight percent to the value of your home. £ 2.95m, Savills
spare a thought for poor cooking this Christmas. Overworked and under loved, which used to be Cinderella rooms where cabbages and guest chefs enslaved while drinking champagne in the lounge are boiled?
Not any more. Modern kitchens are totally different beast’s most beautiful princesses who mops. They may be shining masterpieces of the holiday season, as well as the tree or the lights in the ceiling, with the advantage of offering joy throughout the year.
A kitchen of prior art can add five to eight percent of the value of a house, according to TV presenters Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp.
Yes, this increase may come with initial costs. As people turn away from the more traditional kitchens and opt for an ultra-modern look, an outlay of about £ 7000 is the minimum you can expect. But in some cases you can multiply that number by 20.
The upper limit for a new kitchen is about £ 150,000, "says Iain O'Mahony, designer interior design firm Linley Lord." This part of the house is no longer a place of hard work, but is celebrated. "
What's more, research shows that the Hamptons International kitchen is the room that makes or breaks a purchase decision. Four percent of shoppers say the bathroom is the most important room, and 37 percent suggested the living room. However, a staggering 50 percent admit that if the kitchen leaves them cold, then the deal is off.
So if you find yourself in a stunning kitchen during the Christmas period, be sure to pick up some tips. Feast your eyes on the oven Poggenpohl, Gaggenau fridge and Italian granite surface before putting on Pringles.
"The days when the host would cook gourmet alone in a gulag while their partners and guests enjoyed drinks and canapés, gone," says Spencer, who has been in more kitchens that most of us have had hot dinners.
Look through details of estate agents these days, and you'll find that the kitchen has been reborn as a "family / breakfast / dining / socializing".
Hot Property: church conversion with three bedrooms and a kitchen in style in Garve, Ross-shire. Strutt & Parker.
Take three-bedroom flat in what was once the Green Film Studios Chiswick (Sales £ 1.295m, www.johndwood.co.uk). Almost all of the ground floor is a "double height open plan reception room, kitchen area and party space."
Meanwhile, the art deco-inspired "kitchen / dining / living room" in the attic space Mar on the peninsula Sandbanks near Poole, would not look out of place in a trendy boutique hotel. There is a stunning island in the middle of the room, surrounded by high-backed stools bar. The kitchen also has views over the harbor (on the market for £ 1.995m, www.sothebysrealty.co.uk). The kitchen island is still the core of innovation in recent times. Some parts are independent, while others come together to form an L shape and some houses even have two separate islands. Jiin Kim-Inoue, director of the design firm Finchatton says an island is not enough for a large family. These days, the island is not only a storage space for knives and forks. It can accommodate everything from a sink to a Japanese teppanyaki grill. Complete with pop-up extractor nozzle, instead of sticking through the hood.
Of course, it is not please everyone, and there are still plenty of homeowners who prefer to have the space, or a table of traditional farmhouse as the focal point of the kitchen. But whatever look you are after, do not have to break the bank. Retailers are increasingly offering renewal services at competitive prices.
"We design consultants in some 360 branches," says Jack Dennison, head of interior design at B & Q. "We measure your space and produce a computer image of the kitchen you're planning.
"Our installers will then install what you have purchased, at an agreed rate: 18 € per square meter of soil, and € 39 per square meter of tiling."
For aspiring renovators who know nothing about contemporary kitchen design, this could be a useful first step.
Other retailers are getting into the act. This Christmas, John Lewis has created a huge pick-the-parts-for-your-kitchen studio at his shop in Oxford Street.
According to the firm 'never knowingly undersold' slogan, it is the aim to match the prices of B & Q. "We estimate that a typical installation can make design-and-kitchen worth around £ 6500," explains Matt Thomas. "Most of the jobs will take about a week, but we made sure that all the work that the customer has running water and electricity."
What's more, work by the design consultant (estimated value of one and a half ') will cost the customer only 50 pounds.
For those interested in doing a little homework, you can see what other companies are charging for their services, visit their website www.kitchen-compare.com.
Chances are that Linley Interior Design, for example, will ask for more than that. The company uses walnut surfaces workspace, light wood and dark brown color called ziricote, from South America, and Sub-Zero appliances super-hip.
"Remember how much time we spend in this part of the house," says O'Mahony. "You cook, eat and socialize here. This is the place where kids do their homework, and where adults sit on their laptops."
However, he adds, the preparation of food should be in the center of the design. . "A pentagon shape is the key you need to be within a pace of five different areas: the pantry, the fridge, the point of cut and washed, oven and dishwasher.
"Place the separate elements too, and have to use roller skates every time you cook."
While you can impress a man to have a kitchen the size of a tennis court, most women have a more practical approach. This means serving food directly from the pot, not a hostess trolley wheel to the other side of the house.
"A temptation in large kitchens is the space everything out," says Allsopp. "But you'll end up doing a lot more walking while you are cooking. It also increases the likelihood of through traffic swirled around the work triangle, which can be dangerous."
Not for the first time, Phil Spencer agrees with his colleague on the screen. While it may sound old-fashioned, he says, those looking to sell should aim to attract the wives and girlfriends.
"Unless women in society values a home, often comes down to the kitchen, no point in trying to pursue the sale," he says.
Despite this, however, you should be careful not to plow too in the kitchen just before selling. While a good kitchen can add value to the home, but also the most likely target for the new owners renovated.
The best advice, then, is left to their buyers to put in two doors pantries, islands shaped oyster-pop and TV screens. Limit your work to cosmetic enhancements that will help buyers visualize the room as theirs. When units get tatty kitchen, put in new doors, rather than an entire drive.
But high-tech or traditional features that are added, the human element, of course, remains constant. Kitchen Jamie Oliver-style glory rough-and-ready man might be anathema for a sushi master ordered. No solution pleases everyone.
But it is worth remembering that the kitchen can be a gold mine; If you are looking to sell or to add long-term value. As Christmas approaches, make this functional room a feast for the eyes.
