Small Kitchen Guide: Alan Hughes & Karl Broderick get expert advice
Alan Hughes, Irish television presenter on a popular morning show, and his husband Karl Broderick, theatre producer, get expert advice on how to best design their smaller kitchen. Join Alan & Karl for their free design consultation. [paid partnership]
The Process
“Booking our design appointment was so easy and totally stress free. We visited the Cash & Carry Kitchens website, filled out a simple form and it was all so straightforward” describes Alan. They joined expert designer, Alan Larkin in our showroom on Longmile road in Dublin for their free design consultation and showroom walkaround.
Take a look at Alan & Karl's small kitchen journey
The Backstory
“We’re renovating our property and we’re really looking forward to designing our new kitchen. Now, the kitchen is small so we want to look as bright and airy as possible” says Alan. They discuss some key elements that they believe will be essential to achieve this elevated space. “I think storage is going to be the most important and also keeping everything you really need and getting rid of everything you don’t” says Karl.
Alan and Karl in the Augusta kitchen.
Smaller Kitchens – Expert Advice
Our expert designer, Alan Larkin talks us through some of the dos and don’ts of a smaller kitchen design, "...a small kitchen design can be just as effective and amazing as a large kitchen. All it takes is a touching of planning and preparation and you can have the dream space you have always imagined” says Alan Larkin. He continues to advise “before you come into the showroom we would ask you to do up a nice wish list of what it is you’re looking for on the kitchen design”.
Alan and Karl take a look at our range of taps, with expert designer, Alan Larkin.
Be ruthless with what you want
There are multiple solutions we can use to ensure you get what you want from your smaller kitchen design. The first would be to encourage you to be strict with what items you really want to keep in your kitchen – are they absolutely essential? Alan Larkin suggests making a list everything in the kitchen currently. Alan and Karl discuss how they will structure this “working from a list, we will either have to move things elsewhere in the house or just get rid of them completely.” Keeping only the essentials will instantly de-clutter, allowing it to feel like a much larger space.
Alan looks at a spice rack, a slim storage solution.
Rethink your storage – starting with corners
You can be so clever with storage in a smaller kitchen. Customers with a small kitchen tend to have re-occurring issues with corner cabinets, as they can be dark holes for clutter build-up. Alan Larkin suggests adding something like a Le Mans corner carousel that will assist with this problem. Not only does this solution allow easy accessibility, it instantly organises those dark spaces. Karl discusses the Le Mans storage, “I like the idea of that corner swivel shelf, where you can put all your bits and pieces and get to them easily.”
The Le Mans corner storage improves accessibility.
Consider integrated appliances
Factoring in your major appliances is one of the most important elements of designing your new kitchen. Alan Larkin warns “these can take up a lot of room and make a small kitchen feel even smaller.” To counteract this, Alan suggests that customers choose a smaller sized fridge or dishwasher. Using integrated appliances is another realistic way to save space, improve storage and give a more uniform aesthetic in your kitchen. “You can have the microwave, oven and fridge freezer all integrated into the design of the kitchen”.
Integrated appliances are a great space saving solution.
Consider Lighting
Alan Larkin suggests adding lighting for the extra "wow factor". Alan Hughes mentions that “..because our kitchen is small we want as much light and brightness as possible. A light colour door is something we really want in the design”. Alan Larkin advises that “the best way to make the most out of your colour palette is to leave as much natural light into the space as possible." If you dont have access to natural light, that's ok as we can also add artificial lighting in the form of pendant lighting, LED strips or plinth lighting to illuminate the space.
Plinth lighting elevates the space.
The Design Appointment
Alan Hughes describes the free design appointment, “the consultation took just over an hour and we spent our time discussing the fun stuff like designs and space saving solutions for our smaller kitchen". They then took a walk around the showroom on Longmile road to have a look at the different styles of kitchens. Karl adds “it was great to see all the different accessories walking around the showroom. It really is that easy and even a bit of fun.” Book in for your free design appointment today.
Alan and Karl getting expert advice at their design appointment.