Decide what type of kitchen you want – flat pack, rigid construction, custom built, fully fitted or non-fitted. Each has their pros and cons and will also affect the price you pay.

Fully fitted kitchens

Fully fitted kitchens make the best use of space, maximising storage and working areas. These can be supplied in a rigid (i.e. built) or flat pack option, and can be fitted by the supplier or the customer themselves, depending on budget. Pre-assembled units come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, even offering excellent corner solutions. A quality fitted kitchen will enhance your home, but you can’t easily take it with you if you move house.

Non-fitted or freestanding kitchens

Non-fitted or freestanding kitchens, consisting of individual pieces of furniture for specific tasks, are becoming increasingly popular for that informal or destructured look. Whilst the furniture can be moved and used elsewhere, it does not make such good use of storage space and may therefore be better suited to larger rooms.

Rigid factory built kitchen furniture

Rigid factory built kitchen furniture can be either of a traditional glued and doweled or similar construction method or they can be dry assembled with what are commonly known as ‘metal cam and dowel’ fittings. In general, the choice of cabinets is large allowing substantial flexibility in the design.

Flat pack or self-assembly furniture

Flat pack or self-assembly furniture has been developed over many years to help speed up the supply chain, reduce costs and to satisfy the huge DIY market in the UK. This type of kitchen furniture is still quite rare in Europe and is more common in the UK. The choice of cabinet sizes is generally more limited although recent years have seen vast improvements in the range of products available.

Bespoke kitchens

Bespoke kitchens allow you to have the ultimate kitchen designed for you. Some companies use the term to cover kitchens that are not one-off designs, but which do offer a range of shapes, colours and materials. There is a difference between a fully bespoke kitchen and one that is built using a range of fixed dimension manufactured cabinets, tailored to fit your home. An unusually shaped room or problem corners and windows can be overcome by a good bespoke design.However there is often a price premium to be paid for a truly bespoke kitchen, and installation times will often be longer.