Start With The House You Already Have

One of the first things I look at is the house itself.

What style is the whole house? What are you doing with your flooring? What colour are the walls? What are the window surrounds like? Is the house warm toned or cool toned?

Because as much as somebody may love a really cool toned, coastal style kitchen, if they've got warm toned floors, warm toned window surrounds and the house has more of a Mediterranean feel, that kitchen may not actually match.

That doesn't mean you can't have a fresh white kitchen. It just means we might choose a white with a warmer undertone so it still ties in.

That's where people can get a bit unstuck when they're looking online. They'll see something they love, but they don't always consider how it would look in their actual house. A kitchen can look amazing in a photo because it has huge windows, heaps of natural light, high ceilings and a big open space. But if your kitchen is darker, smaller or has existing flooring that needs to stay, we need to adjust the idea so it works in real life.

That's not about taking the look away from you. It's about making it fit.

Flooring Can Change The Whole Direction

Flooring is a big one.

If you're changing the layout of your kitchen and changing the footprint, you may need to think about whether the flooring needs to change as well. If you're keeping your existing floors, then we often need to cover the existing footprint so you don't end up with gaps where the old cabinetry was.

But from a style point of view, the flooring also tells us a lot.

If you've got terracotta tiles, for example, and you come in with lots of cool toned white and grey inspiration images, I'm going to talk you through how those tones work together. It doesn't mean you can't have a light kitchen, but if we go too cool, it can look like it doesn't belong with the rest of the home.

Usually, if you keep one cohesive tone throughout the house, whether that's warm toned or cool toned, everything feels more connected. You can still have different textures, colours and features. It doesn't all have to be matchy-matchy. But the undertone is what makes it feel like it belongs.

Routed Doors, Flat Doors And What They Say About The Style

Once we start looking at the cabinetry, one of the easiest ways to narrow the style is the door profile.

If someone is leaning towards a Hamptons, farmhouse, country or modern country style, we're usually looking at a routed two pack door. That might be a shaker profile, a Hamptons profile, or even a VJ style door.

A two pack door gives you that routed profile, and it can be colour matched, which is great when you want a very specific colour. It's more of a painted finish, but it's a hard wearing paint. If you can imagine a colour under the rainbow, we can usually match it.

If someone is going for more of a modern kitchen, we'd usually look at a square edge laminate door. That gives you a flatter, cleaner look. It works really well with handleless designs, matte finishes and those more contemporary styles.

That's where I'll often explain to people that some design elements naturally lean a certain way.

For example, a Hamptons door with a handleless finish is a bit of a juxtaposition, because handleless tends to lean more modern, while a Hamptons door leans more country, coastal or classic. That doesn't mean you can't do it. If that's what you really want, that's what we'll give you. But I would show you what it looks like, then show you the same Hamptons door with a handle, and then show you a flat door with handleless, so you can actually visualise the difference.

Sometimes seeing it side by side makes the decision much easier.

Warm, Cool, Fresh, Moody, Soft The Style Words Matter Less Than The Feeling

People often get caught up trying to name their style.

But really, I'm listening for how they want the kitchen to feel.

Do they want fresh and bright? Do they want warm and cosy? Do they want modern and sleek? Do they want something darker and moodier, with black, navy, oak and metal accents? Do they want a softer country style with cream cabinetry, stone tops and maybe a farmhouse-style sink?

Modern contemporary styles tend to be a lot of white on white, blonde woods, pale colours and that fresh, bright sort of feel.

Industrial styles tend to use darker colours, black, navy, oak, accent metals, floating shelves, sometimes handleless cabinetry or sometimes gold or copper handles. You can even do something like a copper sink if that suits the look.

Country style is usually warmer. More cream, more stone, maybe a farmhouse style porcelain sink.

Hamptons tends to be a bit fresher and cooler, often with white, navy or grey accents. It's a little bit more modern than a traditional country style.

But most homes don't fit perfectly into one category, and most clients don't either. We can mix and match elements to suit what you like, as long as the final kitchen still feels cohesive.

Your Saved Photos Might Not Be Showing What You Think They Are

When someone brings in inspiration photos, I'll often ask what they actually like about each image.

Is it the island? Is it the green doors? Is it the gold handles? Is it the stone? Is it the natural light? Is it the size of the space? Is it the fact that there's a massive butler's pantry?

Once you break it down, sometimes you realise the thing they love is achievable. Other times, it might not be realistic in their space.

I've definitely had situations where someone has their heart set on a big island bench, but there just isn't enough space in their kitchen. That can be disappointing, but then we look at what we can do. Maybe we can create more bench space another way. Maybe we can improve the layout. Maybe we can use drawers instead of cupboards to make the storage more functional. Maybe a breakfast bar makes more sense than a full island.

That's the thing with renovations. You're working within an existing space, and the design has to suit that space.

It also has to suit the way you actually use the kitchen.

The Best Style Is The One That Works For The Home And The People Using It

A kitchen can look beautiful in a photo and still be wrong for your house.

If you cook a lot, entertain a lot, need the kitchen to work as a dining space, have kids sitting at the island after school, or want more storage for appliances, all of that changes the design.

Style isn't just the colour of the doors.

It's whether you go with drawers instead of cupboards. It's whether you need a small appliance zone. It's whether you want your benchtop and doors to stay neutral so you can add personality in the splashback. It's whether your cabinetry goes to the ceiling to give you more storage and make the ceilings feel higher.

It's also whether the finishes make sense for your life. I normally recommend neutral doors and benchtops if you want the kitchen to last. Then if you want a splash of colour or personality, do it in the splashback. If in five years the splashback feels dated, it's much easier to change than all your doors and benchtops.

You Don't Need To Have It All Figured Out Before You Come In

In our Brisbane kitchen showroom, we can walk you through the different door options, benchtops, handles, splashbacks and finishes. We can talk through laminate versus two pack, flat doors versus routed doors, engineered stone versus laminate benchtops, handle options, handleless options and all the bits and pieces that help shape the look.

If you have inspiration photos, that's great. Bring them in.

If you don't, that's also fine.

We can start from day one. We can look at what you're drawn to in the showroom, talk about your house, talk about your flooring, talk about how you use the kitchen and start narrowing it down from there.

You don't need to walk in knowing the name of your style.

You just need to start with what feels right, what doesn't, and be open to working out the rest from there.