In times gone by you may have been forced to enlist the services of a kitchen designer who would have got out their sketch pad and pencil and gone to work on your new kitchen design - at a cost to you of course.  Now you can still ask a professional for assistance but they will use the latest 3D kitchen design technology to bring your new kitchen to life.  If you are great with colours and styles you can even give it a try yourself as most kitchen manufacturers offer access to some form of online kitchen design software.

When you think kitchen extractors you probably envisage a large stainless steel range hood that overhangs a good portion of your kitchen bench.  Well lets put a pin in that picture...those extractors are now a thing of the past.  Today you have access to some of the most amazing extractors you can imagine.  Extractors are something to get excited about, not dread.  Lets take a peek at six of the most popular options you have for your new kitchen design.

There are hundreds of kitchen appliances on the market right now, and most of them have become more technical that you could ever have imagined.  There are coffee machines that can be activated to brew from your smartphone, there are wine decanters that measure and regulate temperatures for you, you can start your slow cooker from the office and you can brew beer on the kitchen bench at the touch of button.  There are however four main appliances that are the backbone of any kitchen design.  We are going to look at how technology has made them an addition you must consider for your new kitchen:

1. Refrigerators.
2. Ovens.
3. Cooktops.
4. Extractors.

Handles are extremely important for your kitchen design.  They can provide that finishing touch or they can change the entire look you were going for. When you are selecting handles for your kitchen you need to consider four main factors; the functionality of the handle, the design or style, the finish or material used to make the handle and whether or not you even want handles in your kitchen design.  There are many options available to you so lets look at a few now.

Integration is where you attach a panel to the front of your appliance so that it matches in with the rest of your kitchen cupboards.  You are able to integrate dishwashers and refrigerators.  Some appliances can be fully integrated where no portion of the appliance is showing and others may expose a control panel or a kick panel.  Most integrated appliances will come with the front face panel missing so that you can attach your own panel using the kitchen cupboard materials you have selected.  Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons surrounding appliance integration.

You may be asking why you even need a splashback in your kitchen.  Well the purpose of a splashback is to protect your kitchen walls from steam, grease, oil, water and other cooking liquids and food that often 'splash' up onto the kitchen wall directly behind your cook top.  If you didn't include a splashback in your kitchen design you would risk damage to your wall.

If you are designing a new kitchen you will want to maximise your pantry space.  Before you can design your pantry you need to decide:

• What you want to keep in your pantry (e.g. food, toaster, microwave, dinner set).
• Where your pantry should be located (e.g. near the oven or refrigerator).
• How much available space you have for your pantry (e.g. small amount, an old laundry room etc.)

Once you have determined these factors you can go ahead and choose the style of pantry that fits within these confines.  There are three main pantry solutions you can choose from, traditional, slide or pull out and walk in.

If you are looking to upgrade, renovate, build new or replace your existing kitchen you have no doubt been browsing luxury kitchen pictures on line and in home improvement magazines.  What you may have noticed and fallen in love with is all the open display shelving being incorporated into the latest kitchen designs.  Now you are left with the question - open or closed?

Are you tired of bending over and digging through your kitchen cupboards looking for that one tiny item that somehow made its way to the back...again!
Well we have the solution...DRAWERS.  Kitchen cupboards are slowly becoming a design feature of kitchens past.  The latest trend is to include as many functional and stylish drawers as possible, making back-breaking storage a distant memory.  ​Here are FOUR unique drawer options to include in your new kitchen design.

When deciding on your kitchen feature lighting you need to consider these FOUR elements:

1. Where to feature the lighting.
2. How much lighting to feature.
3. Whether to go for function, or style.
4. Cost to purchase and run the feature lighting.