A bit of organisation and determination is all you need to prevent your traditional kitchen from becoming a breeding ground for mess. Here are our tips on keeping your space clean and clear.

Clear out

Having a good kitchen clear-out is the best place to begin. Kitchens attract all the items in your house that don’t have a designated home. Gather up the clutter that’s in your kitchen and find somewhere for it to go or be ruthless and throw it away/donate it. If there isn’t a place for things, make one if you can. Kitchen islands, trolleys and hooks are all useful for getting mess out of the way.

Organise that equipment

There’s a piece of kitchen equipment for any cooking and cleaning task you can think of these days. While kitchen gadgets make life easier in some ways, they can also make things difficult by taking up lots of space and making other utensils and gadgets hard to reach.

Sort your appliances out into those you use regularly and those you only use occasionally. Of course, the ones you use on a week-to-week basis need to be somewhere you can access them and store them away again easily. The others can be stored elsewhere, such as further back or in a separate cupboard – don’t forget that gadgets can be heavy, though, and you need to be able to get them when you need them otherwise they’ll be taking up space for no reason.

The paperless kitchen

Paper is a classic kitchen clutter culprit. Receipts, bus tickets, notes and bills have a knack of building up and looking awful so get a system in place. You could get an in/out tray to help you deal with paperwork or keep your files close by so that anything you need to keep can be archived whilst everything else gets binned.

Clean away

Cleaning products are used every day in the kitchen so you need to be able to get to them in moments. However, they don’t look very nice stored on countertops and window sills.

If you’re just designing your new kitchen, the designer you’re working with can come up with ingenious solutions for situations just like this. For example, trays, racks and baskets can all be incorporated into traditional kitchen features such as drawers and cabinets.

Use that space

Just because something isn’t in a cabinet or drawer doesn’t mean it has to be on your work surfaces. For example, aprons, tea towels, cups, kitchen roll, and pans and utensils can all be stored on walls and doors using nifty devices such as hooks and rails.

With the right tools and kitchen design planning, as well as a bit of willpower, you can quite easily keep your traditional kitchen free of clutter.

Below is a selection of traditional kitchen designs:
Great value traditional kitchens – the Omega range of high quality and best value.
Luxury traditional kitchens – Charles Rennie Mackintosh luxury designs.
Traditional kitchens UK – The Sheraton range of fitted units.

The company has a showroom so customers can see examples of its kitchens and appliances. The company offers a kitchen design service where experts will work with customers from the start to the finish of a kitchen project.

Its installation service includes fitting the kitchen, as well as plumbing, heating, gas, electrical, lighting, tiling and decorating. Although they offer a full kitchen fitting service, the company says it’s also happy to install just a single appliance, such as a tap or a sink.

Sylvarna Kitchen Design Ltd
Terminus Road
Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 8TX

Telephone: 01243 780 633

The company has its own kitchen factory offering a wide range of choice and kitchens can be delivered free of charge with supervised loading and unloading. An installation service is optional.

The company offers worktops, appliances and furniture as well as bespoke bedroom furniture.

Castles Kitchens
Estover Close
Plymouth
PL6 7PL

Telephone: 01752 737333

The company has been around since 1996 and its team includes designers, carpenters and painters. Because the kitchens are all bespoke, requests such as curved pieces, invisible pull-out parts and false facades can all be accommodated.

Kitchen items which are available through Neptune Kitchens include:

• Appliances
• Base cabinets
• Care kits
• Chopping blocks
• Counter tops
• Cutlery trays
• Full-height cabinets
• Handles
• Kitchen islands
• Paint
• Shelves
• Sinks
• Taps
• Towel rails
• Wall cabinets
• Willow baskets
• Wine racks

Neptune Classics
Lydiard Fields
Great Western Way
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN5 8UY

Telephone: 01793 881144

A Kitchen Designer Consultant works with customers to help them get their kitchen ideas into plans on paper. After taking measurements of the kitchen space, the consultant will create a 3D projection of the planned kitchen so customers get a realistic idea of what to expect.

Kitchen options include solid wood, painted, high gloss, vinyl, metallic, inframe and bespoke. There are a range of worktops on offer such as granite, solidwood, laminate and silestone. Appliances to choose from include steam ovens, combination ovens, microwaves, coffee machines and chillers. Accessories are also available, such as magic corners, pullout larders, chef’s pantries, tambour units, spice racks, flip-down TVs, radios, storage baskets and more.

Free design consultations are available and the company has a showroom in Trowbridge.

The Kitchen Designer
Trowbridge Garden Centre
288 Frome Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 0DT

Telephone: 01225 808463

It has been designing and installing kitchens for over 20 years and employs a skilled team of designers, consultants and installers. The kitchen design and installation can be arranged via the company’s website and by phone, and there are also showrooms based in Leeds and Brighouse.

The kitchens on offer include contemporary, traditional and modern. The contemporary kitchens typically have a cool, urban look with smooth, flush doors, chrome and steel accessories and a minimalist look.

The traditional kitchens feature wood and painted wood for a classic, homely look, whilst the modern kitchens update classic designs. Typical features include painted, planked effect doors and completely flat frontals.

Kitchen design consultations are available free of charge on a no-obligation basis.

Norwood Interiors
Abbey Retail Park
Bridge Road
Kirkstall
Leeds
LS5 3RP

Telephone: 0113 388 5 200

With premises in Surrey and Vauxhall, London, it has an extensive range of modern kitchens to suit all homes and lifestyles.

London Kitchen Shop supplies a range of kitchen furniture. Its range of kitchen worktops include options such as granite, stone, wood, laminate, glass and stainless steel. Suppliers include Axiom, Blanco, Corian, Dupont, Lechner and Spekva.

This retailer also sells a variety of appliances to complement all types of kitchen. Equipment is available from manufacturers such as Neff, Miele and Siemens.

London Kitchen Shop will consult with clients to help them design their perfect kitchen. This includes an in-depth discussion between the kitchen designer and the customer on exactly what is needed from the kitchen and on how it will be used on a day-to-day basis. The consultation can be done at the client’s home and can be conducted direct with a customer’s interior designer or architect if the customer prefers it.

After the consultation, London Kitchen Shop staff will prepare a floor plan and a 3D visualisation of how the new kitchen will look.

Arch 70
Albert Embankment
Vauxhall
London
SE1 7TJ
Telephone: 020 7793 9091 |

Examples of the styles on offer at Kutchenhaus include high gloss, coloured, light wood, medium wood, dark wood and country. Each kitchen is made to order to ensure that it is made from materials of the same age, meaning that the colours and textures match.

Kutchenhaus also sells a variety of branded appliances from makes such as CDA, Neff, Hotpoint, Faber and Franke. Home visits are available and the company has showrooms throughout the country, with its flagship showroom in Manchester.

Kutchenhaus, Manchester
Unit 5c Barton Square
The Trafford Centre
Manchester
M17 8AS

Telephone: 0161 749 4110

The building firm specialises in designing and fitting bespoke kitchens, as well as other projects such as loft conversions, timber decking and laminate flooring. A full design and fitting service is available, as well as stand-alone fitting.

The company mainly specialises in domestic and residential work but can also accommodate commercial projects and sub-contracts.

Taylor Made Homes
12 Redwind Way
Longlevens
Gloucester
GL2 0XD

Telephone: (1452) 547 148

The company offers its own kitchen planning software to make sure choices match the shape and physical structure of a room.

The kitchen firm can offer bespoke items to fit odd-shaped rooms and non-standard spaces.

Kitchens are available in materials and finishes such as:

• Oak
• Walnut
• Maple
• Beech
• Cherry
• Birch
• Other woods
• Painted and coloured
• Work surfaces are available in finishes such as:
• Composite stone
• Granite and marble
• Timber
• Stainless steel
• Laminate

Martha Mockford Limited
The Workshops
Deer Park Farm
Buckerell
EX14 3EP

Telephone: 01404 44189