KITCHENS & BATHROOMS

A standard kitchen can feel carefully made for its room. Before spending more on the doors, look at the exposed sides, the joins and the details your fitter will need to finish.

The cabinet front gets most of the attention in a showroom. At home, you also see the side of the last cupboard, the space beside a wall and the edge of the worktop as you walk into the room. Those views deserve a place in the plan.

Start with a kitchen layout that works for you, then decide where a change to the standard specification would improve it. The aim is a room that feels considered and works well every day. Extra trim earns its place only when it helps achieve that.

Take a photograph from the kitchen doorway and, in an open-plan room, from the sofa or dining table. Mark the cabinet ends and backs that face those positions. Ask the designer to show those elevations as well as the view looking straight at the doors.

An end panel finishes an exposed cabinet side. A filler closes a planned space between units or beside a wall. A plinth covers the area below base cupboards. Put these on the drawing and itemised quotation so you can judge the finished composition before ordering.

Ask to see a door and its proposed finishing panel together. A similar colour name does not tell you whether their appearance will work together in your room. If a contrasting end is deliberate, repeat that material somewhere useful, such as on a shelf, rather than adding another unrelated finish.

Talk through how drawers and doors will open beside walls, handles and neighbouring appliances. Have the supplier or fitter confirm the clearances for the actual products. Decorative additions must respect the installation instructions, including appliance ventilation and access for maintenance.

The Home Boys, David and Andrew Harrison-Colley, described adapting standard B&Q units with matching plinth material to create the appearance of framed cabinetry in their first-person account for Ideal Home, published on 2 June 2026. It is a useful example of a tailored finish, although their method and project costs are specific to their kitchen.

For your project, ask for a drawing and price for any similar treatment. An added frame changes the available space; a detail that looks convincing in a photograph still needs to function when a drawer is fully open. Check how customisation affects the supplier's warranty before committing.

Try the proposed handle on a sample door or display drawer. Can you grip it comfortably? Does it suit the weight and width of the front? Then look at the whole run: where will the handles sit, and will their alignment feel consistent?

If you are refreshing existing doors, measure the fixing-hole centres and check whether replacement hardware will cover the old marks. Buying one sample first gives you a practical check before ordering the full quantity.

Ask the worktop supplier to show the edge profile, joints and the finish where the surface meets the wall. Include upstands or splashbacks in the same conversation. Compare the care instructions for the exact surface you are considering and be realistic about the maintenance you will do.

Decide what matters most from the main view into the room. If that is a neat island end, ask for its cost separately. If it is an uninterrupted preparation area, review the proposed joint positions. A more expensive surface will not answer a layout question on its own.

Use the standard specification as a starting point and ask for each addition to be priced separately. Include panels and trim, hardware, custom cutting or joinery, finishing materials and fitting labour. Confirm delivery, waste removal and whether VAT is included. On an existing kitchen, ask what making good is needed after parts are removed.

There is no reliable universal price for this kind of customisation: the amount of joinery and the existing room make a substantial difference to the job. Compare dated quotes for the same scope rather than treating another homeowner's project total as your budget.

Take one marked-up plan to the supplier and fitter together. Resolve the exposed ends, clearances and junctions before placing the order, and leave each agreed detail on the written specification.