Crown Kitchens Design-led kitchens, expertly fitted for everyday life.

Crown Kitchens

Design-led kitchens, expertly fitted for everyday life.

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The Storage Mix That Actually Works: Rethinking Drawers and Cupboards
Kitchen Design

The Storage Mix That Actually Works: Rethinking Drawers and Cupboards

Drawers are brilliant, but an all-drawer kitchen is rarely the smartest use of your budget. Here is how to plan a practical mix of drawers and cupboards around what you actually store, with UK cabinet sizes and appliance housings in mind.

Before the First Plinth: Putting the Kitchen Floor at the Heart of the Plan
Kitchen Design

Before the First Plinth: Putting the Kitchen Floor at the Heart of the Plan

Most kitchen floors are chosen after the cabinets, which is exactly backwards. This is a practical look at how porcelain, LVT, engineered oak, rubber and vinyl cope with wet wellies, dropped pans, pet claws and underfloor heating — and why the floor should be specified alongside the layout, not after it.

The Closed-Window Season: Planning Kitchen Ventilation Before Winter Shuts You In
Appliance Advice

The Closed-Window Season: Planning Kitchen Ventilation Before Winter Shuts You In

Once the windows stay shut, a kitchen’s hidden airflow problems become very visible: misted glass, lingering roast smells and a greasy film on the cabinets. This is a practical guide to planning extraction properly during a renovation, from ducted and recirculating hoods to replacement air in airtight modern homes.

Bags, Bowls and the 6pm Scramble: A Kitchen Built for Ordinary Days
Kitchen Design

Bags, Bowls and the 6pm Scramble: A Kitchen Built for Ordinary Days

Most kitchen plans are judged against a Saturday night with friends, but the room has to work on a wet Tuesday in November. This is a practical audit of the routines that actually shape your day—and the design moves that make them easier without dulling the look.

The Square Foot That Earns Its Keep: Rethinking the Kitchen Sink
Kitchen Design

The Square Foot That Earns Its Keep: Rethinking the Kitchen Sink

The sink is the hardest-working part of most British kitchens, yet it is often chosen last and thought about least. This is how to plan the bowl, drainer, tap and plumbing as one proper sink zone that suits the way you actually cook, wash up and live.

Kitchen Design

A Kitchen of Parts: Why Deliberate Mismatch Beats a Matching Suite

A matching run of cabinets can feel tidy, but it can also feel a bit like a showroom. Here’s how to bring in a freestanding dresser, an open shelf run or a contrasting pantry cupboard without the room looking half-finished.

The Gravy-Proof Kitchen: Stress-Testing Your Layout Against a Proper Sunday Lunch
Kitchen Design

The Gravy-Proof Kitchen: Stress-Testing Your Layout Against a Proper Sunday Lunch

A Sunday roast exposes layout flaws faster than any showroom checklist. Use the weekly ritual of meat, potatoes, gravy and a crowd as a practical test for oven space, carving room, steam control and the sink-to-oven route before you commit to a new kitchen.

Room to Grow: Future-Proofing a Kitchen for the Next Ten Years
Kitchen Design

Room to Grow: Future-Proofing a Kitchen for the Next Ten Years

A new kitchen has to serve more than the household that installs it. Here’s how to plan adaptable storage, sensible appliance placement and finishes that stay useful as children grow, guests arrive and working life shifts.

The Bin Is Part of the Layout: Planning Kitchen Waste Storage Properly
Kitchen Design

The Bin Is Part of the Layout: Planning Kitchen Waste Storage Properly

Bins are often the last thing on a kitchen plan and the first thing to annoy you in daily use. This is a practical guide to siting waste and recycling storage properly, from prep-zone workflow to compact kitchens and open-plan smell control.

Plug In, Tuck Away: Giving Countertop Appliances a Proper Home
Appliance Advice

Plug In, Tuck Away: Giving Countertop Appliances a Proper Home

Air fryers, coffee machines and blenders are not going anywhere. The trick is to design a dedicated appliance station that keeps them usable, ventilated and out of sight — without sacrificing the calm, design-led look you paid for.

A Room for the Groceries: The Case for the Walk-In Larder in Modern British Homes
Kitchen Design

A Room for the Groceries: The Case for the Walk-In Larder in Modern British Homes

The larder never really left — it just got squeezed out of our plans. Here’s how to carve a genuinely useful walk-in pantry into a British kitchen without turning the room into a dark corridor, plus when a pull-out pantry is the smarter buy.

Chimney Breasts and Clever Corners: Making a Compact Victorian Terrace Kitchen Feel Grand
Kitchen Design

Chimney Breasts and Clever Corners: Making a Compact Victorian Terrace Kitchen Feel Grand

Victorian terraces are full of character and awkward corners. From chimney breasts to outriggers, here’s how to plan a kitchen that works with the architecture — and where bespoke joinery earns its keep.

Hush Hour: Designing an Open-Plan Kitchen That Doesn’t Ring, Rattle and Hum
Appliance Advice

Hush Hour: Designing an Open-Plan Kitchen That Doesn’t Ring, Rattle and Hum

Open-plan living looks serene in photographs, but the soundtrack is often extractor roar, dishwasher clatter and a fridge hum you can hear from the sofa. Here’s how to plan a calmer kitchen — and what to check before you buy the appliances.

Before the First Big Shop: Stress-Testing Your Kitchen for Christmas 2026
Appliance Advice

Before the First Big Shop: Stress-Testing Your Kitchen for Christmas 2026

There are still six or seven weekends before the festive shop lands on the doorstep. That is time enough to find the bottlenecks — fridge shelves, oven shelves, bin routes, glassware — and fix the small ones before the pressure arrives.

Two Cooks, One Kitchen: How to Zone a Room That Actually Works in Parallel
Kitchen Design

Two Cooks, One Kitchen: How to Zone a Room That Actually Works in Parallel

Most kitchen plans are drawn for a single silhouette at the hob. Real households rarely work that way. Here is how to zone a room for two people prepping, cooking and clearing at once, without the elbow wars.

Where the Light Falls: Planning a Kitchen Around the British Day
Kitchen Design

Where the Light Falls: Planning a Kitchen Around the British Day

British daylight shifts from season to season and hour to hour, so a kitchen that looks bright on a May afternoon can feel flat by November. This guide explains the 11 o’clock sun test and shows how orientation, worktop placement and layered lighting can make a real difference before you commit to a design.

The Centrepiece Delusion: An Honest Look at Kitchen Islands
Appliance Advice

The Centrepiece Delusion: An Honest Look at Kitchen Islands

The kitchen island has become the default centrepiece in British kitchen planning, but it has to earn its floor space. This opinionated guide looks at clearance, workflow, extraction and the real appliance trade-offs before you sacrifice your walkway for a breakfast bar.

Hot Pans, Red Wine and Bread Knives: Choosing a Worktop That Can Take It
Kitchen Design

Hot Pans, Red Wine and Bread Knives: Choosing a Worktop That Can Take It

Showroom lighting flatters every surface. Real kitchens do not. Here's how quartz, laminate, solid wood, sintered stone and stainless steel actually behave once the cooking, the spills and the school bags arrive — and the questions worth asking before you sign anything.

Order Early, Fit Once: Diarising Your Kitchen Appliance Buys Around the Build
Appliance Advice

Order Early, Fit Once: Diarising Your Kitchen Appliance Buys Around the Build

The most common renovation heartbreak isn't a wrong tile — it's a beautiful kitchen with a hole where the oven should be. Here's how to map appliance orders, lead times and delivery slots onto a realistic fit schedule, Black Friday and Boxing Day included.

Repair, Replace or Retire? Your November 2026 Appliance MOT
Appliance Advice

Repair, Replace or Retire? Your November 2026 Appliance MOT

Before the festive season puts your kitchen through its paces, give ageing ovens, hobs, fridge-freezers and dishwashers a proper check. Here’s how to spot the red flags, do the repair-versus-replace maths, and plan upgrades without wasting a future refit.