Adding a new kitchen can add serious value to your home

Structurally, this is similar to adding living space, although more expensive (from £25,000) as you have to factor in plumbing, power points, kitchen units and appliances. But it’s money well spent as giving your kitchen as much space as you can is a good move, according to the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association’s chief executive Graham Hayden. ‘The kitchen has undergone a dramatic transformation,’ he says. ‘Once solely used for cooking, washing and mundane domestic chores, today it has become the hub of the home, the room everyone congregates in and the place where we cook, work, socialise and entertain.’­­

Your plans will need to show where the appliances will go so that electricity, water and gas can be planned in. Think through all your options thoroughly – storage, lighting, appliances – and how you’re going to use the space, especially for a busy, family kitchen.

Words: Justine Roffey and Trish Lorenz  Image: Helen Fickling