Cooking up a plan

Discover the essential planning ingredients for creating a multifunction kitchen

Practical planning
However large the room, you need to keep the work triangle of cooker, fridge and sink within easy reach. Don't spread it too wide or you'll disrupt the rest of the space. Items such as freezers and washing machines can be sited further away from the food-preparation area.

With plenty of floor space, this is your chance to install an Aga or other range-style cooker, but for flexibility all year round it may be worth fitting a separate oven and/or hob as well.

Island units make good use of the floor area, so that you don't simply line up your fittings around the edge of the room. They provide storage, worksurfaces and can house an extra sink or built-in oven.

Make practical use of architectural features; chimney breasts can house cookers and cupboards, and overhead beams are a useful place to fix light fittings.

If the ceiling is very high or vaulted, consider fitting overhead power rails and lighting cables that give structure to the shape and suggest an industrial style. Halogen spots on steel cables will provide background lighting, with a few chrome pendant shades to balance the height.

Make sure you fit power points around the room to serve TVs, sound systems and computers, as well as kitchen appliances.

Comfort and style
A room that's for living in as well as for preparing meals needs to combine function with comfort. Offset cool, efficient steel, glass and enamel with the warmth of wood, paintwork and wicker.

High-ceilinged spaces lend themselves both to sleek utilitarian style and to more traditional farmhouse furnishings. A mix of the two will work effectively as long as you keep it large-scale: cottage-size pieces will be lost in a room this big.

Strike a balance between furniture and appliances. Good-looking fridges and cookers designed as freestanding pieces will add a dash of style to a spacious kitchen, whereas washing machines and dishwashers are usually better built in or hidden away.

To make the room feel really lived in, find space for a sofa or reading corner and create a contrast between the areas for cooking and relaxing.

Big spaces make perfect art galleries, so use spare walls to display paintings, photographs and shelves of pottery or ornaments.

Dual-purpose furniture
Look for furniture that serves two purposes: an extending table that adapts from kitchen worksurface to dining table or computer desk, a butcher's block that switches from chopping board to TV trolley.

You also need comfortable chairs: look for cushioned seats and supportive backs that will let you work at the table for hours.

Fit plenty of multi-purpose storage so that, as well as keeping kitchen tableware and cookware in order, you have space for entertainment systems, games and toys, files and paperwork.

Aim for a good balance between open and closed storage. Exposed shelves will help the room look lived in, but large spaces can getout of control if there's too much scope for clutter, so fix neat wall racks and grid systems to keep things tidy.

Marking your territory
You can create a shift of mood between areas for cooking, eating and working by varying colours and materials; paint the walls of an eating alcove a different shade from the kitchen units, or change from tiled to wooden flooring.

Use different worktop heights for eating, preparing food and working. These will create variety and let you play with the proportions of the room.

Fix dimmers to adjust the lighting for eating and relaxing areas, make sure worktops and cooking areas are clearly lit, and remember you will also need directional task lighting for tabletops.

Island units make effective dividers, and tall cupboards can be positioned at right angles to the wall to create a screen across the room.

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