Kitchen Makeover

Getting started on my easy-assemble kitchen

1. Go Shopping!
Lots of flat-pack kitchen suppliers have showrooms, so to suit your needs. (I’ve made a list of the ones looked at to give you a starting point – contact details are at the end of the story.) I went for basic white; I figured it would make my kitchen look bigger. But there are tons of colours and different finishes, so go nuts if you want to!

2. Measuring Up
Heeding first my Dad’s warnings of ‘not once, not twice, but three times’, I measured up my space. He kept stressing how important it was to get this first stage right – so I made sure I took my time. I checked out where the existing plumbing and electrical points were to work with because, as my friends who are tradies told me, the less you have to move around – the cheaper it will be!

3. Draw it Up
Next, I did some sketches for my new kitchen layout. A lot of the kitchen websites have online kitchen planners to help you out. Flat-packs use standard measurements for their cabinets, so it was like a mini jigsaw puzzle, working out what was going to fit – I got there eventually.

4. Get Ready
Finally, in an attempt to look really organised (OK, I was really trying to impress my Dad – there are some things you never grow out of), I made a list of everything needed for my new layout – including all the little cash-consuming extras, like handles, kickboards and, of course, the benchtop. Parting with my hard-earned cash was tough, but when all the stuff arrived, I really felt I’d got my money’s worth. We were ready to go!