Having enough storage makes a huge difference to a kitchen - we had ours redone in 2015 & we decided on a lot of storage, with the cupboards scribed to the ceiling (no my dust at the top of the units) as well as useable long counter tops that are practical for preparing & cooking. We also opted to have a microwave built in because it frees up the counter in the adjoining utility. http://deeatthecarlton.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-kitchen-is-beautiful.html Kitchens have to be practical because it is a space which is generally used a lot in most homes ...

After waiting 2 weeks from January order of oak window sill, ledge shelves and flat shelves that arrived 4 months later, then another month for fitter to find half a day to fit us in... TOMORROW'S THE DAY. And we're ready. Might even get some 'after' photos on here.

Mary, re ordering with DIY, every single element you need is listed separately on their website you just need to go through methodically and add everything to your basket, (it sounds way worse than it is in practice :-)). Once this is done, you can send them your design and the reference number for your order and they will check you have everything you need. They spotted that I had missed an end post that I needed. I must have called them 10 times during the whole process and they could always answer my question straight away, or with a quick call down to their technical team. I did miss one end panel too that the builder realised when fitting, it did not delay the fitting and he just added it when it arrived about 8 days later. The £15k was for everything including fitting. Fitting was £1800, worktops fitted were £4k which was a great price for the amount of Silestone. We got this from Henderstone, I would recommend them. Integrated larder fridge, dishwasher, under counter freezer all from AO at a total cost of £850, Delonghi range cooker also £850. Appliances are not high end, but standard brands, the fridge is integrated and we did not require an ice dispenser or anything fancy, I can live with a bag of ice in the freezer for my G&T's :-) so as long as the fridge does its job i.e. stays cold, I'm happy. The units are Helmsley in-frame, the grey units around the walls are from their standard range of colours it's called 'soft grey'. The island is Hague Blue, they offer their units in any Farrow and Ball colour of your choice. This is then called Helmsley Bespoke. A little tip; going for the bespoke option adds about 30% to the price of the units, so if there is a colour that you like in the standard range it helps keep costs down to go for that for the bulk of the kitchen and then accent with less units in the more costly option. This is what we did with the island, luckily we genuinely loved the soft grey anyway, so this worked well for us. I also totally agree with Asifa, it is all in the fitting, a really budget kitchen fitted well and with good worktops can look amazing, a high end kitchen poorly fitted cheapens the end result. Hope this is helpful, sorry for the long post! ;-)

Is this an opportunity to have a shallow cupboard at the end here? I've always wanted to be able to do that myself. There are loads of ideas on Houzz for that, either opening out to a command station with a noticeboard, keys etc, or perhaps somewhere to store the ironing board, brooms, stepladder etc. Then the side of your cupboard is another matching door instead.