I promised my wife I would re-model our very old kitchen. I offered her a modern purpose built kitchen that would suit our expanding family needs but also her love of cooking. An added requirement is the kitchen has to be functional for her catering business that is predominantly busy at the weekends. This means I have from Sunday night to Friday night at the latest to finish the kitchen re-model.

My problem is inspiration. I know what appliances need to be incorporated, I know about the food preparation areas for different food types, I know about the specific storage and labeling that has to be done and I am aware of the health and safety issues when it comes to washing hands and cleaning utensils etc. What I am lacking is the inspiration for design and planning. I have to make it modern and meet all the requirements listed above.

My inspiration came whilst watching a film. The ultra-modern kitchen on the TV was all stainless steel. This is perfect for me as all the worktops and units will be manufactured prior to installation. Stainless steel is modern looking and with the right appliances incorporated can even look very futuristic. Cleaning wise it is perfect as it is none porous, it is unable to hold any unwanted bacteria etc.

I set about measuring the space I have available. I had to ensure all the appliances would fit with precision as once the stainless steel was ordered it is not like wood where a little can be shaved off if something does not fit. Stainless steel is made to measure. I drew a grid so that one centimeter is equal to one meter. This way I have a scale map of where each part of the kitchen will fit. I have to take into account high, width and depth. One careful consideration is that there can be no gaps where dropped food can be missed and in turn be left to rot and cause any unwanted bacteria or odors.

The wife and I sat down to pursue the plan I had done and with a few minor changes we now have a modern, functional kitchen that would not look out of place in a ultra-modern restaurant but will also meet the family and business demands we will impose on it during the years ahead.

Many thanks to the film set crew as without the inspiration I gained form them I would still be thinking what I could do.

After ordering the metalwork, I can now draw my attention to the demolition and re structure of the plumbing and electrics. The tiling and the plaster work. I have decided to make the whole area as sterile as possible so when it is cleaned there is no chance of any little nooks and crannies being missed and harboring unwanted pests etc.

Making the kitchen design the way we have leaves me plenty of time from Sunday night through to Friday evening to complete the task and I should have time left over for any problems that may occur.