1. Decide upon and stick to your budget. Don?t just pick one figure, pick a bottom and absolute top figure before you do anything else.

2. Do you really need to buy a new kitchen or could you get away with replacing small part of it? The general rule is that if you just want to freshen up, your local home improvement store will stock replacement cupboard doors and work surfaces. If your kitchen is looking very tired or out of date, or it is not as easy to work in as you would like, or you are looking to sell your home in the near future, get a designer in.

3. Make a list of things that you like and dislike about your current kitchen in order to help identify your needs. Think about the amount of storage, type of cooker, the size of your sink etc.

4. An images collage taken from magazines and the internet will help designers understand what style of kitchen you are looking for.

5. Your lifestyle should be the main factor in planning your kitchen. Apart from cooking, what is your kitchen used for and who uses it? Is your kitchen the centre of any social gathering in your home?

6. Keep the existing service points in mind when planning the kitchen as rewiring and re-plumbing is an expensive part of the renovation process.

7. For ventilation point placement See tip number 6 .

8. Plan the main areas (sink, food preparation and hob) close together and store your utensils near to where you are most likely to use them. This will make your kitchen more efficient.

9. In a small and or narrow kitchen you can create more space by making the wall-cabinets taller rather than having them protruding outwards. You will create more headspace and the kitchen will look wider.

10. Banish clutter. If it doesn?t belong in the kitchen, put it somewhere else!

11. Recent surveys suggest that kitchens with the wow factor can add as much as 10% to the asking price for a home. So make sure your new kitchen is something that will appeal to as wide an audience as possible, for as long as possible.

12. Consider trends: built in gadgets and equipment could be what gives your kitchen the wow factor. We all want a kitchen that takes less time to maintain, that comes with clever storage ideas and is more friendly to the environment.

13. Paying more for a solid structure now normally means paying less to modernise in the future. If you can build a new kitchen that means simply replacing the counter-tops and doors every few years, your kitchen will stay modern and cost less to do so in the long run.

14. Go green ? you won?t regret it. Ask your kitchen designer how you can save energy and water in your kitchen. Not only will the help the environment but also you will save money on your utility bills AND have an attractive feature for any future potential home buyer.

15. Can you get a grant for making your kitchen greener? Ask around!