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Tucked away in Stratford, East London, Paragon Interior Furniture is a little gem, designing, manufacturing and installing bespoke kitchens, studies and bedrooms at distinctly non-bespoke prices.

Using only the best quality solid woods, veneers, stones and granite, Paragon uses its low key East End location to keep overheads right down; and without salesmen or high street overheads, it can offer a large range of kitchen products at a fraction of usual retail prices.
 
The bottom line is that bespoke kitchen cabinets, for which you might pay 20k-25k on the high street will cost 10 - 15k at Paragon. And top quality standard range kitchen cabinets that retail at around 12k –14k on the high street, will cost just 8k – 10k. You can also get top brand appliances and quality work tops at equally competitive prices.

And in case that wasn’t enough, Paragon Furniture is offering readers a further 15 per cent off all orders placed on kitchens, studies, bookcases and bedrooms before end of July 08. Simply mention 'Evening Standard' when visiting Paragon’s showrooms at Unit 2, GTEC House, Canning Road, Stratford E15. Call 020 8503 0199 or email paragonfurniture@aol.comwww.paragonfurniture.co.uk

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When you're happy with your choice of installer there are a number of other issues to discuss with him/her and this is best achieved when contacting the installer to let them know you wish him/her to undertake the installation.

Below is a list of further considerations you should discuss with an installer.

1. Vehicle access - How close can a vehicle park to the work area?
2. Vehicle parking - Once unloaded, where can a vehicle be parked? Will it be safe in the space you suggest?
3. Rubbish removal - Will a skip be required?
4. Door size/restrictions - It's often a problem trying to fit a large cabinet through a tiny porch and certain cabinets may need to be delivered as flat packs if access is a problem.
5. Work area - allocate one to the installer during the site visit, and reserve it as his/hers on commencement day. It also helps to mention that certain trades (painters or floor finishers) will have a difficult time working in the same room while the kitchen is being installed.
6. Furnishings/belongings removed - A day or two prior to installation remove all furniture and belongings from the room and empty the cupboards.
7. Floor protection - If the flooring has been completed before installation it will need protecting.
8. Dust protection - the homeowner will never fault you for being too careful about dust protection. Sheets taped to house entry points will minimise dust spreading throughout the rest of the house.
9. Power - How many outlets are there, and how far away? There are a limited number of trades that can share a power circuit.
10. Keys - It's difficult have a kitchen fitted if your installer can't gain entry.
11. Job noise - In a large refurbishment noise levels can reach hair pulling proportions so be prepared and if your neighbour works a night shift it's good advice to let them know of your project prior to commencement of the work.
12. Working hours - Give the installer an indication of start/finish times
13. .Plumbing/electrical - These are critical areas. Check box heights and plumbing preparation. If preparation hasn't been completed, go over the information with your installer should he be completing the work.
14. Room lighting - Look for conflicts between lighting locations and cabinet placement. Recessed ceiling lights may be positioned in such a way that they end up directly over a refrigerator.
15. Appliance details - It helps to give your installer a list of appliances to be fitted and, if possible, their specifications
16. Children/animals - As your installer will be using some heavy machinery you will need to make sure that children or animals cannot gain access to the work area.
17. Bathroom privileges - Ensure your fitter knows where to go

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As bank balances recover from the Christmas shopping splurge, you might be looking towards your next investment. And where better to invest than your kitchen?
 
If you are based in London or the Home Counties, a first port of call is the wonderful GLK Kitchens. GLK stocks over 48 different kitchens and cabinets made from the best quality materials, including FSC certified wood and recyclable metals. And don’t forget the free design and planning service…
 
GLK Kitchens can design and fit your kitchen in just three to five weeks, with a supply only service available on request. Whichever your preference, there are no flat-pack options here – all kitchens have rigid 19mm cabinets, made using traditional cabinet making techniques, as demonstrated by this Redmond Oak kitchen.
 
And GLK is offering readers the chance to buy a kitchen without breaking the bank with a 30 per cent discount available across all kitchen furniture, plus a free integrated washing machine when you spend over £7,500. To claim, call 01932 788 222, email enquiries@glw.co.uk or visit the Sunbury, Sevenoaks or Beckton showrooms before 14 March 08. See the website for more details. www.glkkitchens.co.uk

How do I choose where my cabinets and appliances fit in my kitchen?

Many of you may have heard of the kitchen triangle. The kitchen triangle is simply the importance of the proximity of your three main functional kitchen components - sink, cooker and fridge. This isn't to say that they should be fitted as close as possible to each other but within comfortable limits is the criteria most designers aim for.

With the increasing popularity of range cookers and American style fridges, it is becoming more of a challenge to designers wishing to incorporate the triangle in a kitchen. This is due to the larger sizes required to incorporate these appliances. Increased appliance space reduces the amount of storage space in a kitchen.

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If that Christmas bonus is burning a hole in your pocket, why not put it to good use? A lasting investment, a new kitchen will add value to your property and give your home a new lease of life for 2008. A great source for bargains, Elite Tiles and Interiors sells a fantastic range of Italian designed kitchens.

Operating out of its huge warehouse in Hendon, Elite sources directly, offering a wide choice of classic, traditional and modern lacquered kitchens in a variety of colours. It can subsequently offer excellent prices – some of the best around for the quality available.

Better yet, as part of a special offer to Homes & Property readers, it is extending its January sale until 29 February 08, offering up to 60 per cent of kitchen units and a free Bosch warming drawer (worth £350) with all kitchens over £2,500.

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Design Matters

How to choose a design for your kitchen and things to take into consideration when you are choosing doors?

Will they be in keeping with your existing house design? A traditional design may not sit well if the rest of the environment is modern and vice versa
Colour is important and if you aren't planning to redecorate your kitchen, you choose should a colour to contrast well with your existing décor. Darker door finishes may require increased lighting and should be contrasted with lighter worktops or flooring.
If you want to minimise the cleaning of your doors choose a plain design that can be wiped down easily with a cloth. A PVC edged laminated design is a popular choice and requires less maintenance than a paneled door.
Consider the implications of pets or children and choose a hard-wearing exterior to avoid potential damage. Pine, for instance, would be a mistake if your dog has a tendency to use the doors as a scratching post while your filling it's food dish.
Handles can radically alter the design of your door and, like doors, they fall into many categories. Although there are no hard fast rules it's better to choose modern designs for contemporary doors and traditional designs for classic style fascias.

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Replacement doors and worktops

Of course, some of the measuring advice can be ignored if you are simply replacing doors and worktops but you will need to detail the position of existing hinge holes to make for easier replacement.

Here are the rules to make for easier installation.
• Measure the centres between hinge holes on your existing doors. To make this easier, mark a pencil line at the back of the hinge inside the cabinets using a straight edge to ensuring each line is central to the hinge. Measure the distance between the points and record this in millimetres.
• Next you will need to measure from the bottom of each door to the centre of the bottom hinge. Again, use a straight edge to mark the centre line of the hinge, this time on the door itself and measure from the bottom of the door to the marked line.
• Measure the door size in mm and record it's opening configuration - left hand or right hand hinge. Compile a list of your doors, detailing the door as a base, larder or wall unit fascia.

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Measuring up for your kitchen

Next up is measuring your room in a way that will ensure easy transfer of your plans to paper.
Proceed as follows
• Measure ceiling heights - Cabinets come in a variety of heights and your floor to ceiling height will determine which height cabinet is best suited to your room.
• Measure up your windows and doors - in addition measure the distances from each side of the aperture to the adjacent walls, from the lower sill to the floor and from the ceiling to the upper reveal of the window. The rules here also apply for any protrusions such as boxing in or pillars.
• When measuring lengths between walls hold the tape measure 600mm from the each end to simulate how the cabinet fronts will sit. This, of course, is easier if you are measuring over existing cabinetry and a centre mark will provide more accuracy if you measure to it from both sides and add the measurements.
• Check for plumb (vertical level) - It is advisable to rectify any defective plastering prior to the installation of cupboards and where a right angled corner wall cupboard is being installed it is essential that the relevant plastering is square and plumb to ensure a satisfactory alignment of the installation. You risk affecting the correct alignment of extractor and hob if attention is not given to out of plumb walls.
• Check floor levels - use a long spirit level to determine the level of your floor and, using the "600mm rule"(measuring this distance from the wall to simulate the plinth), will determine if any rectification or floor-leveling compound is required prior to installation. The criteria for an acceptable finish is in your own hands but I would suggest that a difference in level of more than 15mm will require pre-leveling before installing cabinets.
• Services - determine the dimension of any services that are sited in your kitchen such as mains water pipes, soil pipes or mains electricity/gas supplies. Again, measure their relative distance from both elevations and detail these in your plan before commencing design. Transferring them to your plan will avoid any complications with appliance obstruction. Cabinetry can always be altered to accommodate services but appliances can't.
• Checking your corner for square - As the standard worktop size is 600mm, a square template approximately this size will give you the best indication of a whether your corner is square. A shelf or purpose made square placed against the corner will determine any rectification work required before installation. Of course worktops can be scribed to suit the contours of the wall but it is advisable to achieve as square as possible a finish for aesthetic purposes.

Visit www.kitchensfitted.co.uk for kitchen advice, design consultancy and other useful resources.

Where do I start?

Having decided that your kitchen is in need of a revamp you now have to plan what features it will have. It may be that you require more work and cupboard space. Your existing appliances may not offer you the specifications you require and your lighting may be inadequate. Whatever your needs you need to identify the design that best suits your needs and here we'll attempt to assist you with our view on how best to achieve this.

Kitchen layouts fall into four categories:

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Well I’m delighted to have been invited to participate in the Problem Solved Blogs and I hope that you find the contents of the pieces I write over the coming months both useful and informative.

To introduce myself, I am Tim Foley, owner of the website www.kitchensfitted.co.uk and aside from our very popular forum that assists those buying and fitting kitchens and our website articles detailing how to fit a kitchen, we provide and install bespoke quality surfaces nationwide. My background is entirely in kitchens from spending almost 30 years as an installer to working as a contractor leading teams of installers around the country, to that of Project Consultant to a number of TV Shows such as Better Homes, 60 Minute Makeover and New Homes or Old, a Tonight with Trevor McDonald Special.

Anyway, enough of me and I’m happy to make your acquaintance dear reader.

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After all that Christmas cooking, what better than a new cooker to see in the New Year? This Belling Sandringham 90DF 90cm dual fuel range cooker will do the trick. It boasts a multifunction electric main oven, a tall fanned oven with four moveable shelves and an electric grill. The hob offers five gas burners, including a wok burner, a removable cast iron griddle and a handy plate warming rack. And Belling is giving one (worth £1,199) to a lucky reader. For a chance to win, text ‘COOKER’ to 87233 (texts cost 50p plus standard network rate) or log onto Homesandproperty.co.uk/offers before 2 January 08. For more information on Belling, call 0871 222 2635 or visit Belling.co.uk
 

When it comes to your kitchen there is no room for error, but you know you are in safe hands with Stone & Kitchen Emporium.

Conveniently located on the King’s Road, Stone & Kitchen Emporium offers a fabulous selection of keenly priced kitchen furniture and appliances – as well as stone work tops sourced directly to keep prices low.

The designers here have a wealth of experience between them, and will work with you to help you achieve your dream kitchen – be it contemporary, traditional or somewhere in between. Careful selection of materials, timber and close attention to detail are all trademarks here with an emphasis on quality ensuring the very best end result.

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I always think of the kitchen as the heart and soul of the home, and if you’re planning renovation work, or have just moved somewhere, it’s the most important room to get it right. Lucky for those based in London or the Home Counties, GLK Kitchens offers a reliable, professional service, and great looking, good value kitchens to those living locally.
 
GLK stocks over 57 different kitchen styles with cabinets made using only the best quality materials including FSC certified wood and recyclable metals, and offers a free design and planning service.
 
GLK can design, supply and fit your kitchen in around just three to five weeks and also offers a supply only service. But there are no flat-packed models here – all kitchens have rigid 19mm cabinets, made using traditional cabinet making techniques, with this Redmond Light Oak kitchen aptly showing the quality on offer.
 
Prices start from £7,500 with thousands of appliances also available at knock-down prices. And there’s a 35 per cent discount for Really Useful readers on all kitchens ordered before 5 December 07. Readers who order a kitchen will also be offered a fully integrated dishwasher worth £399. To claim the offer, just call 01932 788 222 or email enquiries@glw.co.uk. glkkitchens.co.uk

In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 9

Use the corners of your cupboards by investing in a corner carousel when fitting a new kitchen. Alternatively for a more cost effective solution you can purchase gliding baskets that can be fixed into those awkward corners at an angel and slide out for easy access. Try the elfa® easyglide range for quality and value.

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 8

If you've really pushed for space look to the ceiling! Consider finding extra storage by hanging a rack from it to store pans… but make sure that the ceiling is strong enough before you buy!

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 7

A great way to break up the monotony of cupboards in a kitchen is by using a big freestanding unit or cupboard to store all your crockery and counter appliances such as blenders and mixers. A tall cupboard will have much more storage space, as it is not divided by a piece of worktop. Such a cupboard or larder can also be used for food in cans, jars and packets.

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If you fancy yourself as the next Delia Smith of the kitchen, getting the right tools for the trade is essential. Luckily for you lot then Homes & Bargains have uncovered an exclusive deal at Tesco’s where it is offering a 50 % discount off all Antony Worrall Thompson’s new Professional Bakeware range. Now I don’t pretend to know who’s good or not in the celebrity world of cooking though a 50 % discount sounds like a scrummy deal to me so if you do fancy venturing into the kitchen again, click here to find out more information. Offer runs from 31st October to 27th November and is exclusive to Tesco stores nationwide.

In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 6

Invest in a simple plate rack to avoid chipping whilst still allowing quick and easy access and storage of your plates.

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 5

With such great kitchen storage products around, why not use transparent spice storage racks to make striking and colourful design statements in your kitchen? Clever storage can look great too!

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 4

There’s nothing worse than spending time looking for the right knife in a drawer and pulling out several spoons before you find it!  Modular drawer organisers and inserts are perfect for storing and sorting cutlery. For the bigger items you may find it handy to keep ladles and wooden spoons in a jar on your worktop, but make sure your worktop isn’t too cluttered as this will make your kitchen look generally untidy and disorganised.

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Here’s something for the weekend if you are in the market for some designer, quality kitchen cabinets, but haven’t the pockets deep enough for the price. Wickes is offering 33% off all their kitchen cabinets bought online when you spend £200 or more until the 3rd Novemeber 2007. Traditional and contemporary there’s a wide range of choice to fit all types of kitchen dreams, just simply enter in the code K1 as directed at the checkout and the discount will be automatically subtracted from your purchase price.

And as its Friday with that Friday feeling, if you need any other supplies for your budding home palace dreams, a little birdie has let me in on an exclusive offer for this weekend only. Wickes are offering a 10% discount off everything bought online till midnight Sunday (14 October 2007). All you have to do to receive this offer is enter the code AF1 in the promotional code box at the checkout.

To see what they have to offer and put these discounts to good use, click here to visit Wickes.co.uk. 

In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 3

Vegetables need to be kept in a dry aerated area, so don't store them too close to an oven or a hob. Why not opt for some simple and classic wicker storage baskets that will give a rustic twist to your kitchen and will keep your vegetables in tip top condition for longer.

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When you are baking cakes this winter, make sure you do so with these snazzy spatulas from Gilbert’s Food Equipment. Aptly called “Spatulart” due their innovative silicone printing, these are made with a specially designed silicone head, curved on one side and flat on the other, to ensure you get all the cake mixture out the bowl. Priced at £6.95 each. To find stockist details, call Gilbert’s Food Equipment on 0845 230 0681. Designtoplease.co.uk

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 2

If you’re a big wine lover, why not make effective use of wall space with a stylish wall mounted rack? There are some great Danish wine racks out there that’ll serve as a striking wall feature for your favourite bottles whilst the cheap plonk can be stored out of sight.

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In a small space everything counts, so here are some of STORE’s top tips on how to make a small room look bigger, with some clever tricks and handy storage hints.

Tip 1

Remember in your kitchen, cupboards aren’t your only storage option.

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While many manufacturers claim to offer seamless handle free furniture, often the reality is merely an inset handle that gives the illusion of being handle free and can be hard to grip for those with special needs. As part of its ongoing bid to support inclusive design with access for all, William Ball is now offering 100% handle free activation on any of its furniture ranges.

Perfect for achieving a truly streamlined kitchen, William Ball’s handle free units offer push-touch activation that can be easily opened using an elbow or knee –ideal for those with limited grip, and incredibly stylish for all. Achieved via high quality mechanisms, the push-touch doors are guaranteed for five years and are also extremely easy to fit, keeping life simple for installers. For more information visit wball.co.uk.

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Importing its stylish designer kitchens direct from the factory in Italy, Interior Design firm Molten London cuts out the middle men, and passes the savings onto its customers - and that's just for starters. 

There's also a full Kitchen Design service (from £150 plus VAT – fully refundable on order), carried out by a professionally trained interior designer, which includes a site visit, initial and final design, and a full quotation for units, appliances, splash backs and work tops – the full shebang. The end results are spectacular as shown in this Handle Free kitchen with island in White Gloss lacquer (approx £15,000).

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