Kitchen questions to ask yourself and your designer: Hi July issue!

Posted on 4th June 2024

The July issue of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms is out now! This month, we’re covering all the questions you should ask yourself and your designer before planning a kitchen – plus, so much more.

Although the job of a magazine editor has relatively stayed the same for decades – plan issues, commission and edit features, make sure the magazine goes out on time, repeat – the world we live in has changed. It’s because of this shift that I believe magazines are now more important than ever – especially in a time of AI and algorithms. You may, perhaps, think I’m a little biased; and you’d most likely be right. However, with social media showing you things it thinks you want to see (or, more to the point, what it wants you to see), it’s hard to know what we actually like, or be offered a variety of ideas, styles and opinions.

At a time where AI can write just about anything these days – albeit blandly and badly – trust in what we’re reading, from a teeny tweet to online content, is waning. Denying that these things exist would be completely detrimental.

Cover of Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms magazine with homeowner sitting on a window banquette in her colourful kitchen with an angled extension. — On the July cover: Rosalind Miller of @rainbowrosalind on Instagram. Photography: Anna Stathaki. Styling: Becca Callum-Green

So, I ask myself, what can I do to challenge the status quo?

Firstly, I want to give people with real voices a voice; journalists who can demonstrate their expertise, personality and passion in a way no artificial intelligence could ever achieve. To ensure each piece of writing is enjoyable, easy to read and filled with advice and ideas.

Bedroom design with wall art, natural rattan bedside table, yellow upholstered bed frame and table lamp. — Rattle rechargeable table lamp, £100, with scalloped empire shade in Snakeshead print by Morris & Co , £77; Regular Marcel picture light, £135, both Pooky.

Second is to offer you a mix of features that include an array of styles, budgets and inspiration that will help you right from the planning stage of your project through to those finishing touches – in the hopes you’ll discover things you didn’t know you didn’t know.

Mid-century-inspired bathroom with freestanding teak furniture. — Interior designer Claudia Dorsch sourced freestanding teak furniture in this mid-century-inspired bathroom. Walls painted in The Boltons No.28, £64.50 for 2.5 litres, Mylands. Basins from Lusso Stone, and 10194 cement tiles, from £89 per sq m, Mosaic Factory.

Kitchen questions

I will continue to question what needs to be done as technology and time marches on, creating a magazine you want to come back to, long after that rear extension is complete. Which links me in to our main feature this issue – all about questions. The questions you need to ask your designer when buying a new kitchen, plus the questions you should ask yourself – from what you like about your current space, to where you’ll place the all-important coffee machine.

Kitchen planning feature with advice and ideas to help you when buying a new design. — Before you buy a new kitchen, there are a couple questions you need to ask your designer, and yourself. So, grab your July issue, in newsagents nationwide and Readly, to find out.

We have a plethora of other articles and ideas, too, from ‘hidden’ kitchen doors and a breakdown of bathroom styles to the lowdown on angled extensions. So, what questions will you be asking?