In deciding how much to spent on your kitchen, I suggest two approaches. One is to think of a figure and say “that’s my budget” and stick to it and the other is to say “the sky’s the limit” and let your imagination run wild; after all this is going to be your dream kitchen, then scale it back to an amount you feel comfortable with.


First the budget approach. Once you have decided on a figure, go to a kitchen design studio and say this is my budget, design me a kitchen. Of course, it is not as simple as that. You will probably be asked lots of questions about cabinets, shelf space, appliances, work surfaces and so on and so on. You really need to have some idea of what you want. Again, it is worth doing a bit of research before you start your design. When it comes to kitchens there is an unbelievable amount of choice out there and nowadays the materials they are made of and the gadgets they put in them are becoming very high tech.


Ask yourself what appliances you want in your kitchen, give the design studio the size of your kitchen, then leave them to it. See what they come up with, then go over the design with them and finesse it.


For the sky’s the limit approach, you are going to have to do a lot of research. Check out all the high-end brands. Go into kitchen showrooms and look at all the different types of kitchens. Don’t be afraid to ask the price of a kitchen on display. Choose one that you think would fit your kitchen. This way you will get a good idea of what you will get for your money and this will help you decide on how much you want to spend with regard to the quality and the brand.

When you feel you have seen enough make some rough plans and play around with your design. Think how you would like to work in your kitchen, where would you want the hob and other appliances to be? What sort of cupboard space do you want and how large a work surface do you need? Obviously, all this will depend on the size of your kitchen. If the kitchen is open-plan, and a lot are nowadays, then you will need to ask yourself whether you want a breakfast bar, and do you want to cook facing into the room or cook facing the back wall.

By now you will have seen enough to have an idea of what type of kitchen you are after and what it will cost. Now is the time to choose which brand you want. Once you have decided, go to a kitchen design studio that is licensed to sell that brand, show them your design and get them to produce a finished plan with an estimated cost.

Note. If you choose a kitchen brand from Europe, say Italy or Germany, you have to consider whether you will be paying import duty on it. If you are buying an imported brand from the country your villa is in then the import duty will already have been factored into the price. If you are buying the kitchen outside the import country then you will have to add the duty to the price you will pay when it is imported. This can be considerable in some countries, so it is worth checking it out before hand. This may affect your decision whether or not to buy the kitchen in your home country and have it imported or purchase it in the country you are buying your villa in. Make sure you are not paying import duty twice, one in your home country and one in the destination country.

Once you have settled on the design of your kitchen, chosen your appliances and work surface, and the final plans have been made, all you have to do is make the order and pay your deposit. Unless the kitchen design studio has all your kitchen in stock, unlikely as it has to be tailor made to your design, they will order it from the factory. Expect a minimum period of 3 months from the time of the order until it arrives.

In the meantime, the kitchen design studio will draw up a wiring plan for all the appliances and a plan showing where the sink piping/drainage should go. They will then get in contact with your developer to make sure they know where to instal the drainage pipes, water inlet and wiring. You should make sure this work is carried out in advance of the kitchen arriving

When the developer has completed the preparation work for the kitchen you should inform the kitchen design studio and they will arrange a site recce to make sure the work has been carried out correctly and in accordance with their installation plans.

Now all you need to do is wait and think which kitchen utensils you are going to buy!