Kitchen refurbishment


Using robust, well-conceived products is vital to not only reduce maintenance costs but also ensure a property remains fit for purpose year on year


any compact kitchen to truly work, needs to have a well-conceived design – and companies that are experts in the pre-built compact kitchen market will be able to offer units that provide the right balance of appliances and cabinets. A clever design also allows private landlords and social housing managers


to specify units that offer the correct amount of facilities for the property. So, for a larger apartment, a pre-built kitchen could comprise a built-in combination microwave oven and grill, ceramic hob, dishwasher, sink and integrated fridge. Alternatively, in a smaller studio space, which might even be deemed as ‘temporary accommodation’, a pre-built kitchen could simply consist of a sink, hob and fridge. In both scenarios, the kitchen area must be designed to suit the occupants’ needs as well as the available space, while remaining balanced against an expected rental yield from a property. With demand in the private rented sector growing, many landlords are


also looking at alternative approaches to create new rental accommodation, often reconfiguring garages or annexes. This is also being taken to an even more impressive level by the social housing sector, with some councils turning to innovative ways of offering accommodation. Indeed, Elfin has recently supplied


34 ‘Economy Plus’ kitchens with safety timers to Marston Court in Ealing, London. The site consists of re-purposed shipping containers, which have been converted into apartments for emergency hostel accommodation. These specially designed studio, one and two-bedroom dwellings offer a sustainable, robust, affordable and flexible option for an urban infill site, which was previously occupied by largely disused 1970s garage blocks. With so many thousands of families waiting for social housing to become


available, there will surely be a continuous need for private rented properties to fill the void. And with a potentially high number of tenures, landlords and social housing managers need to consider the long-term durability of the fixtures and fittings within their portfolios, not least of all the hard-working kitchen. For this reason, using robust, well-conceived products is vital to not only reduce maintenance costs but also ensure a property remains fit for purpose year on year.


Bob Andrew is the managing director of Elfin Kitchens www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM July 2018 | 47


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