THE DILEMMA: Harriet and Adam have engaged an architect to extend their Edwardian terraced home in North London. They want a large kitchen diner that will open on to the garden through folding glass doors fitted across the width of the rear elevation. There will also be a partially glazed roof because the rear of the property is quite dark. Harriet loves to cook and wants to create her dream kitchen, while Adam wants a wine fridge. The needs of their son Blayne, who is nearly two, also need to be considered, so they propose incorporating a TV. Also, they like curves and dislike great long runs of cabinets. Overall, though, they are at a loss as to how to proceed, having visited too many kitchen showrooms.

THE SOLUTION: According to research, one in four households has either a TV or stereo system in the kitchen, sometimes instead of a freezer or washing machine. It’s true that the kitchen is becoming not only the heart of the home but a much more sophisticated hub too. Boring white goods such as washing machines are being relegated to utility rooms and replaced with coffee machines and the sort of wine fridges that Adam loves.

Impressive advances are being made in the functionality of our appliances too: Fisher & Paykel dishwasher drawers, for example, have improved ergonomics as well as a more linear aesthetic. Overhead extractors are being replaced with counter-mounted extractors that rise to extract smells and disappear into the counter when out of use – Wolf does a very smart one as does Gaggenau – elegantly reducing the number of kitchen components.

There are, of course, flip-down TVs, and multi-room music systems, which mean that your favourite tunes can be piped into the kitchen through speakers without the need to store bulky stereos and CD collections as well.

BACKGROUND

• Bargain hunter: The new DIY

• Home improvement

• Driller killer

• I’m a DIY disaster zone

Top ten DIY videos

Don't know how to hang a door, tile your bathroom, or lay a wooden floor? Then let these videos show you how..

• Home improvement

BACKGROUND

• Are men useless at DIY?

• Tread carefully on big projects

• Top ten: DIY products

BACKGROUND

• Play hide and sleek

• Treat your home

• The loft option

• Time to dig deep

Harriet and Adam have said that they prefer curves to the popular (and admittedly easier to construct) right-angles prevalent in kitchen design. Magnet does a curvy walnut kitchen but if we’re talking dream kitchens, with the added complexity of kinks, I can highly recommend William Garvey or Robert Timmons, both of whom exhibited at 100% Design in London in September and are skilled at refining and manufacturing exquisite contemporary kitchens that incorporate the latest mod-cons but deftly avoid the flight-deck look. Price-wise, I think Adam and Harriet would be surprised at how competitive British designer-makers such as these are.

For curves I would suggest that Harriet and Adam don’t confine their imagination merely to the vertical (for example, rounded cabinets or wiggly counter-tops) but also consider the horizontal. I designed a lozenge-shaped island recently where the counter-top curved around the sides of the cabinets within and then underneath to form a continuous wrap effect, thanks to the use of a playfully plastic composite – try Corian or LG Himacs.

Given the shape of the room proposed, and Harriet’s disinclination for long runs of cabinets, I would conceive the kitchen in two main modules: an island unit featuring large sink, hob, dishwasher drawers and recycling bins plus extractor, and a wall-mounted unit containing everything else, from ovens and wine fridge to a recess for the kettle and toaster, fitted with pocket doors so that the usual detritus can be hidden. The same device could be applied to a section lower down in the wall of cabinets for a small TV for Blayne.

As the room is north-facing, I’d keep colours and materials light and light-reflective. And as the kitchen-diner opens on to the garden, I would recommend that Harriet and Adam specify a material that can be used both on the kitchen floor and outside, to form a terrace at the same height. Technology can make our lives easier but it’s simple pleasures, such as effortless alfresco dining on a warm evening, that are just as important. www.williamgarvey.co.uk ; www.rtimmons.co.uk

For 101 great ideas on how to revamp your home, go to: timesonline.co.uk/interiors

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers