The Importance of Samples: How to Plan Your Kitchen Renovation from Home

Natural stone shifts in appearance - acquire real samples

Here at Lundhs, all of our kitchen worktop surfaces are crafted directly from nature’s landscape. The beauty of our stone is that it is 100% natural, and therefore each piece is completely unique in its composition. Different stones, materials and textures can shift in appearance when paired with various lighting or colours, so it’s important to acquire some real samples of the materials you are considering for your kitchen, in particular your worktop surfaces, so you can feel them, see how they interact with your space and of course, with your other chosen finishes and products

Collect your inspiration and ideas

Your first steps will be to gather your initial ideas into one place, whether that is through Pinterest, magazines, Instagram or pictures of friends’ kitchens! At this stage you might not have decided on your final choices, and it’s important to have a few options just in case something isn’t available or you have to make alterations to your plan.

Start by asking yourself a few key questions:

• Would you like a contemporary or a more rustic and traditional kitchen?
• Will you be opting for a dark scheme overall or a light colour palette?
• Which finishes would you like to incorporate into your kitchen?
• Will you choose chrome accents or the increasingly popular brushed brass or black metallic finishes?
• All these questions will help you build up your ideas and develop a direction for your new kitchen design.

What kind of worktop material do you like?

As part of that exercise, consider which kitchen worktop material you would like to incorporate into your scheme. Your kitchen worktops and surfaces will be a key focal point and very often will tie the whole look and feel of a room together. People will often build their kitchen schemes around their worktop choice as it can so often be the centrepiece, particularly if you are lucky enough to have a kitchen island or statement splashbacks.

Each of the natural stones in our collection are beautiful in their own way. From the dark and lustrous tones of Lundhs Emerald to the warm and inviting tones of Lundhs Antique, the collection is extremely versatile and will work in any manner of interior setting.

Which kitchen style inspires you?

The importance of seeing your materials in real life

The finish and appearance of your worktop material will play a vital role in completing the overall design of your kitchen. An important part of choosing your natural stone surface will be deciding which finish to opt for. All of our 100% natural stone worktops are available in either a high gloss polished finish or a structured matte finish. The appearance of each stone is altered depending on the finish, so it is particularly important to see samples of the materials in the different finishes in real life. In the beginning planning stages, we would recommend obtaining samples of a few different stones in a range of finishes. In much the same way you would try a few different paint samples out on your walls, you should choose a selection of stone samples that are near to what you think you are looking for. The way something looks on your computer screen or in an image might be different to how it will appear when placed in a real life setting as it interacts with natural and artificial light.

Seeing your materials in real life, as real samples, and placing them next to each other will really help you build your idea of what you want to achieve, and you’ll be surprised how often you change your mind when it comes to colour and material combinations!

You can order our Lundhs Real Stone samples on our webshop.

Create your moodboard

Once you have all your surface samples, paint cards, colour chips and materials gathered, your final step is to create your definitive moodboard for your new kitchen design. Things may have changed, and you may even make more changes at this stage, but this final moodboard stage will help you finalise your design plans and set you up for your kitchen renovation plans.

Pinterest is an extremely helpful tool when it comes to gathering inspiration, but a physical moodboard will always bring your design ideas to life and help you truly understand how your chosen materials, colour palettes and surfaces will work together.