Five decisions that make a kitchen last twenty years

Kitchen trends change every few years. Handle-less doors, fluted glass, muted greens: all of them will look of their time eventually. What does not date is a kitchen that is properly planned and properly built. These are the decisions we spend the most time on.

1. The carcass, not the shutter

The box behind the door does the work. In an Indian kitchen, with steam, water and heat every day, a moisture-resistant carcass with fully sealed edges is the difference between a kitchen that lasts and one that swells at the sink within three years. It is the least visible part of the kitchen and the last place to economise.

2. The working triangle, adapted

Sink, hob and refrigerator should sit within a few easy steps of one another, with clear counter between them. Indian cooking adds its own requirements: space for a wet grinder, deep drawers for heavy vessels, a home for the pressure cookers. A layout should be drawn around your own routine.

3. Drawers below the counter

Below counter height, a drawer is almost always better than a shelf. Everything comes out to you; nothing is lost at the back. Good runners are an investment you feel every single day.

4. Ventilation and light

A chimney sized for the way you cook, ducted properly, protects every finish in the room. Task lighting under the wall units matters more than any pendant.

5. A worktop chosen for use

Choose the counter for how you cook, then for how it looks. Quartz and granite forgive turmeric, lemon and hot pans in a way that most marbles do not. If you love marble, use it where it will be admired rather than worked on.