Whether you love interior design and could happily spend hours sifting through samples or if you can't tell your colour charts from your mood boards, chances are that you want your home to be as comfortable and welcoming as possible.

Therefore, when embarking on a renovation or redesign project it really pays to take some time to ensure that the finished product is exactly how you imagined.

And nowhere is this more important than in the kitchen. According to interior designer and TV presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, homeowners tend to have a strong attachment to these rooms since they are where so much of the everyday family activity occurs.

He explained: "It's got an emotional link to the fact that people see it very much as the heart of the home, and a place where we all as families spend time together."

However, your kitchen won't automatically become a cosy, welcoming centre of the home where the kids will happily knuckle down to their homework and your friends will flock to for dinner parties - you will have to put some effort in.

Which means paying attention to every detail of your interior - from fridges and ovens right down to door handles and kitchen taps - to make sure that your kitchen is the happy family space you always dreamt of.

When trying to obtain that perfect kitchen, Laurence maintains that you should avoid over-lit, over-modern and over-impressive interiors, and instead opt for a more traditional living space.

He added: "The kitchen that works these days has to be kind of like the kitchen of the 70s, that I remember when I was growing up - a space that felt very welcoming and warm, with wallpaper, pictures on the walls and table lights. It had a lot of chilli con carne or tomato soup in it."