We’ve been toying with the idea of updating the kitchen, and who knows, altering or extending the back of the house one day. After visiting a kitchen showroom recently and and getting the brush-off because we didn’t want a lucrative full refit, I’ve decided to visualise the kitchen myself in 3D using Google’s free SketchUp.

I don’t mean to knock kitchen designers, I’ve just made the decision not to employ their services at this stage, and that’s my right as a consumer – they can and evidently do reject my level of service in favour of cheaper alternatives as well. I accept the risks involved in designing it myself, as well as the savings. To manage the risk we’d be getting qualified tradespeople in to check everything and put it all together.

Anyway, SketchUp is awesome. If you have any experience of drawing vector art you’ll be off to a great start. I whizzed up the above model of my kitchen in about 6 hours. If it looks strange, that’s because my kitchen is – lots of internal and external doors. At the moment the model is empty except for a single appliance.

The next step is to fill the model, add colours and textures, and perhaps make a walkthrough video. I’m not sure if SketchUp 7 does lighting, but it will make arranging and specifying the cabinets and appliances much easier. It’s hard to believe it’s free. I’ll report back with my progress later.