Four of Ireland's best-known cooks share some secrets about kitchen design with Alanna Gallagher.

We spend an average of €25,000 on a new kitchen. "People who spend €50,000 and upwards on their kitchen are getting a fashion statement, which isn't always functional," says Pól O'hÉannraich, head chef at Dax. "It's like those who prefer to wear Dolce & Gabbana jeans instead of Levis."

Michelin-star chef, Derry Clarke, of L'Ecrivain, thought about getting his kitchen renovated last year and was quoted €125,000. He says he can do a commercial kitchen for a restaurant for €75,000.

So what should you do before costing the job? "First spend time designing the layout yourself, deciding what your needs are and where you want things to go. Only then invite in someone with expertise," says Kevin Thornton, chef patron of Thornton's.

"The kitchen is the central part of every home, the life and soul of the house. Your kitchen should reflect your lifestyle rather than a designer brand point of view."

Ballymaloe's Darina Allen also believes that you don't need to spend a lot of money on your kitchen but says that "good appliances are worth the investment. A good cooker will make food that tastes better."

So if you don't want a sub-standard kitchen what tips do the chefs have?

PROPORTION

Have worktops set at a height appropriate to you, agree all of the chefs.

"Too high is a constant annoyance and too low gives you backache," says Allen.

In his family kitchen, Clarke would like to have invested in the adjustable counter tops he has in his restaurant.

"I think you should be able to request customised kitchen work spaces in terms of their height levels. I don't think it's a huge amount to ask when you're committing upwards of a quarter to half a million euro," says O'hÉannraich.

The Miele kitchen brochure lists the varying height levels. If you and your partner share the cooking then consider two counter levels, or make the island appropriate to their level and the counters appropriate to yours.

WHICH COUNTER?

Kevin Thornton prefers a granite counter that is at least five or six feet long.

Derry Clarke likes marble in a domestic environment although he admits that it can chip.

Thornton and Allen are not adverse to wooden counter tops but O'hÉannraich and Clarke say they're hard to clean and that wood scratches and stains easily.

Allen is not a fan of stainless steel in the home although it is the commercial kitchen standard. "It's too noisy," she says. "I'm a big fan of properly treated hardwood from sustainable sources. There's a natural antiseptic found in wood that kills off bacteria."

Wood needs more maintenance than some of the other surfaces, says David Rafter of Arena Kitchens but suggests Spekra, a Danish company that offers pre-treated counters, as an option. Nonetheless, even this wood has to be treated with vegetable oil, three times a year. "Oil worked into the wood prevents any bacteria being absorbed."

Allen has also had plywood counter tops customised with a zinc coating by Ronan Engineering for €1,500.

Glass counters are becoming popular, says Ian McNally of McNally Kitchens. "These are fitted with LED lighting so you can change the mood of the room from hi-tech blue to warm, cosy yellow."

Volcanic stone and polished concrete worktops are new trends too.

STORAGE

Cupboards above and drawers below say these experts.

Thornton has triple-width, deep drawers. "The top drawer below my hob has cutlery. Most of my pots are kept in the drawer below that. To its left I have a second set of triple-width drawers for crockery. One accommodates the small dishes, side plates, soup bowls and so on and the drawer below houses all the dinner plates."

Allen suggests sheets of perforated zinc inserted into cupboard doors as a way of aerating the closed spaces as well as making them fly and mouse proof. She also suggests writing recipes you use regularly on the inside of your cupboard doors: it saves repeated journeys to and from your cookery books.

LIGHTING

Natural light, the chefs agree, is very important. "A light in the canopy of the extractor so you can see what you're cooking is essential," says Thornton.

"A mix of uplights, downlights and directional spotlights as well as strip lighting under the counters allows you to warm up the mood of the kitchen when you want to live in it and inject brighter, cool lighting for when you want to cook," adds Derry Clarke.

FLOORING

Tiles come up trumps with all four chefs. Clarke says wooden floors aren't great if you have spillages while Thornton is fond of wooden floors, because he likes to work barefoot and feels they're more tactile than tiling.

"Light-coloured flooring looks good but isn't very practical as it shows up every single mark. Professional kitchens often use Altro flooring and it also works just as well in a domestic environment," adds O'hÉannraich. "It is less hard on legs if you're standing all day."

LARDERS

A larder isn't essential but it is a luxury all the chefs would like.

Allen suggests a cool cupboard built into an outside wall.

"Have your builder cut a square out of the outside north-facing wall of your kitchen. Insert a sheet of perforated zinc into the gap. It's the perfect place to store cold meats, tomatoes, cheeses and other foodstuffs whose texture is destroyed through refrigeration," says Allen.

REFRIGERATION

All of the chefs believe you need adequate refrigeration space to house vegetables without squashing them. "American-style fridges are semi-professional and offer extra space, which is very important to adequately store fresh vegetables you might need for a dinner party," says Thornton. All agree that a small freezer is big enough for everyone's needs. "A big freezer encourages you to freeze everything instead of cooking foodstuffs freshly," says Allen.

COOKERS

"Cooking with only four rings is difficult, you need five or six to really have room to manoeuvre," says O'hÉannraich.

A big cooker is fine as long as it is used with a suitably strong extraction system, says Thornton who learned the hard way. He installed a professional cooker at home. "The wall behind it cracked because of the heat. I had to build a special chimney and install a professional extractor to combat the heat problem. Domestic brands are selling semi-professional cookers but many of the canopies designed to work with the ovens are not strong enough."

Clarke also opted for a professional extraction unit. "It cost €5,000 but it absolutely prevents cooking smells from wafting into the rest of the house."

POTS AND PANS

Thornton uses professional, heavy copper pans such as Scanpan and Circulon which, he says, have an excellent non-stick surface.

ISLAND UNITS

Clarke has a central island unit with hob, canopy and extractor. "This frees up my counter space and the breakfast bar at the other end of the island is where anyone congregates if they want to chat."

Pól O'hÉannraich finds the idea of cooking and talking distracting while Thornton and Allen both have L-shaped kitchens, which also offer the cook the opportunity to talk to his or her guests.