Neff - My Top 3 Appliances

In early February, we were given the coveted 5-Star NeffMasterPartner status, to our absolute delight.

It really isn't a surprise, therefore, that we comprehensively promote the Neff brand.  If you follow this link to our YouTube channel, you will see that all but one video (Project O’Brien) have appliances with the familiar brushed steel effect predominantly associated with the Neff brand. Furthermore, the Macmillan Coffee Morning video we held at the KAW Interior Design showroom was held in partnership with Neff.

Pushing aside our 5-Star status for a few minutes, I thought I’d give you my personal top 3 Neff appliances.
Its not a case of selling Neff to our customers and then going home to CDA or Miele appliances – I have a Neff Single Oven, Neff Combination Microwave Oven, Neff Point & Twist 80cm Induction hob, extractor hood and an integrated fridge-freezer to go back to. Check out the links, and I will publish some photos of my own kitchen tomorrow – proof if you like!

3.) Series 5 Neff Microwave Combination Oven (C67P70)

First things first, we have one of these compact appliance in the showroom. It is the top right oven in this picture of the bank.
Now, the key selling point of this appliance for me is the multitude of features. From a 'CircoRoast' setting to 'Low-Temperature Cooking', this oven has it all. Combine that with a conventional fan oven, a 1000-Watt microwave and a full-surface area grill, it really is one of the market leaders for compact appliances.

From a practical point of view, one of the main features that startled me was the 'Keep Warm' function. I bought a bacon, sausage and egg sandwich (with a dash of tomato sauce) from the van opposite our showroom – yes, I know we’re lucky, and no, I’m not fat - I had to keep it within the 'Keep Warm' function for 45 minutes whilst I spoke to customers, expecting to return to a shrivelled-up, dried out horror of a sandwich. Upon removing it, the sandwich hadn’t crisped or dried up, coming out of the oven as if it had just been cooked.
Oh, before I forget to mention, having the choice of a pyrolytic or ceramic self-cleaning option really does top off this awesome piece of kit.

2.) Series 5 Neff AquaAssist Single Oven (B46C74 - With SlideAway Door)

The SlideAway door. If you don’t know what it is, you can see it on YouTube here. The language in the video may be in German, but it's about time we all learnt a new language. Fantastic. Innovative. Enough said.
With so many different types and methods of cooking in the modern kitchen, you need an oven that can do it all. This does.
Functions like bread baking, dough-proving as well as a full-surface grill help make this appliance one of the most versatile and sought-after single ovens on the market.

Introducing AquaAssist, which adds pockets of steam to the cooking experience, to keep that roast nice and succulent. What a fantastic idea.
I used one of these at Neff HQ in Milton Keynes. The ease of use and the aesthetic appeal were the selling point for me – combining the elements of steam cooking whilst not losing any noticeable space is a fantastic innovation. I can’t stop thinking about that succulent roast now…with fluffy roast potatoes, thick gravy and homemade Yorkshire puddings…Nom. I’ve only gone and made myself hungry!

1.) Series 5 Neff Point & Twist 80cm FlexInduction Hob (T44T97)

Induction hobs are becoming every popular in consumer kitchens. With their amazing energy efficiency and safety, they are a must when considered against ceramic and gas hobs.

The FlexInduction splits the hob in two two big zones. An induction pan anywhere on one of these zones will begin the cooking, with the rest of the zone remaining cool. It offers a combination of ultimate flexibility with the ultimate cooking results.

The point and twist device is a magnetic dial which can be removed to prevent little fingers tempering with the controls, and attempting to cook you dinner. Click on the link of the title to see a picture and find out more.

As an induction hob user myself, I have nothing but praise for the innovation. As many of our customers pledge, I wouldn’t go back to gas now.



So, those are my top 3 Neff appliances, mainly based on functionality and ease of use. Does your selection differ? Leave us a comment, we’d love to know your favourite Neff appliance!

All this food about talk…oh dear. All this talk about food has made one rather hungry. I’m off to the sandwich shop.

Please do join us for our next blog, which will be a lead-up blog to the exciting KBB (Kitchens, Bedrooms & Bathrooms) Birmingham 2012 event at the NEC. We are on Twitter and Facebook too!

If you'd like to know any more about myself, KAW Interior Design, Neff or Mereway, drop me an email here.

2012 And The Trends So Far.

Greetings! As you can probably tell by the lack of blogging, we have had a busy start to the year!

Early impressions are good. We seem to be getting a wide range of customers with a tight budget of £8-10,000 all the way up to those marvellous bespoke kitchens and construction work for a price of around £50,000.

One thing I will say, however, is that gloss seems to be in. We have just finished a Futura handleless kitchen, and have had numerous enquiries of combining a white or cream gloss with one of our woodgrain gloss doors.

Why is this?

Well, consumers aren’t just buying kitchens for themselves anymore. When the time comes to up sticks and move, having a feature kitchen can really help push that sale, and more importantly, that asking price.

I was sat in the car driving back from work yesterday and I compared the purchase of a car to the purchase of a kitchen. Buying a new kitchen adds immediate value to the property, whereas buying a new car depreciates as soon as you’ve signed that form and driven it out of the garage.

Anyway, I digress…

Interest for us has been pretty strong in the Mali Wenge gloss door. Being a very dark texture, you wouldn’t assume it to be a success – yet the gloss reflects the light stunningly. Check out this picture, which I just took of the sample in our showroom. See what I mean?

Cucina Colore Mali Wenge in Gloss

Minimalism has become so popular within all areas of a house. This, typically, extends through to the kitchen, and particularly within these Italian-inspired kitchens we are talking about.

If you follow this link to our Facebook page, you will see that the majority of the Cucina Colore range is stereotyped by this minimalist effect. You also have to say that all of the set shots are beyond stunning!

I’m going to leave it there – I just fancied a little comment about these gloss units, and to share with you the trend of 2012 so far. Here’s to new kitchen ranges, new appliances and new customers.

My next blog will be looking solely at the appliance giant Neff's products, follow us on Twitter to stay in the loop!

Merry Christmas...

and a Happy New Year to all readers of this blog! I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family.

2012 is going to be an exciting year for us here at KAW, so stay with us for heaps of videos, photos, events and offers.

Best wishes for the New Year, and look out for the mid-January blog...

Adam Church-Millward
KAW Interior Design

The Big Worktop Question

As you may have seen by the heading of this post, I am about to ask you a question:

How important is the choice of worktop to your new kitchen?


To answer that question from my own mindset, I would have to say very. For people seeing your new kitchen for the first time, they may be significantly impressed by the use of down-lights, and how this reflects the gleam of high-gloss units across the length of the room.


A year down the line from your new kitchen, and the 'brand-new' aroma has sadly dissolved. You are left with the practical elements of your kitchen - particularly if you went for units like the pull-out larder or the magic corner. The practicality of these will continue to shine and flourish for years, until they fail to work no more.


The same can be said with the worktops.

Now, generally speaking, there is a vast range of worktops available.. This is where aesthetic necessities and practicality join hands within the mind of the consumer.

Would you believe that this is natural granite?

Granite, Corian, and solid wood. There, I've said them. (For those laminate fans out there, I will go on to talk about these at a later date). From a first-hand perspective, these are arguably the most popular types of worktop. Each one has distinctive elements which draw a particular type of consumer to them - of which I am going to talk about below.


Granite - It has to be said that granite is the more traditional and conservative choice for worktops.

To give you a little bit of an insight, granite is formed from solidified magma, after the intrusion of other rock types and textures. This is what gives granite its absolutely gorgeous finish.

What people love about granite is indeed the look, strength and cleaning properties of granite. Being an extremely durable piece of rock, they are particularly resistant to scratching and breakage (don't go trying it now...enough force will obviously cause some kind of damage - they are resistant to everyday wear and tear!)

Available in a wide range of colours and textures (as seen here), they remain amongst the best selling and most desired worktops for luxurious new kitchen designs.

A beautifully sculpted Corian work surface.

Corian - Manufactured by DuPont, Corian is a solid surface material. To get a little bit technical, it is created from a composition of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate - bet you didn't know that!

Corian can be thermoformed (formed into shapes once relevant heat has been applied) after being heated to 150°C, allowing the unique and spectacular shapes we see in kitchens across the world. Whether this be an integrated Corian sink, a templated one-piece or something entirely unique, it certainly allows the consumer a wide variety in design options.


With an extraordinary range of colours and textures, Corian has certainly established itself amongst the worktop forerunners. It would be easily argued that the clean lines and non-porous composition mean that it remains stain-free and easily manageable. Certainly worth considering, however it can be a very expensive worktop if you opt for integration, 60mm or up-stands - even more if you opt for all three!


However, you browse the web looking for comparisons between Corian and granite, and you will always find Corian coming out on top.


Solid Wood - Such a simple comparison. Traditionally used in, well, traditional kitchens.  It can aso be used to create a funky contemporary look if incorporated into a design correctly. 

Solid wood can look stunning, even when combined with
other worktops.

There are some massive benefits to having solid wood worktops. Fitting becomes an easier process, usually able to be done by the kitchen installer - removing the need for specialist templating and fitting.

Another huge selling point is the ability to 'refresh'. In 5 years time, if they are beginning to show their age, they can simply be sanded down and re-oiled, to restore their original, brand new beauty!

People are often concerned about the lack of colours available, and the slightly strange worry of getting splinters. There are actually a wide range of finishes within the solid wood worktop, allowing it to be used with a wide range of door finishes and styles. Significantly cheaper than granite and Corian, they are indeed a very good worktop, particularly for the more traditional-minded customer!




So there we have it - a run down of three popular different work surfaces. I hope this has been more than just a boring 5-minute read for you!

Adam Church-Millward




Think I should have included another type? Do you want to add Egger or Encore to the discussion? 
Please, feel free to add to the blog by posting your own below.

The Power of CAD

Let's face it. It's nice to get a virtually rendered 3-D image of your new kitchen before the fitting has even begun.

Specialist Computer Assisted Design (CAD) software is evolving year upon year. Now, you are able to see a photo realistic example of your new kitchen, complete with desired lighting and chosen appliances. From this, you can identify areas of the kitchen that may not aesthetically please you - rather than reading through a never-ending list of units.

At KAW Interior Design, we use ArtiCAD Professional. One of the industry leading pieces of software, combined with our top-spec computer equipment we are able to render lightning-fast HD images for customers to enjoy. It has become quite important for customers to see just how their CAD representation matches to the finished project. Mr & Mrs Burtoft actually talk in their video testimonial about how close the images were. You can see this here.

OK, so now on to examples. First up we have Project Thorogood. Our lead designer, Kevin Walsh, took the photographs in roughly the same place as he had rendered the CAD images, so we can show just how close we got to the initial design.

The first picture is the actual kitchen. The beautiful, specially-sourced worktops gracefully compliment the contoured lines of the island, and the captivating high-gloss doors and cabinets.
The red walls help push the shine of the gloss into the viewers eyes, whilst the worktop makes it hard for anyone to take their eyes away from the hypnotic beauty. To fully understand the work involved in this transformation, look at this album for before and after images.

Next up is the CAD image. You can instantly see from the outset the similarities between the two - right down to the exact detail of the worktop. This pictures shows just how much a CAD image can be trusted for reliability; It is such a fantastic way of understanding, realising and tweaking the fundamental elements of your kitchen, before you spend a large sum of money on a design that isn't quite perfect!

Welcome to KAW's new blog!

Hello and welcome to KAW Interior Design's new blog!

Here we discuss some of the new trends and ideas being thrown around the modern market, keeping you up to date with all the latest goings on.


We will also be posting news, features and offers on this site - so it is definitely worth a bookmark! Whether it be an in-depth feature of a new Neff product, or information regarding an upcoming event, this is your new reference guide!


We are both a Neff MasterPartner and a premium Mereway kitchen dealer, so quality is assured right across our range - from cabinets to appliances. For more information on this, visit our website, at www.kawinteriordesign.co.uk.

We are also on Twitter & Facebook! Follow us here and like our Facebook page here! Also, we are introducing videos of customer testimonials and features, where you can currently view our largely-successful Macmillan Coffee Morning. Our YouTube channel is here, however the Macmillan Coffee Morning video can also be found embedded towards the bottom of this blog.


Social Media-wise, a like or a follow is recommended - we will occasionally be running exclusive offers for our Facebook and Twitter fans; whether be a certain percentage off, or a free appliance thrown in. We intend to look after our internet friends!

Please, if you have any questions at all, or would like to add your opinions to the posts, please go ahead - feedback and interaction is both appreciated and useful for shaping our future articles!


Thank you for looking, I look forward to providing you with more from the world of kitchens and KAW!