“We’re at a stage where we’ve done all the preliminary work. All the flooring’s gone down, and we’re starting decorating next week,” explains Joe Kardani, co-owner of Point 5 Kitchens, when asked about progress on the new showroom.

“We haven’t started fitting any physical furniture in there yet. So although we’re still plowing on, we’re still a little way off from the actual opening,” 

Originally planned to open earlier this year, the second-ever Point 5 Kitchens showroom is now tentatively scheduled to open at some point in the next month. “I was originally hoping to open at the end of April,” Kardani explains, “but it all depends on how quickly we can get the furniture in.”

Speaking of furniture, trying to balance the showroom’s new displays with fulfilling customer orders has been one of the most challenging obstacles the Point 5 team has had to deal with as part of the expansion.

“We’ve designed and ordered everything. But it’s a balance between ordering the customers’ furniture with the new furniture for the showroom. In fact, I’d say the main challenge has come from balancing all that, at the moment.”

The team still wants to keep working on its usual client kitchens, but also needs to find time to carve out work on the new showroom itself – otherwise, the opening will risk being pushed back further into the future.

Still, to be this far into the process of opening a new showroom without any major problems is an achievement in itself, especially considering Point 5 is making the leap from a single-showroom business to effectively doubling its business size with the new store.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve done anything significantly wrong, which is great for us,” Kardani laughs, “It’s good that we’re really busy. I’d rather be in that position, instead of the other way round, and be sat twiddling our thumbs instead.” 

Lessons learned

Last time we spoke to the Point 5 team, one of the biggest changes at the business was that it had already taken on a new member of staff in anticipation of the grand opening. 

Several months on, it’s great to hear that new starter Max – who was fresh to the company when kbbreview first spoke with Point 5 last year – is still in the business and doing well. The team identified that staffing the new showroom was another one of its major upcoming challenges to tackle, as it currently only has a full team of five people.

“He’s worked really well and he’ll be moving to the new showroom once its open,” Kardani explains. “But now we imminently need to find someone else as well to help out the guys in the current showroom. Even if it’s not customer facing so much, but just helping the business with design in the background.

“We don’t want to get someone too early and just be paying them to sit there because we haven’t opened the new location yet. But they also need to be trained up by the time we move, so it’s all about finding the right moment.”

When we first spoke to the Point 5 team about their ambitious showroom plans, progress was still very much in its earliest stages. Now, more than six months into the process, what have they learnt along the way so far?

Fortunately for Kardani, he says because everything’s gone relatively to plan so far, the team haven’t had to navigate any major bumps along the road. 

However, when pressed for an answer, one thing he says that has surprised him is the difference that comes from designing your first showroom compared to your second.

“Thinking back to our first showroom, it’s taken a lot of extra work to draw up the plans this second time,” Kardani muses.

“When we started the first showroom, we only had the most basic of drawings, and we’d masked it all out on the floor. Now obviously we’re drawing the whole shop out in three dimensions and walking through it. And it’s taking a lot longer because of that.”

Next steps

Another major difference is that the first time around, there were simply fewer people actually in the business to keep happy. Kardani recalls how “before, with just the two of us [along with co-owner Tomasz Kolasinski] making decisions, it was a bit simpler”.

But given that the new showroom is set to be a monumental change for the whole business, Kardani and Kolasinski say they’ve made it a priority to get feedback from the entire team, in the interest of making everyone feel listened to.

“We want to make sure everyone’s happy,” Kardani explains, “Ultimately, although the final decision is with us, it’s nice to have everyone involved, because for me that’s what design’s about. It’s about everyone sitting down together and working out the best solutions – not working in isolation.”

For what’s it worth, the actual design plans for the new space make it sound like a real showstopper of a showroom. In Kardani’s own words: “We’ve got four kitchens upstairs, one kitchen downstairs, and then three sets of wardrobes, a TV unit, a bar, and a drinks area. We’ll also be creating a whole wine room.”

So, looking ahead, where does Kardani think the Point 5 team will be by the time we catch up with them next, in the July 2025 issue of kbbreview Magazine?  

“Right now, the shell of the whole space, effectively, is all ready for the furniture to come into. But obviously there’s quite a lot of fitting to still do there. It’s not like fitting a single kitchen.”

Once it all comes together though, it should set the business up well to both expand its reach to the coveted Belsize Park neighbourhood, but also offer a second destination to send clients, letting the team wow visitors with even more design-led kitchen displays.

“We’re still not dead set on the date we’ll be opening,” Kardani concludes, “but we’ve had loads of new enquiries this year already, and lots of projects that are starting to go through as well, which is great. 

“We’re going to keep working away on the new showroom while keeping our customers happy – and every day that goes past is a day closer to when we can open up the doors for good.”