It may not come as a great surprise to know we spend a huge amount of time in our kitchens. Gone are the days when it was a stand-alone room, separated behind a closed door and reserved for the sole cook and bottle washer. Who knew the innovative dishwasher helped start the great kitchen transformation by removing dirty dishes off the bench, hiding the mess!
Heart and Soul
Today the kitchen is much, much more than just cooking, and tends to be the heart and soul of our home, with living and dining all part of the mix. Good kitchen design you barely notice; when all the areas work seamlessly and form and function come together. Poor design you have to live with, so here are 5 kitchen design secrets, we promise will set you on the right path.
1. Look to the view
We spend the most time prepping food. At least more time doing this than tending to what’s happening in our pots and pans while we’re sautéing, simmering and stirring. So, site your food preparation and dish washing area to the view you want to look out to and place your oven and stove top along the wall. After all, you don’t want your back to the view, or to miss out on the chat of family and friends.
2. Maximise your prep space
If you choose to have your sink in the centre of your kitchen island or bench, you effectively cut your prep space in half – with half your bench, either side of the sink. Consider an asymmetric look, by positioning your sink closer to one end. This will give you more room for preparation and a feeling of spaciousness.
3. Ceiling high cabinets
To maximise storage space and create a seamless look, take the cabinetry right up to the ceiling. This has the added bonus of making the ceiling appear higher and the space much bigger. It also prevents the top of the unit from becoming an unwanted dust trap.
4. Choose your splashback carefully
Due to its highly reflective nature, glass has long been a popular choice of splashback behind the stove top, below the extractor fan and above the sink. But a word of warning. If you’re keen to keep it grease and spot free and looking like the day it was installed, you’ll be needing some high intensity arm action if you go with glass. The same applies to glass fronted cabinets near the cooking area. Think about choosing from many, fabulous, less labour-intensive alternatives, if you want to save yourself hours of cleaning.
5. Appliances, plugs and clutter free benches
The humble wooden spoon is still king but these days our kitchens are pretty appliance heavy. Give some thought to what you want to live on the bench and what you want to hide. Some things you may be prepared to shift on and off the bench daily but the detail is in the planning. The same goes for the siting of power outlets for plugs. Consider hiding them from view and recessing them where possible. Power cords dangling from benches are pretty unsightly. Plan a drawer charging station, so that phones and devices can be powered up, off the bench and out of sight.
And there are so many more great design secrets to go! We haven’t even touched on lighting and fixtures, colour and finishes in our top 5 kitchen design secrets. Make sure to stay tuned and we’ll see you again soon.
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