Design Tips for Your Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of your home, the space where wholesome meals are prepared lovingly and shared with the family. But that’s not all, as kitchen is also the space to mingle, swap stories and make plans for the next day. The kitchen is like a factory where the process of cooking keeps going on non-stop, day in and day out. And with the current kitchen designs being more open and integrated into living spaces, it becomes a necessity to always keep it neat and ship-shape, with minimal clutter even while you are cooking.
This is a doable job so don’t get overwhelmed by the thought. The key word is organization; as long as you have appropriate storage areas and a well-designed set-up, keeping your kitchen looking neat and attractive is going to be a breeze! So if you are planning on renovating your kitchen or designing a new one, here are some great designing tips and must-have features to guide you towards creating a kitchen that not only looks great, but also functions efficiently!
You should design the layout of your kitchen in such a way that you can eliminate wasted steps within the space. Cooking is a multi-step lengthy process and you wouldn’t want to be walking all over the place in the process. Keep things in an organized manner to reduce unnecessary walking. For example all things related to your tea/coffee should be kept together. All spices should be kept close to your cooking range, so you can pop them into the pot as you cook, etc. Likewise, make arrangements to store all cooking pots close to the cooking range too.
The kitchen floor design should ideally allow for a 36 to 48 inches wide pathway to prevent bumping into others. For a two-cook kitchen, the pathway should be at least 48 inches wide. A wide pathway ensures an uncluttered look while providing space too. The fridge is a device that’s always in use, both by the cook as well as others. Ensure that it’s in a neutral part of the kitchen and doesn’t interfere with the cooking area. The kitchen island can also be used as a way of keeping the working area of the kitchen separate from the socializing part, where friends and family members can keep you company.
When designing the kitchen, you should plan on having at least 15 inches of countertop space around appliances such as the fridge, microwave oven, the cooking range, toaster or the hot water kettle. This will prevent foreseeable accidents of burns or spillage. Having a handy spot to quickly place hot items coming off the cooker or microwave is a necessity too.
When your kitchen is in the planning phase, decide where you want to place your smaller appliances, your pantry items, etc. According to the size of the storage containers you intend to use, you can create the appropriate height of shelves too. Storing your pantry items will save you on a lot of clutter in the long run, so plan ahead carefully.
Creating space at the right height for your appliances will ensure comfort of use. You can ideally place the microwave oven 15 inches above the countertop, but in case you want to create a kid-friendly kitchen, then placing the oven on the countertop might be a better idea.
An important aspect to planning your kitchen is the correct placement of electrical outlets. You will first have to decide where you want to place your fridge, oven, water filter, blender and any other smaller appliances. Once the planning stage is over, you now have to think about creating appropriately placed electrical outlets along the backsplash. This will ensure that you won’t need to keep moving your appliances every time you want to use them or opt for unruly extension wires. You could even create a charging station in the kitchen with outlets and USB ports for your devices.
A long row of similar-looking wall kitchen cabinets can look dull and depressing. Create an interesting break in monotony by making some of the cabinets in fluted glass or open shelving too. Consider keeping kitchen-related décor items on the shelves or some vibrant green plants to create a breath of fresh air in the space. You could also break up the monotony of the cabinets by using interesting looking handles or knobs. Or bright colors to add more life to your kitchen!
For those who love cooking or cook on a daily basis, it’s important to organize your space needs on the countertop accordingly. If you don’t have an island to use as a workstation, then the ideal space to use would be the countertop space between the cooking range and the kitchen sink area. Ensure that you keep enough space to spread out while cooking. You could create an appliance garage on the other side of the sink so the electrical appliances do not clutter up your work space.
With people becoming more aware of the importance of recycling and composting, it’s essential you create a wide cabinet under the kitchen sink to house four bins – for glass, metal, plastic and organic waste. Having access to different categories of waste bins right in the kitchen will make the chore of recycling that much easier as you won’t have to start sorting through the trash later on. Do remember to use plastic liners in the bins to make transportation of waste products a hassle-free process!
Select an outstanding element to catch the eye and then build on creating quieter elements to complement it. You could make a bold statement with a huge chimney hub, patterned countertop, attractive flooring, brightly colored kitchen cabinets or an eye-catching backsplash design!
Hope all these pointers turn out to be useful for you!
