Let’s face it, the kitchen is the room where everyone lives. Our lives are focused around food, whether it is Mum preparing food in the kitchen whilst the kids are doing their homework, having dinner or the long breakfast and lunches on the weekend. The kitchen is where it happens. So if you are renovating your existing kitchen or building a new one from scratch, we give you some great trips to put in place:
- Think budget
- Making it practical
- Using space effectively
Think Budget
Sure, we’d all love the world’s greatest kitchen, both beautifully designed with all the latest tech and gear that comes with it. Whether it is pop-up TVs, hidden cupboards, power taps or the funky tap that changes hot and cold. But whilst The Mirror explains that even the most practical kitchen can increase your home’s value by 4%, you still have to be conscious of budget and we will explain why.
The reality is that the cost of your kitchen needs to relate to the value of the home and those on the road. If your house is worth around £500,000 and so are all the others on the road, there is no point spending £100,000 on sprucing up a kitchen because your house value cannot rise by more than £100,000 – especially if all the neighbours’ home similar in size. So you have to be practical in how much you spend and how this impacts the overall value of your home.
There is also no overall benefit of having the world’s greatest kitchen but then a mediocre bathroom, living room or dining room – as it does not fit in with the rest of the house and future buyers will not dig it.
Making It Practical
Does It Also Become Your Dining Room?
A lot of households are also making their kitchens their dining rooms as a way to maximise space in the home. After all, a lot of dining rooms are only really for entertaining and are sometimes grand rooms that just end of getting covered in dust.
So if you’re one of these modern households that want to make the kitchen the main dining area, it is worth smarting it up a bit and also allowing enough room for family and friends to join you around the table. This means that there is no point having a table with just 6 chairs around it but getting a table that can expand and fit 12 could be worthwhile.
Using Space Effectively
If you like to cook or you have kids that like to work and hang out in the kitchen, you can use space very effectively. For instance, case studies from leading designer The Wood Works shows the use of an island in the middle of the kitchen to store things and also clever bar stools for your children and their friends to hang out.
On the subject of making it child-friendly, a careful consideration is how it works for kids of all ages. For instance, if you have small children, does the table and island have space for a child seat? Can they climb up the bar stool without your help? Does it provide them with some support or will they fall off? In addition, you want to be careful about any tables of boards having sharp edges that you or your children could potentially bump into, especially if they are at heigh level for your offspring.
Colour
The colour of your kitchen is a careful consideration. A lot of kitchens go with the subtle tones of white (to match white goods) or light tones of grey, beige or even wood. If you are doing up a property as part of a property development finance project, you want a look that is fitting with the rest of the house and not too overpowering. Similarly, what chair colours and accessories go with it is also something to discuss – with the pink chairs featured above working nicely.
Easy To Clean
The kitchen is where we prepare food and where our children spend a lot of time – designing things and doing arts and crafts. So creating a kitchen that is easy to clean is very important. Some like the metallic look, like a restaurant kitchen just because it is so easy to clean. But for some people, you need to consider what materials and surfaces are most practical. For instance, tiles can be tougher to clean as things get through the cracks whereas flat surfaces and marble are certainly a lot more convenient.
Flooring
Your flooring must be practical. Whilst some shades of limestone look amazing, they can be on the slippery side which makes it not well suited for children and having lots of guests.
On the topic of cleanliness, the flatter surfaces are easier to clean compared to tiles or carpet which is likely to get stained or have things fall in between the cracks.
The Appliances
Are you a big family with a big appetite? Especially with babies and toddlers, you need a fridge to hold all the foods and formulas. Do you go with a normal size fridge or with a mega fridge like you see on MTV Cribs? Depending on your space, you can opt for the fridge and freezer in one, or some people have their freezers in the garage or utility room.
Other things to discuss are whether you go for an old school gas hob or a new snazzy electric hob. They say that gas hobs are more effective for cooking up a storm whereas the electric hobs are much easier to clean – so you have to weigh it up.
Is there anything else you would add to your perfect kitchen? Comment below!
