Building A Perfectly Functional Kitchen In Your Home
What do you think of your kitchen? Is it a good place to cook and bake, and make some good, tasty meals day by day? Is it a good place to host a little gathering or party for your friends and family, because there’s plenty of space for everyone to have fun? Or maybe you think it’s an OK sort of place, with everything you could need to live a healthy and happy home life, but you do find yourself wanting a bit more from time to time…
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one to want such a thing! It’s why kitchen remodels are one of the most popular home renovations a person can fork out for, and it’s why you’re able to design and carry out building a perfectly functional kitchen.
A perfectly functional kitchen is something a lot of homeowners dream of, isn’t it? If you’ve got a kitchen to make use of, as we all do, we want to know we’re capitalising on the space and appliances within! We want it to be a colorful and bright place to be, with plenty of good food and hearty laughs coming straight on out of it, and we won’t be happy with the way it looks and works until we feel comfy and cozy like this!
So, without further ado, if you’re on a quest to turn your kitchen into more of a functioning, capable, and beautiful space, here are some ideas and a touch of inspiration to look into.
Is your sink deep enough? Is there enough landing space around it? Are you constantly having to rearrange everything around it to make use for washed pots and pans? That means it’s time to change up the way your kitchen works! (Pexels Image – CC0 Licence)
An Island Works Best in the Middle
Islands in the kitchen are a great way to work with the space you have, as well as maximise the amount of countertop space in your possession. And islands always work best in the middle of the kitchen, bordered by your other counters and cabinets and appliances! This way you’re bracketed on both sides by worktops, allowing you to work back and forth without moving so much – it’ll save your legs and any aches and pains in your feet too.
Of course, kitchen islands can also be used to dine. Usually people like to surround the island with stools, to ensure people can sit down and eat something, while keeping the rest of the space as a functional zone. If you want to double up on the usage like this, make sure you plan out which half of the island is which, and don’t allow anything to spill over onto either side.
Things will remain a lot neater and calmer this way, and you won’t be missing any items or making unnecessary spills all over the countertop – even using a bit of tape down the middle to act as a border can make sure of this.
Make Some Space
Your kitchen could do with a little more space to it. More space means more movement, less traffic, and less risk of burning yourself or food because you just can’t get to the oven or the sink in time!
You want the walkways in your kitchen to be wide enough, to ensure at least two people can get past each other, no matter what they’re holding in their hands or what speed they’re going past each other. Of course, in a small house with a small kitchen, this is going to be difficult to pull off, if not impossible. So instead, learn how to control the flow of traffic in your kitchen.
To do this, keep your oven and your stove top well away from the door, or any other exits and entrances into the kitchen. Simply make sure it’s impossible to run into these appliances!
At the same time, making proper use of your space ensures you don’t have to move too much back and forth across your kitchen. You won’t waste any time in collecting together the right ingredients or the right utensils/crockery, because everything will be strategically placed or stored right in front of you.
Boost Your Baking Potential
Baking is something the kitchen is famous for, and if you love to whip up a cake, or you just like to cook up a storm of taste and flavor from time to time, you’ll want to boost the power and capability of the appliances in your kitchen. After all, the more you can do with your oven or your stovetop or even just your microwave, the more tasty and varied your meals become. And that helps with a balanced diet!
You might want to invest in more than one of the same appliance, if your kitchen is particularly busy – more than one person can use the appliance at once, not to mention the increased amount of fridge space! Put your microwave in the right place too – that means finding the right height for you. As an adult using the kitchen on a regular basis, placing it at least 10 inches above the top of the counter it sits on or above would be best.
You could even invest in some professional kitchen appliances to really get the right power behind the meals you make. You’ll be able to invest in sleek, stylish designs, which are great for modern and contemporary kitchens, and you’ll be able to cut your cooking time down by at least 20%. The high wattage microwaves, after all, mean those ready meals can be ready in just a couple of minutes, rather than waiting 5 or longer!
Stretch Your Cabinets From Floor to Ceiling
The cabinets in your kitchen most definitely need to be big enough to store all kinds of pots and pans and various jars of spices, etc. In truth, the amount of storage space in your kitchen is one of the most important functional aspects you’ll have to prioritize, and it helps to keep your space looking clean and beautiful too!
For a small kitchen, a cabinet that perfectly molds to the little space you have is going to be the best storage solution on the market. Blocking out a small section of the wall with a floor to ceiling cabinet means you don’t have to compromise on space, while also ensuring you have plenty to work with.
And the more you make use of space within space like this, the less hazards you’re going to feature in your kitchen. You won’t be bumping into stacks of pots and pans, or knocking a whole load of frying pans down the back of the fridge whenever you reach for them, simply because there was nowhere else to store them. Instead, you’ll have a floor to ceiling cabinet, that’s bright and functional, and you won’t have to do so much bending and lifting either – if you need a more accessible kitchen, this could be great for you!
Be Strategic with Your Lighting
You’ll definitely want to be strategic with the lighting you have on offer. You want your kitchen to be a bright space – the more you can see, the more you can do, and the better you’ll feel about it. You’ll want to use yellow or white tinted lights, and you’ll want the right lamp shade to ensure plenty of light is spread out and across the entirety of your kitchen space.
At the same time, the darker your kitchen’s color scheme already, the more light you’re going to want to install in the room; a dark themed or toned kitchen might be something you like the look of right now, but it doesn’t do any wonders for your meal prep and making times during times like winter, when it gets dark very early outside!
Don’t like big, bright and overhead lights? Don’t worry! The kitchen, of course, can be made a cozy space with a bit of intimate, personal lighting, but this should be a second lighting option, rather than your primary fixture. If you can turn off the overhead lamps, to leave a more toned and shaded effect on your kitchen, you’ll have the perfect solution for party or hosting nights.
Ready to Build the Perfect Kitchen For You?
The perfect kitchen can mean something different for everyone. Some people might want a bit more class and style, some people might want something more rustic and traditional. But when it comes down to it, the perfect, most functional kind of kitchen has the same elements to it, no matter how it looks on the surface. Keep that in mind if you’re about to go through with a remodel!
You’ll want creative storage solutions. You’ll want power and safety in your appliances. You’ll want (and need!) enough space to cope with day to day traffic, in and out of the kitchen. And most importantly, you’ll want to feel cozy and at home there, so remember that too!
