Home Hacks Design

6 transformational tips for upgrading your kitchen this festive season

The Masterchef phenomenon has swept across the globe bringing with it a new, exciting and creative perspective in the ways many home owners are now viewing their kitchens.

Coupled with cutting edge advances in kitchen appliance technology and design, the average home cook is now able to transform their entire experience in the kitchen from the droll day to day monotony of just cooking, into the vibrant, creative and dynamic experience of creating delicious meals and entertaining with confidence – and there is no better time of year to put a great kitchen through its paces than Christmas.

Here are some remodeling and kitchen appliances upgrade tips to set you on your way to a total kitchen transformation that everyone in your family and social circle will enjoy.

Tip #1 – Create space to move

Most family kitchens resemble a beehive of activity during the week. Meals need to get made quickly and cleaning needs to be quick and hassle-free. For this reason, creating enough space to move quickly and efficiently is key.

All paths through your kitchen need to be at least 36 inches wide, and up to 48 inches around the cooking zone. There is nothing worse than a cramped kitchen space where a whirlwind of frenetic cooking can soon turn to a blood boiling nightmare of wielding hot pots and pans whilst pushing your way back and forth through other family members from the cooktop to the fridge and on to the plating area.

Tip#2 – Integrate your appliances

Kitchens have evolved away from merely being the room in which the cooking is done. In many homes the kitchen is the centerpiece of the household. You are going to want your kitchen to be a warmer, more sociable space.

In order to achieve this, your major appliances – refrigerators, ovens, cooktops and dishwashers – need to be integrating seamlessly with the overall kitchen layout. This means choosing appliances that are designed to fit together seamlessly and that merge with the walls and counters in materials that are consistent with their surroundings.

Tip#3 – Design your kitchen around your lifestyle

If you have kids and they are forever scrambling in and out of the kitchen, then design your cook space so that it is out of the warpath. This way you will reduce the risk of having the little ones catching on handles and causing potentially dangerous spills. Station your refrigerator where it is easily accessible to everybody even when you are cooking. Also, create shelf space for microwaves, kettles and toasters that are easy to reach for everyone in the family.

Tip#4 – Create counter space where it is needed most

The most important areas to ensure you have enough counter space to work with when cooking, plating and cleaning are each side of the cooktop, refrigerator, sink and microwave. A good rule of thumb is to go with around 15 inches of free counter space to either or one side of each area.

Tip#5 – Add a splash of style to your cabinets

The days of rank and file kitchen cabinets that resemble cold-war era East Berlin apartment blocks are a thing of the past. Break up the monotony of dull block cabinets by incorporating more open shelving and replacing cabinet doors with glass or wine storage style options.

Tip#6 – If you have the space, incorporate an island bench

Kitchen Island benches are without doubt the easiest and best way to create multi-use space – from preparing food, and meal setting for fast, convenient breakfasts to simply having guests in the kitchen whilst you cook and entertain – Islands are the way to go if you want to transform your kitchen from a workspace into a dynamic living space.

The Kitchen of the future is about more than just having a place to cook, wash dishes and store food. It is a vibrant, creative and warming living space that should merge with the rest of your home. The key to creating such a space is by blending the perfect appliances with an open and progressive kitchen design.