Kitchen Lockdown

As we soldier through the lockdown, the kitchen is seeing the most use under these special circumstances – especially if you have a family who enjoys eating, or a couple or single person with all the time in the world to try out new recipes and cook up a storm!

Now that you have a daily relationship with your kitchen, have you decided:

• What you like or dislike about it? 

• Do certain aspects of it frustrate you? 

• Are there parts of it you enjoy and others you would perhaps like to remove?

How efficient is your kitchen layout? While the idea of the typical kitchen triangle has dominated – sink, stove and refrigerator each making up a point of the triangle and placed a certain distance for maximum efficiency, this may not work for you.

Instead, like many of our clients your preference might be for the sink, stove and prep counter to occupy a zone that suits your needs better. This award winning kitchen showcases that brilliantly. The following floor plan highlights three zones: a vegeterian, non-vegeterian and a designated breakfast area.

In today’s households, people need kitchens which are more social but still require a layout so guests can interact without stepping on the cook’s toes. An island can act as a great separator between cooking and dining areas.

Is your prep area living up to expectation or are you running out of worktop space? We know kitchens come with a hefty price tag, but as worktops are one of the most hardworking elements of a kitchen, our advice is to choose the best worktops you can afford. Granite, composite and solid surfaces are great investments as they are tough, durable and will ensure a luxe finish. Marble can be a consideration but needs careful care and is probably more suited to a feature island or less used area.

We are not all blessed to have our kitchens flooded with natural light, so is inadequate lighting posing a constraint?  Lighting is an important detail that is so often overlooked in kitchens but it is debatably the most important factor in transforming your kitchen. Task lighting in particular is extremely vital to your food prep spaces; spotlights and under-counter lighting can be impactful.

As this kitchen had no windows, the right balance of artificial light was extremely important.

Ah…that other major frustration we might encounter – the lack of storage! Is this driving you crazy just now as you transform into a juggler on a daily basis? Storage options are endless and you now have the time to work out where your current system might be failing you. Your cabinets should include fully-extended drawers and vertical storage as both options serve a different purpose; drawers are great for dishes, bowls and saucepans but don’t suit cutting boards and baking trays.

Where do you store the appliances and utensils you use the most?

Here are some great storage options for you to consider.

If you have children, has your kitchen coped with them being around all day, every day, darting in for snacks and meals?  You might want to consider rehousing certain items – store breakfast foods and snacks on shelves they can reach or create a dedicated breakfast area.

And for that matter, have your kitchen cabinets survived the daily onslaught of sticky fingers and frequent opening and shutting?  If you are muttering about the state of your cabinets and planning on replacing them, make sure they are of good quality so they last the distance.  If timber veneers are not an option, consider recreating the same look with a laminate and bear in mind that matte finishes don’t show dirt as much as glossy ones do.

While these major factors are essential to any kitchen, it is the finer details that can make your kitchen sing, with hardware and coloured cabinets being an opportunity to make a personal statement. Think bold (if you dare!) as hardware can be considered the jewellery in the room. While handles and knobs might be considered purely functional, they are the details that make a big impact.

So careful planning is required to ensure your kitchen is highly functional but still beautiful as we are spending more time in and around our kitchen.

So ask yourself what will make your kitchen your happy place? Sleeker worktops, a statement island or lots of storage. Or are there some specific appliances that would make your life far easier? Whichever they are, the end result is ultimately a process of detailed attention to these specific areas which if done correctly, will make your kitchen your happy place!

After all, what is more important than FUN, FOOD and LIFE!