Gone are the days where kitchens held one purpose and one purpose only. Nowadays, we step into the kitchen to cook, bake, eat, entertain, store things, charge devices, and more. While you might not necessarily do all of those activities in your kitchen, odds are you do more than one of them. And odds also state that all of those activities take up more room than kitchens from years ago. What does that mean for you? Getting organized and creative in your kitchen design.
Thinking About Kitchen Design: What Do You Do in the Kitchen?
Think about the activities you undertake in your kitchen. Are you a baker? Do people congregate in your kitchen to cook together, eat together, or just visit? Hello, kitchen party! Do you like to watch cooking shows while you make dinner? Are the games pulled out, as soon as the dishes are put away after supper? Is there a separate pantry or other storage area for your kitchen accoutrements outside of your kitchen? All of the answers to these questions affect how you organize your kitchen and what you may want to have in it. Having a clear game plan is key in kitchen design.
Storage
The amount of storage you need in your kitchen depends upon a lot of factors. How many pots and pans do you have? What about dishes? Do you have any small appliances to accommodate? How about Tupperware? Where do you put it all?
Many modern families have a wide range of small appliances—toaster, coffee maker, slow cooker, bread maker, and more. These devices are meant to make our lives easier, but they take up valuable real estate in your kitchen. Same thing goes for storage containers, pots and pans, glass ware, baking implements, and the list goes on. If these items live in your kitchen, you need to find a home for them. That’s where creative storage becomes a must for most families. The solution comes with pots and pans drawers, built-in coffee stations, spice cupboards, and pantries. Today’s cabinetry designs go a long way to making space for all of the items in your kitchen.
Counter Space
While cabinets are great to hide things away, your kitchen counters are always on display. What do you do with them? Drop a frozen dinner on them before popping it into the microwave? Do you use every pot and pan you have when you create a meal for your family and need a place for them as you are boiling, sauteing, mixing, and more? Is there space for your stand mixer on the counter when you make bread? And all the ingredients that go into it too?
Your kitchen counter is where all of those tasks start and can help or hinder your productivity in the kitchen. Meal prep can take up plenty of space if you are chopping veggies, deboning chicken, or carving a roast. Baking also tend to need space for cookie sheets, mixmasters, bowls, and all the ingredients for your famous chocolate chip cookies. Even if your kitchen prowess is popping the cork on your favourite bottle of wine and presenting chips and salsa to your girlfriends, you still need a measure of room on the counter between the toaster oven and your fruit bowl. Think about ways to maximize your total area—perhaps a kitchen island or maybe just a cutting board thrown on the kitchen table to expand your meal prep area?
Entertainment
Not everyone is a gourmet chef, but that doesn’t mean you don’t spend time in your kitchen. For some, the kitchen is the best place to entertain. That might mean less space for storage and more for seating. Or maybe adding additional electrical outlets to plug in devices. Even televisions have their place in many newer kitchens too. A separate wine bar might be the perfect finishing touch or extra cupboard space for board games.
Modern Kitchen Design
As you can see, modern kitchen have to wear an awful lot more hats nowadays than their older counterparts. If you are thinking about renovating your kitchen, you need to consider your water, electrical, and lighting requirements. Do you need a bigger sink for washing up lots of dishes or an extra sink in the island? Would a dimmer switch add a touch of ambience when you entertain after dinner? Do you need a multi-port charging station for all of your family of four’s devices?
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These are just a few questions to think about before starting any work, but easy to implement with the help of Revival Home Renovations. Talk to Ryan about the process and what might work best in your home during your next kitchen renovation.