You may have seen all of those stunning pictures in magazines, and decided that you would love a new kitchen for your home. If you are going to make the investment, it’s important to realize that a kitchen should never be just about appearance. You need to make sure that your kitchen is a practical space, especially considering that it’s likely to be the hub of your home.
You can get plenty of great design ideas, and recommendations, from experts in kitchen joinery. However, there is some basic information that it’s useful to know right from the start.
Keep in Mind the Kitchen Triangle
If you love to cook in your kitchen, you may already be aware of the kitchen triangle. It’s the shape made by the path you should be able to take from the sink to the stove and to the refrigerator. You need to be able to take a straight path between all of them, to make it easy for you to cook a meal and keep the area, dishes and utensils clean. When you are designing a new kitchen, you need to think carefully about maintaining the kitchen triangle.
Install Locks for Child Safety
The kitchen of your home tends to be a family space. Your kids probably love to spend time helping you in the kitchen, or just hanging out with you, telling you all about their day. All of this is fine, but you need to make sure that they are safe while they are there. You should fit locks on cabinets and draws so that your children cannot get access.
Consider Shelving instead of Wall Cabinets
Many kitchens have wall cabinets as part of the design. This does not always work in small kitchens where having so many cabinets severely restricts the light. If this applies to your kitchen, you may find that open shelving is a better choice. If you do opt for open shelving, think about using this space as a place to store dishes and utensils that you use regularly, so that the items you store look clean and tidy, as they are washed straight after use.
Create Sufficient Counter Space
There is nothing worse than a kitchen where limited counter space means that people are crammed together, doing different things. You do not want your children to be doing their homework right next to where you are cooking dinner. When you are designing your kitchen, think about how you can create sufficient counter space while still leaving room for people to walk around. You may way want to include an island in the design. Do not forget that a kitchen island should be at least four feet long and two feet deep for it to be useful. This means that an island is not a realistic option if you have a kitchen that is less than eight feet wide and twelve feet long.
Do not Forget the Backsplash
People often do not realise the importance of a backsplash. They aim to save money be omitting it from their kitchen design. However, you should never forget that keeping your kitchen clean and beautiful is a lot easier if you have a backsplash in place; you can simply wipe away splashes of food and grease.
No matter which style of kitchen you choose, you always need to ensure that it’s a practical space, where you have room to move around, cleaning is as simple as possible and children are kept safe.
