Kitchen is known as the heart of a home. The reason for that is because, for many people, a kitchen is a place where they spend most of their time. This doesn’t refer only to cooking and preparing meals, but also having a conversation with their families and friends over a cup of coffee, or helping their children doing the homework.
When designing a kitchen, or improving the functionality of it, you’ll probably want to keep it fashion-forward but also spacious enough for you and your family. Here are some ideas on how you can create a functional kitchen that fits the whole family and guests.
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Kitchen island
Placing a kitchen island is a good way of creating additional space. Installing this island is a great way of preparing meals or having a conversation with your friends while enjoying a glass of wine. If you want to go one step further you could install two islands in your kitchen which will increase your kitchen’s sociability. This way, you can use one island for preparing meals and cooking and the other could be used by kids while they’re doing the homework.
Another possible scenario of its usage-if you’re having friends over but you’re not entirely done with cooking and preparing food for them, one island can be used for your friends as a gathering spot and the other for you while you’re putting the finishing touches on delicious meals for them.
Kitchen Cabinets
Your kitchen cabinetry is the heart and soul of your kitchen. Your kitchen cabinets have a defining, imposing presence, much more than anything else in your kitchen. That’s why it’s important to own stylish and functional kitchen cabinets! Cabinets not only look good, but they also serve a purpose: organization. Choosing the proper cabinetry will help you be more organized in the kitchen.
Not only do high-quality cabinets make your kitchen look better, but they also increase the resale value of your home. Potential homebuyers always put high value on the kitchen, and with stylish kitchen cabinets, there is a good chance someone will be more likely to want to buy your home.
Floor decoration
Another way to improve your kitchen’s functionality is by placing a rug in your kitchen. This will add some colour and life in the heart of a home. If you don’t like rugs in your kitchen and they’re too big for your taste, you can try placing mats instead.
Kitchen floors can be very slippery when you spill something while you’re cooking. For safety reasons for you and your family, it’s important to create a slip-resistant floor. This can be done by placing rugs, mats, linoleum or whatever you prefer. If you choose to prevent falls and optimize the slippery surfaces with anti-slip tapes, you can consult professionals like Mat Shop and inform about the best solution.
Pantry
Having a special space and room for your food is a dream come true. With a walk-in pantry, you and your family will benefit for sure. Installing pantry in your kitchen will help you organize your food and keep a track on what kind of food and ingredients you’re running out. This way you and your family will easier create groceries lists which will simplify your groceries shopping. Easy access pantry is a good solution not only for aesthetic reasons but also for its functionality. Installing pantry will help you get rid of clutter from countertops. As a result, your kitchen will seem bigger and wider.
Bonus idea: when you’re installing a walk-in food pantry and if you have enough room, try adding a washer and a dryer. This way you’ll have a laundry room at the same place.
Additional storage
Having enough storage is crucial for a kitchen to function properly. To keep the clutter hidden and kitchen cleaner, try a cleaver solution by installing a slide-out prep station. Installing a butcher block board with a hole above the trash can make it easier to dump food debris while preparing meals.
One more suggestion to get some extra space in your kitchen: add shelves above your stove or any other available wall space. By hanging shelves, you’ll create more space to put your house pots, pans or cutting boards. Also, try adding small cabinets that are great for storing items such as cookie sheets.
Open shelving look
To get an open-shelving look try removing the door of your cabinets if you’re still not ready to get rid of all your uppers. This will make your kitchen look bigger and spacious. It will also allow you to show off some of your items such as tea collection or your cookbooks. If you want to make it more lively and colourful you could paint the inside of the cabinets with different colours or you could put some patterned wallpapers on it.
This open shelving look doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s a really good option if you’re trying to get a fresh and modern look in your kitchen. This look is also a good idea if you have unusable space in the kitchen.
Nook kitchen
If you’re tired of having a classic dining table than a kitchen nook might be a solution for you. The nook is approachable, comfortable and it will provide you with intimate conversations with your loved ones.
This corner, made of bench and chairs are a great solution for social gatherings and having lunch with your family. This set-up, which doesn’t need that much space, can fit more people. Kitchen nook will provide you with a cozy space to enjoy your first cup of coffee or homework sessions with your kids. You could install the desk behind a wall to keep it out of everyone’s view if you prefer it that way.
Blackboard
Having a blackboard in your kitchen renovation Toronto can help you with writing down your grocery lists or daily reminders that every member of the family can see.
Blackboard is an alternative to a kitchen noticeboard. But, blackboard can be used by kids providing them with a space to get creative and leaving you without worries how you’re going to clean it all up.
Now that the holidays are approaching, installing a blackboard in your kitchen could help you keep a track on all the things that should be done. It can be a helpful tool to organize your family during holidays but also to mark special dates that are important for you and your family and that are supposed to be celebrated.
If you want to add a blackboard to your kitchen but you’d prefer to have it hidden, try turning the inside of your cabinet door into a blackboard. One more way possible way of using a blackboard except for writing down ‘to-dos’ and reminders, is for making a weekly menu for you and your family. This way you can organize a menu for the whole week-write it down and stick to it. You won’t have to spend extra time each day trying to figure out what to cook-just take a quick look at your cooking menu written on the blackboard.
Two sinks
Having two side by side sinks is a perfect solution for a bigger family. These two separate sinks will allow you to do two different tasks at once-preparation and cleaning. This could be a nice way for couples or families to spend extra time together and to connect while one person does the washing and others can fill glasses and plates.
Some of the functional advantages of having this kind of set up-you’ll keep your food preparation away from all those dirty dishes that eventually pile up. Having two sinks is easier since more people can help you out in the kitchen which in return leaves you more time for chatting and spending time with them.
In short, two side by side sinks will improve the efficiency of your kitchen making it quicker to get things done.
Summary
Kitchen is a centre of activity in people’s home. Many activities are done there daily, from cooking meals to kids doing their homework and adults paying bills.
There are many ways how to improve your kitchen’s functionality. But the best solution is an individual thing, depending on your lifestyle and your needs. Before you make any decisions, make sure you take enough time to analyze and consider all the possible solutions before you choose the final one. Try making a list of all the things and tools you’ll need on your way of improving your kitchen’s functionality.
An entire kitchen remodelling costs money and time, but there are always a few tricks that can be done to get a fresher look of your kitchen. Hopefully, some of the suggestions listed above will give you an idea of how to improve the functionality of your kitchen.
