I’m so excited about this blog, kitchens are such a big part of homes. It’s “the heart of the home” as a lot of people describe it. But it really is, this is the place where families come together to cook, eat, celebrate, entertain and because the way homes are designed now days the kitchen, dining room and living room are all open plan which makes socialising in the home so much easier.
When designing your kitchen there are so many things to think about. I would say layout, style and colour are the most important. But you also have to consider bench tops, handles, appliances, lighting, splashbacks and flooring. You want your kitchen to be the hub of the home so it needs to be practical, warm and an inviting space. A place that represents who you and your family are.
Layout – Having a layout that is practical and makes the most of the space is best, there is no point having a stunning kitchen that isn’t practical, if you can’t open drawers because the cupboard is too close or having your dishwasher too far away from the cutlery drawers or crockery cupboards. Your kitchen needs to flow. You need to think about the way you work around the kitchen. Making this practical and functional for your needs will mean you will always be happy in the kitchen.
Style – This is a reflection of you, what style do you love the most. Thinking about what you have already done on the Exterior Cladding, have you gone for a really modern home or a country home. This impacts how you design the style of your kitchen. Adding in some personality is always good.
Colour – Do you want a dark or light kitchen, do you want bright colours or neutral tones. Do want a bright colourful kitchen or one with small pops of colour. The most common colours for kitchens is currently black or white with wooden features. I do love this look as its always very classy, but I do wonder how long this will last and how many people will have the same colour kitchen. I do love it when I get a client that wants to be bold or take a risk with their kitchen and it works out perfectly.
Benchtops – I would have to say your benchtop is what makes your kitchen. It’s the main piece that brings your kitchen together and with so many options out there, what do you choose? The most common are Prime Stone, Caesar Stone, Granite, Dekton and Laminate being the cheapest option. Stone is always a great product that will last a long time. You will still have to be careful with plates and glasses as stone is hard and can break them. Laminate is definitely a product I would suggest using in rentals or if you were on a tight budget, there are some amazing colours now and they look really good.
The good thing about laminate is that it is so much softer and warmer than stone and is more forgiving for glass and plates but I would always recommend using chopping boards underneath hot pots as you just can’t be too sure on anything.
There are different ways of finishing the ends of islands or benchtops. Do you want a waterfall end, boxed end, floating top or be creative and angle the benchtop down to the bottom of the cabinets.
Handles – Oh there are so many stunning handles these days that can really change a look of your kitchen. Archant has some gorgeous options for handles and the colours ways now are awesome; black, brushed nickel, brass, aged, antique, and then there is the style for the handle as well, modern, sleek, handless, country.
Appliances – I always feel this is a personal preferences for the clients as they will be the one using them all the time, so they need to get what is best for them. But there are more colour options these days and also the option of integration.
Lighting – This is always something to think about in your home. But most people when building new are putting in pendant lights above their breakfast bar area and if you are renovating clients are trying to get pendants in as well or making the most of what lighting they can have. You will always need good lighting in your kitchen, not only for working in but also in open living designs having the pendant lights on only is great for ambient lighting. There are so many pendant light options around and lately I have been mixing it up and hanging the pendants in a cluster rather than all in a line.
Splashbacks – Are a personal choice for clients, and there are so many options; tiles, glass, laminam, pressed tin. But within each of these options there are so many colours or styles to select from. With tiles, you can have large, small, mosaic, textured, smooth, patterned. With glass you can have so many colours, or mirrored, or even patterned.
Flooring – This is the final piece that brings everything together. Your flooring is a major part of the house as it flows from room to room and with open living designs the flooring tends to run from the entry, to kitchen, to dining room and sometimes into the family room. Wooden planks or vinyl planks are a great product to use, it gives a warm feeling to the room, but you need to be aware if you are using a wood feature in the kitchen cabinetry. The floor and the cabinet colour need to work, if you can have contrasting colours it generally works, but trying to match can be very tricky if they don’t look the same you can get it wrong.
Overall your kitchen is the heart of the home and you need to spend time designing it right but also spend a little more money to make sure it looks right.
Next Blog…Living Room
