“The kitchen is the heart of the home.”
This old-fashioned phrase is a cliche for a reason – because it’s completely true. For centuries, the kitchen fires worked all day, warming the house. People would gather around cooking fires to share news and gossip, and families would do most of their living around the process of preparing and eating food.
Even in our modern lives, the kitchen is the place where everything happens. From the frantic morning rush, to cooking a romantic dinner with your partner, to your kids doing their homework while you fix snacks, everything moves through the kitchen.
Every kitchen is highly personalised to the family that uses it. If you didn’t design your kitchen yourself, then it probably doesn’t quite fit your needs. Here are three great tips to help you get the kitchen of your dreams at the price you can afford.
Consider the lighting requirements
If you can’t see what you’re cooking, then you’re going to really struggle to use your kitchen. It’s vital to consider where and how much light you need in order to complete different tasks.
Lights also create atmosphere. Choosing the right lights defines the space. That’s why hiring an interior designer like Mal Corboy is such a good idea – Mal helps you uses features like lighting to create a cohesive design that illuminates your life.
If you’re going to splurge, splurge on hardware
There will be as many as fifty pieces of hardware on display in your kitchen. Quality hardware will uplift cheaper cabinetry, and a signature tap will create an interesting focal point for an island or wall space. These days, there are plenty of options and colours if you want to move away from stainless steel – including nickel, brass, and burnished bronze. Brushed and satin finishes are particularly popular.
Quality hardware shouldn’t just look great – it needs to feel wonderful to hold and use.
Think about how you use your kitchen
Too often we see beautiful kitchen designs in magazines and get carried away with different features and stations. You absolutely MUST have a butler’s pantry or a butcher’s block.
When planning your dream kitchen, you need to firstly think about how the room will function as a working space. Use your current kitchen as a basis – what works and what doesn’t work? What appliances do you use frequently? What configuration do you prefer? Do you have a well-stocked larder that’s always bursting with the seams, or are you more of a “heating up the takeaways” kind of cook? Do you need easy-to-clean spaces, or is it more important that you have the “wow factor” when guests first walk into you house?
You should have the kitchen of your dreams, the kitchen that defines your home and lifestyle. Mal Corboy can help you create this dream, by taking all your ideas and current habits and crafting a beautiful space that works for your lifestyle. Contact Mal today for your free kitchen design consultation.
