All you need for an efficient, practical kitchen
Whether you’re cooking up a gourmet feast for foodie friends or whipping up a quick supper on a weekday evening, it’s only natural to want to streamline your kitchen life. Here are some well-designed solutions to make dinner prep, busy morning breakfasts and cleaning up easier.
The best storage for tight corners
To add space to your kitchen, just look where it gets wasted: in the corners. There are all kinds of systems to get the most out of these awkward nooks and crannies and give you easy access to all your kitchen items. Rotating platforms or pull-out cabinet organizers, for example, give you effortless access to the dark depths of your kitchen cupboards.
Elsewhere in the kitchen, you can maximize wasted space with slide-out shelves, cabinets and drawers, and in deep drawers, you can use separators to organize your pots and lids. If you shop around, there are plenty of custom storage solutions to add some order to even the hardest-to-discipline utensils and dishes. When it comes to appliances, here are two valuable tips: if your space is limited, steer clear of two-door refrigerators and choose over-the-range microwaves, or tuck the microwave under a counter.
An efficient kitchen that makes cooking a pleasure
Not only is your kitchen a living space, it’s also a workspace. And to work more efficiently, there are plenty of ways to optimize the room to move for more efficiency. From the get-go, think of your work area as a triangle where each point brings together your three main activities: stocking the fridge and pantry, cooking with the stove and oven, and maintaining the sink, dishwasher and garbage bin. And now that kitchen waste requires greener solutions, consider using different sliding bins to make sorting easier.
When it comes to storage, the prime objective is accessibility. This means no more forgotten foods or duplicate items, because when you can see everything you have, nothing gets wasted and you maximize your resources. Transparent storage bins in the refrigerator and labeled containers and jars in the pantry make decision-making more efficient. Spice jars are not only more pleasing to the eye than an awkward assortment of random sachets, they also keep your favourite herbs and spices fresher because they seal better. Plus, they encourage shopping in bulk and avoiding packaging altogether! For condiments, oils, spices and other items you need at hand when cooking on the fly, consider multi-basket storage, whether you prefer reaching above or below. Finally, for the crowning touch to a streamlined kitchen, you’ll want to install soft-closing cabinets and drawers.
A breakfast nook for easy, worry-free mornings
Breakfast nooks are a hot trend that brings together everything necessary for a pleasant morning in the same easy-to-reach space. In a designated closet or on shelves hidden by a curtain, you can store the coffeemaker, bread, cereal, jams, almond butter, granola, tea and coffee and everything else you need to get off on the right foot. Offer yourself the opportunity for a tranquil breakfast before you tackle the day!
And to get the kids to take part in preparing meals and tidying up, set aside a corner of their own. To make them want to pitch in, make their special area fun and colourful, with a drawer at their height in the pantry or easy-to-reach boxes in open cabinets. Top it up with snacks, lunchbox items and other little things the little ones can take care of themselves. Cereal dispensers, for example, are a fun storage solution that kids adore.
Hide it away or put it on display?
The trend of doorless cabinets and decorative partitions gives you the choice to display only what you want to be seen. While you might put colourful stand mixer, vintage jars and cute storage baskets in plain sight, you could also follow the current trend of hiding appliances big or small behind doors and sliding wood panels. You can even tuck away the fridge by installing a counter-depth model and covering the sides so that it blends into the decor. For a streamlined kitchen, you’ve got plenty of design options to show off your best life!
