6 Top Tips to Future-Proof your New Kitchen
A new kitchen is likely to be the largest purchase you make for your home and, whether it involves an extension or just a new layout, you’ll want the room to look as good throughout its lifetime as it did the day it was installed. Looks aren’t everything though, you’ll also need to future-proof the design so that it will keep working for you in years to come.
Read on for 6 top tips to help you future-proof your new kitchen…
1. Top Quality Products…
Always choose the best kitchen brand that you can afford. High quality units are solid and will maintain their shape and the door and drawer fronts are manufactured to a higher standard to withstand day to day life without discolouration or warping. If you need to make savings elsewhere, opt for less expensive flooring, accessories or tiles as they’re more easily changed later on when you can afford to upgrade them.
2. Listen to your Heart…
The best piece of advice to future-proof your kitchen is to choose a style that you really love. Trying to predict trends or choosing a style because that’s what everyone else is having, isn’t going to make you happy in the long term. If you like traditional, go for traditional. If you’re a minimalist, have a sleek white kitchen. If you’ve always wanted a blue kitchen, go for it! Staying true to yourself will guarantee you’ll love your kitchen for a long time into the future.
3. Clever Storage…
Storage is essential in any kitchen and a well-designed kitchen will be brimming with clever storage solutions to make the most of each and every cupboard and drawer, which will never go out of style. When designing your kitchen, think about the practicalities and aim to keep your worktops clear. If you allow clutter on the surfaces, the room will feel untidy and small. Remember, you can never have enough storage and even if you don’t utilise it all now, you’re sure to collect more crockery, pots and pans in the future.
4. Inspect your Gadgets! (You’re singing the theme tune in your head now, aren’t you?!)
Most of us have a gadget or two sat in the back of the kitchen cupboard, unused and unloved. Perhaps you’re not going to spiralise all your vegetables after all…or make fresh bread every day…or fondue anything…ever! However, the right kitchen gadgets that make life easier or more fun will be used and loved forever. A boil tap is a definite winner, boiling hot water at the turn of the tap. An integrated sound system which transforms any flat surface (e.g. plinths) into a speaker is a great tech-gadget and for coffee lovers, an integrated coffee machine is an investment you’ll never regret.
5. Be Ergonomic…
Ergonomic kitchen design minimises unnecessary movement so less time and energy is used walking, bending, twisting and lifting resulting in a more efficient work space (and a less tired you!) ‘The kitchen work triangle’ aims to create a minimum distance between the cooking zone, preparation area and fridge-freezer, ensuring optimum efficiency in the main area of the room. This ergonomic idea was developed 100 years ago and is still the backbone of many kitchen designs. A good designer will help you with positioning your appliances in a way to optimise the efficiency of the working area in your kitchen.
6. Mindful Planning…
It’s exciting planning a new kitchen and inevitably you’ll be thinking about the end result but, a kitchen is as much use as a chocolate teapot if it doesn’t work on a practical level! An experienced designer will be clued up on ‘the boring stuff’ as well as being able to use their creativity to give you a beautiful room for your home. It’s necessary to plan where the bin will go, where to store the vacuum cleaner and which will be the cutlery drawer. These things may be a bit boring but they really matter and it’s too late once the kitchen’s fitted to discover that there isn’t enough room to open the dishwasher door! A kitchen that works well and gives you everything you need will ensure you don’t outgrow it and therefore future-proof the design.
It’s important to take time with your designer to get the design and layout right so that your kitchen will suit you and your family’s lifestyle now and well into the future. Buying quality products will ensure the appearance of your kitchen will last for many years too. A new kitchen is a big investment but get it right, and you’ll never regret it.
