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You don’t have to live in your forever home to have your dream kitchen. Here’s how to turn any less-than-desirable kitchen into a room you will enjoy and use to no end.
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A dream kitchen is a kitchen that you don’t have to spend a lot of time labouring in. You want everything to run smoothly and as efficiently as possible, while still being able to enjoy the time you spend there.
We spoke to Oak + Orange designer, Heather Gampe, for some adaptable solutions to ensure your kitchen runs like a well-oiled (and then easily cleaned) machine.
Find innovative storage solutions
Heather encourages you to invest in plenty of pull-out storage solutions.
“Pull-out bins and pull-out pantries are great to hide kitchen items but then easily access them when needed,” she says. “Also, kitchen drawers are a great idea now because everyone hates that corner cupboard.”
Also, get smart about how you organise your items. Use baskets or tubs to group together similar cans, oils or sauces and invest in uniform canisters to ensure everything can be stacked and packed tightly and neatly. Just don’t forget to label them!
Your fridge is essentially a pantry for perishables, so it needs to have efficient storage solutions, too.
The FlexSpace drawer on certain Westinghouse fridges has many uses – drinks storage, freezer or an accessible place to keep deli snacks for when surprise guests pop in. Choose one of five settings to adapt the drawer to your current needs so you can eliminate the endless fridge/freezer shuffle.
A fridge drawer that does whatever you need it to do.
Get top-notch appliances
Thanks to the latest technology, some kitchen appliances can practically do all the work for you. Well, maybe not exactly, but they can certainly reduce your time and effort in the kitchen!
Most modern ovens now come with a self-cleaning function, perfect for when those delicious dishes bubble over when cooking, while dishwashers can also cut down on time spent scrubbing away after enjoying a home-cooked meal.
An oven that saves you time cleaning will become your best friend!
“The Westinghouse pyrolytic oven is self-cleaning, which saves you a lot of time in having to do that part yourself,” Heather says. “It’s also extremely fast to heat up, so it saves you waiting around to cook your meal.”
Maximise bench space
To help keep your bench top clutter free, Heather suggests putting whatever you can into storage.
“Those little kitchen nooks where you can put your kettle or your toaster are great for keeping things clear,” she begins. “But if you’re really lacking in bench space, you can always try getting a butcher’s block or a portable surface that you can stow away afterwards.”
Heather also adds that induction cooktops with their flat surfaces can make a space look bigger as they are far less bulky than traditional stove tops. While they shouldn’t be used as an additional work surface, it can be handy if you need to move something out of the way for a short time.
Think about your layout
“We’ve moved away from the [kitchen work] triangle and more into zones,” Heather says. “A zoned kitchen is one where features are grouped by function or use.”
To start zoning your kitchen, make sure your pots, pans and utensils are in the same area as your cooktop and oven. Similarly, your sink, bin and dishwasher can be grouped together in a zone.
Is there enough bench space accessible to the oven door for placing hot pans in a hurry?
While you might not be in a position to move your oven, you can play with your storage and the location of more portable kitchen items to improve your flow when cooking and cleaning.
Make things easier to clean
There are many ways you can make your kitchen easier to clean.
“I’m obsessed with a pull out sink mixer [hose] because they make cleaning and rinsing your dishes so much easier,” Heather says. “They’re also not that much more expensive than a regular tap – unless you want the Rolls Royce of sink mixers – but generally not too much.”
A pull out sink mixer can be a game changer.
Furthermore, if fingerprints and smudges are a bugbear of yours, you will want a kitchen built with matte products all round. We’re talking matte tap ware, matte cabinets and even matte paint.
“You’ll also want to give some consideration to your splash back,” Heather adds. “Glass and mirrored splash backs are harder to keep clean because you get a lot of streaks when you’re wiping them down. Tiles can be a good option, but be careful with your grout choice because it can stain easily. Otherwise, if you’ve got the budget for it, you can have a stone splash back.”
The post How to get your dream kitchen in any home appeared first on realestate.com.au.
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