Upgrading & Designing Your Kitchen Effectively

Source: Pexels
A kitchen can say as much about its owner’s personality as the style in which they dress themselves. Sure, there are baseline and common things to expect. A countertop is as essential as adorning underwear, and a sink as important as retaining warmth from the elements. That being said, despite these fundamental conditions, there are many elements of style, practicality and design that can show you the intentions of the home cook in their kitchen, as well as their practical degree of knowledge.

You needn’t be Gordon Ramsay with two or more kitchens in your household to have a promising and worthwhile place to cook, however. In fact, upgrading and designing your kitchen effectively can be achieved through careful research and the understanding of what items you may wish to bring home.

Thankfully, this needn’t be something you have to have inside information or any kind of culinary training to understand. In the following words, we hope to demonstrate this, and perhaps also give you some competent and rewarding measures to upgrade and design your kitchen effectively. With the following advice, you’ll see how:

Countertop Space
Countertop space is essential when cooking. This is quite clear and apparent. Not only does it host your ability to use temporary placements such as a cutting board, but also to store your appliances and non-larder cooking ingredients, such as your humble herb garden or preserves and seasoning. Not all homes have plenty of countertop space to use, but this shouldn’t be considered a justification for never spending time in your kitchen, or thinking that your cooking is inferior. A nearby table can serve the same function, or perhaps storing some of your countertop appliances and rarely used tools, even in a nearby cupboard, can help open this space up to some degree.

Ventilation
Ventilation matters, and for many reasons. Not only do the lovely smells of your cooking efforts rise throughout the entire house, but it can be that for certain cooking functions, such as using a cast iron grill to thoroughly cook a steak, you may find that the smoke that rises from said process can be questionable to say the least. Flipping on our smoke alarms, while it’s good that they still work, is not to be considered a great or accurate cooking measurement, meaning that a ventilation unit, installing a convention fan, opening a nearby window and using an air purifier to keep the space neutral can all be a worthwhile consequence to help you out in the best possible manner.

Keep Things Themed
Keep things themed within your kitchen. Perhaps you wish to have stainless steel handles for most of your tools, or perhaps those that are more easily gripped. Maybe you wish to theme the color of your oven-gloves the same eggshell color as your AGA or other oven unit. Maybe you wish to invest in a Japanese kitchen knife, folded in the same way as Katana blades are, and this can help compliment the minimal theme you wish to go for.

While from a practical perspective theming your kitchen in this light may have little value, it can look tremendous, and help you enjoy spending time within this environment in the best possible sense. That is unquestionably a luxury to shoot for if this sounds like something you’d appreciate.

The Convenient Essentials
Conveniences can truly make a worthwhile and large impact in any kitchen. In fact, it can help you feel more comfortable within that space. One of the largest and most convenient investments you can make is in an excellent coffee machine. With a brilliant KeepCup your taste beverages will take on a new light, and you’ll be sure to care for the environment as far as that’s concerned. Why not keep a collection of your favorite imported coffees of many kinds of different bean? Odds are that this can fuel your days much more appropriately than the instant options you have been relying on thus far.

Additionally, an excellent pressure cooker can make all the difference. Some might find these appliances scary, but there’s really nothing to fear. Instant Pot and Crock Pot Express are the two most common names in the marketplace right now, but there are also many other excellent options out there you can find with a little research. Put simply, a pressure cooker uses a sealed chamber to bring water to boiling point, and then compresses that steam to give a thorough and even cooking experience for many different types of food. Oats, chili, chicken, these are just three of the thousands of meals you can create in said unit. If you like to enjoy your kitchen at a more leisurely pace, the easy-prepare and leave-on nature of a pressure cooker can get you back in the kitchen, and focus on the rest of your busy responsibilities while you wait for the recipe to come out well.


Source: Pexels

Appliances & Tools
Furthermore, excellent appliances and tools in your kitchen can ensure you wish to stay cooking at home all of the time you can, as there’s nothing more fun than enjoying a new, worthwhile piece of gear here. Appliances such as blenders or smoothie makers can help you start out enjoying a range of fruits and vegetables each day, allowing you to hit all of your mineral macros before lunchtime even hits.

It might also be that simple things, such as a convention plug-socket hob can help you quickly cook items using your compatible convention cookware. This is known to allow for a more evening cooking experience where heat is transferred directly into the pan, allowing for speedier and safer cooking. No matter what you choose, make sure that you invest in quality items, and only the items that you are surely going to use. Excess tools, such as storage containers or otherwise, can help you participate in practices such as meal prep Sunday. This can be thoroughly restorative for the new home cook, and so it’s worth keeping it in mind.

Cleaning Space
One dreaded part of cooking at home is having to wash everything up afterwards. Of course, it might be that if you have a spouse, you agree that they will wash up if you cook the meals, or vice versa depending on the day. However, it’s also important to ensure your kitchen is able to help you in this process more comfortable. A rack for your draining board will ensure that moisture drips from your plates only for you to store them immediately after. Additionally, it could be that a dishwasher can help you soak off hard stains and care for the majority of your washing items. 

We would also recommend simple tactics, such as slightly raised tiles against the wall, just in case your cooking splashes sauce stains or other offshoots from a natural cooking process. No meal is good enough to damage your family home for, after all. Additionally, purchasing a range of high-quality non-toxic cleaning chemicals can ensure your cleaning efforts are not pollutive or give your property a sense that artificial chemical smell hard on your skin and nose.

To Summarize
Your kitchen is your kitchen, and whatever helps you feel peaceful, creative, and hungry in that space is likely a good thing. Do not feel as though you have to match some kind of ideal to have a good kitchen. If you can cook great meals, enjoy time with your friends and do not mind the time you spend in there, it’s likely more than fit for purpose.

With these tips, we hope you can get to that level appropriately.

Source: Pexels
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post.

Thank you so much for reading this guide on upgrading and designing your kitchen effectively - I really hope this can help some of you who have this idea in mind!


Have you thought about upgrading/redesigning your kitchen? If so, what elements do you look for when creating your ideal cooking space?


Let me know in the comments section below (after following my blog, of course...) along with any other feedback, questions or criticisms that you may have - I love hearing from you!


Until next time,

Marina Rosie x 

11 comments

  1. Beautiful and a very helpful article. When we were purchasing our home we had to consider so much more than we ever had to when renting. Cleaning was a big thing for us! And storage.

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  2. If only I had a big kitchen. My kitchen is small but functional

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  3. Another thing that I have found essential in all of our kitchen remodels, is to add enough plugs. We plug so many things on all that counterspace!

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  4. I really want to gut my kitchen, I'm kind of over it. Maybe one day! Thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!

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  5. What an interesting read, filled with such helpful tips. We love nice coffee machines and we've been using KeepCup to bring our coffee to work. ~ Ola @ WanderWithOla

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  6. i so love watching and seeing house transformations. :) :) great shift you have here!!!

    cha @ littlemisadvencha.com

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  7. Great post! We did a mini-makeover of our kitchen a few months ago - got new counters and appliances, and a fun new backsplash. Changed the vibe in there completely, from dark to bright and modern. So in love with it now, though it's still SUPER tiny (NYC living) but there's nothing we can do about that... so I have to be smart about the extra appliances. We have to keep it simple: Instant Pot, toaster oven, and Ninja Blender - all tucked away in cabinets unless in use.

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  8. This is super helpful for some people, as an architect I deal with similar 'issues' all the time... and yes... it't important that person who's using a kitchen is satisfied.

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  9. When I dream of my "dream house" it's always the kitchen that I fantasize about the most. I would love to have one that I can enjoy cooking in with my grandchildren around me.

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  10. I'm obsessed with kitchens. It's my favorite part of the house. The thing is that I'm not that into cooking all day, every day hahaha I just looove having a nice and equipped kitchen. Thanks for the tips!

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  11. I like to keep my counters and flat surfaced clear and clean. Everyone in the family likes to put whatever on them though, and it clutters fast and drives me crazy.

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