School holidays are here and it is likely that you are feeling like 90% of your time is spent in the kitchen managing the constant demand for meals, snacks… oh and yet more snacks! So, with that in mind, here is our rundown of our 5 top tips when planning a family kitchen space.
1. Storage
Once you have a family, you quickly realise that storage is the key to keeping your house organised whilst being mindful not to have everything accessible for little hands. When planning your family kitchen storage, make sure you allow for an additional empty cupboard or two, as this allows for flexibility when your family grows or even simply for the Christmas stockpile! Floor-to-ceiling cupboards with internal pull-out draws are brilliant for dry store items. These make it easy for older kids to access cereals and snacks, if you are happy for them to help themselves on busy mornings.
Drawers underneath the sink are great for hiding all the cleaning cloths and washing up liquid if you want to maintain a clutter-free workspace. If you choose to have a Quooker Tap, a drawer can be fitted around the tank giving you the perfect place for tea/coffee/sugar. This provides easy access when making a cup of tea at lightning speed!
2. Kitchen Island Seating
A kitchen island is the must have item on most people’s family kitchen wish list and it really is a great addition to any kitchen renovation. Sometimes however, people don’t always get it right. The position of seating should be well thought through, particularly if you have children to accommodate. If you have a young family you need to consider where the seating is in relation to the hob. Although this often works well when you are entertaining, you need to ensure that it is well out of reach of curious kids.
You will find that even if you have a dining table, once an island is introduced pretty much all meals tend to take place on bar stools, as it often feels more relaxed. So making sure there is capacity for all the family, if the space allows, is worth thinking about.
3. Kitchen Cabinet Finish
Cabinet finishes that shopw fingerprints are something that you want to avoid in a family kitchen, unless you want to dedicate the next 10 years to cleaning your cupboards. So, the finish that you choose is very important. A matt black kitchens have been a huge trend for the last few years but despite ‘anti fingerprint’ technology being introduced, you will find that you can’t totally escape the pesky mucky paws.
Choosing a textured finish is a great way to hide any marks and splashes. The Roma handleless kitchen in a slate finish has been put through the mill in a recent kitchen installation and it’s passed the kid friendly test with flying colours!
4. Flooring
Your flooring needs to compliment the style and colour of your bespoke kitchen and if you want to keep the mopping to a minimum, then we would recommend a wood or tile option, with a texture or irregular design. This would allow for footprints, spills and splashes to blend into the background. A great hack to not only give your kitchen a little bit of character, but also help keep floors clean, is to place a non-slip washable rug in front of an island. This is particularly affective if this is where the sink is situated. This will have the benefit of catching drops when washing up, preventing them being walked around the house or alternatively keeping you cosy as you stand at the hob if you have a hard floor.
5. Gadgets
Oh, how we love a kitchen gadget and even more so ones that make family living that little bit easier. There are so many to choose from and if we had to pick out our top three, they would be:
- Quooker Tap – a super speedy morning cuppa is essential for busy family life. The tap also makes boiling water a lot safer than using a traditional kettle when you have little ones in the house.
- Ovens with a ‘fast heat’ setting – how many times have the kids asked if dinner is ready and the oven is still heating up? Case closed!
- Dishwasher with an eco and time delay setting – energy prices are a problem that isn’t going away anytime soon, so being able to use any appliance on an energy efficient setting is an absolute must and if your kitchen is part of an open plan living space, being able to time delay it for the middle of the night so it isn’t whirring away whilst you are watching your favourite Netflix drama!
