Trendy kitchen

Your kitchen is your haven. It's another room in your home. Irrespective of how much of time you spend there, dress it up the way you would any other room in your house. With the appropriate decoration you will find that you and your family can spend more time there enjoying the space.

So how do we do that?
Let's take a look at the basics. There should be a place for everything. i.e. the utensils, the pots and pans, the masala boxes, the appliances the bread box and so on and so forth. This way you will have access to whatever you need with out having to hunt for it. This is indeed a way of ensuring order in your kitchen. Pick a decorating style where most of your stuff is tucked away out of site except for the larger pots and pans. It should be simple, easy to maintain, no fuss and should ensure there are very few things sitting out on the counters. All pots and pans, each piece of cutlery, ladle should have its place.

Use the outer space to hang up your pots and pans. When shopping for them, pick the ones which go with the over all theme of your kitchen. This way they double up as pieces of art when not in use. Select only a few of your very best items and store the rest out of sight. Line your items on the shelves in artful vignettes, just as you would if they were in your living room, with curios. Shop for containers, bowls, serving dishes, etc., that have interesting designs and shapes that look good and have utility value as well.

Your kitchen should reflect your personality; you may display china, crockery cutlery and other decorative pieces. So, the cabinets and drawers should be designed to make optimum use of the space and make things easier to find. You may transform the style of your kitchen with some simple changes such as self-closing cabinet doors with magnetic locks, drawers that slide out smoothly, pull-out baskets or corner units.

Pick appliances for your kitchen depending on your eating and cooking habits. Remember that many appliances can be built into the kitchen counters, some by virtue of their designs do not lend themselves to that. It would be best to plan on buying appliances when you are doing up your kitchen. For example, the hobs would go onto your kitchen counter, the oven and dishwasher would find a place over there as well. The most popular options of wide range of cooking appliances will include an oven or a microwave oven, gas stove, food processor, refrigerator, dishwasher, exhaust chimney and fans. Some of these can be built into the kitchen unit, the rest would be freestanding.

Choose the oven and refrigerator according to your needs and size of your family. Ergonomics are not for office spaces alone. They play an important role in kitchens as well. All appliances and cooking utensils should be within stepping distance of each other. This way you will save time walking around to locate stuff and this can be easy on your back as well. For example, the refrigerator can be placed near the kitchen countertop allowing you to pack in veggies and take them out when required easily.

Likewise, the dishwasher should be placed near the sink as well. The kitchen counter should be at your waist level - this way you won't strain yourself while cooking. Smart thinking will help you go a long way in preserving your health.

An ordinary looking kitchen can make a distinct style statement with lively accoutrements. And it does no longer have to tug at your purse strings. Here are some inexpensive tips to get your imagination started:

All in wood

For a traditional old world look, try colonial-style shutters to cover an entire window or merely the lower half. You can paint the shutters to match the trim or the wall colour or stain them to match wood cabinet tones. If you are looking at giving your kitchen a cottage look, try attaching wooden shutters opening on the outside. A small window box of plants or row of flowers on the sill will give the window a year-round countryside look. A less expensive option is a simple glass shelf or two installed across the window on which to grow and display herbs, small plants or flowers.

Fantasy with fabric

Swag a length of fabric over a decorative rod, either by itself or in combination with a simple café curtain. Use coordinating fabric from chair seats or tablecloths to create a valance or tiebacks for ready-made panels. Yellow can make any drab looking kitchen come alive and cheery. Buttercup yellow flannel curtains with tiny primroses and marigolds embroidered on them are certain to pep up your culinary forays. Have the same colour scheme on cushions for your kitchen table chairs.

Art at work

Blank walls can be brought to life with some old family photographs of happy moments. If there are children in the house, make a colourful collage of their playtime pictures. Group together pictures in chronological order to lend some interesting features to an ordinary kitchen. Paintings or crayon scribbles by your children can be framed and put up on the wall opposite chairs so it could cheer them when they are at the table.

Source: Times of India

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