Turning drab into dreamy: how to make your kitchen the heart of the home?
Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
The kitchen is the room where most families start and end their days – it is the room where they prepare breakfasts and pack their snacks, space where they enjoy their lunch together while talking about how their days went, and also the place where they share a laugh over dinner and play board games. Simply put, the kitchen brings the family together, so it’s no wonder it’s considered to be the heart of every home. In order to make your kitchen feel homey, warm, and welcoming, here is a list of five things you can tackle right now.
Make your kitchen family-friendly
Aside from the living room, your kitchen is the place where you and your family will be spending most of the time when you’re home. Therefore, it’s only logical that it needs to be designed in a way that is family-friendly and easy for all family members to use on a daily basis. Kitchen islands with seating help create a good kitchen flow and are great for when you’re multitasking and need to watch your kids at the same time. Introduce open shelving for your pantry so your family members can easily access everything they may need, and add a couple of baskets that you’ll use to store all the items and keep the pantry clean and organized.
Add some color into your kitchen
One of the simplest ways to give your kitchen a makeover is to change up its colors. However, that doesn’t mean that it needs to look like a children’s room, painted in every color of the rainbow. Simply sticking to a certain color palette will go a long way in designing a space that looks uniform and cohesive, but still family-friendly and welcoming. You could go with a pastel hue for your kitchen as it will add a bit of color without going over the top, or you could use a more neutral color scheme, such as a combination of black and white, and then add pops of color with details such as textiles, kitchen utensils, and decor, thus enhancing the visual interest of the room.
Make your kitchen work for you
When designing your kitchen space, you need to make sure it works for you. Talk to your family members and try to make a rough draft of what your future kitchen should look like. Chances are, you’ll realize that you need to change up a lot of things – from appliances and storage to a new style and a new, more functional layout – there may be a lot of things that you don’t like about your current kitchen space. However, you’re not alone – 1 in 6 Australians aren’t happy with their homes, which is why they choose to renovate every so often. They often consult with professionals for kitchen and bathroom renovations in Sydney to save both time and money and rely on the experts that have their best interests in mind.
Childproof your kitchen space
Safety should be, without a doubt, one of your top priorities when designing a kitchen that is kid-friendly. To make your kitchen feel safe and secure, be sure to introduce various safety features throughout the room. A secure baby gate is a great way to keep your kids out of the kitchen space that can be quite dangerous for kids to be around, especially since they like to explore and climb on the counters. Use safety locks for drawers where you keep chemicals and knives, or simply store them high up on the shelf that they can’t reach them.
Incorporate a chalkboard into your kitchen design
An inexpensive way to turn your kitchen into a fun zone is to incorporate a chalkboard into your kitchen design. A chalkboard will come in handy for writing to-do notes and grocery lists, but it also doubles as a blank canvas for your kids to draw on and decorate your kitchen with their artwork. Installing a chalkboard in your kitchen means that your children can do their homework while you’re preparing a meal, or they can enjoy a fun game of noughts and crosses before dinnertime. It can also be used as a weekly menu, a board for silly notes, or if your kids are older, a place for writing chore charts with names of all family members.
The centre of many family activities, your kitchen should be set up in such a way that it can handle everything – from playing games and doing homework to preparing meals and enjoying the company of your family members. Use the tips above as a guide for designing a space that is fun and family-friendly, thus turning a drab kitchen into a dreamy, cozy space for the whole family to enjoy.
Author BIO
Tracey Clayton is a working mom of three girls. She feels she knows a thing or two about raising happy, healthy and confident kids, and offers helpful advice in her parenting articles. Her motto is: “Live the life you love, love the life you live.”