The holidays are a great time to connect with family and reflect on the past year while bonding over a hot, homemade meal. That said, it’s also a time when lots of folks are faced with the various shortcomings of their kitchen’s efficiency and functionality.
The kitchen is the central hub of most homes, so it should reflect the needs of the household. If you’re big into hosting and entertaining, then custom renovations can optimize your ability to do that. On the other hand, if you’re more about quiet evenings in with the family, then your kitchen can be designed to better cultivate that, too.
The point is, no matter your lifestyle and its needs, the way your kitchen is designed can serve to enhance your quality of daily living. So, let’s take a look at some popular kitchen renovation ideas and explore how they can improve your life in the new year.
If your family tends to congregate in the kitchen for homework, snacks, and to decompress from the day, then consider an open concept layout. When the cooking area seamlessly flows into the dining room, it creates an inviting atmosphere that encourages the family to gather ‘round and talk, all the while making it easier to be together for meal preparations and post-meal clean-up.
If you have a lot of little ones running around in the house, you might be concerned about small hands unknowingly touching hot or sharp surfaces. Purposefully directing traffic by keeping the cooktop out of high traffic areas (away from the refrigerator and pantry) can go a long way when it comes to creating a stress-free, kid-friendly environment. Of course, it can also help to protect the cook from endless distractions and interruptions.
A kitchen island can serve a wide variety of purposes; it can be utilized as extra counter space for cooking, a workstation for homework, or an everyday dining area for the family. If you’re always struggling for space to cook, a wide island near the stove can be a total game-changer. And if your family is always looking to hang out in the kitchen, an island overhang with stools tucked underneath can make a big difference. Think about what your needs are and whether your current island is serving them in the best way possible.
If the stove is the heart of the kitchen, then the cabinetry is the brain. Designing custom cabinets to suit your needs can be truly life-changing, and there are endless possibilities. Cabinets can be created for trash and recycling, for extra storage space, to hide unsightly appliances, to safely store sharp objects away for children—basically any kitchen obstacle you can think of, custom cabinets can be a solution.
Like we mentioned, kitchens often serve as the central hub of communications and happenings in the home. Creating a control center to keep those happenings organized can make your life a whole lot easier. For instance, you can integrate a wall designated for scheduling with calendars the family can easily see and contribute to, a charging station for phones and tablets, or a message area for people to relay important messages to one another in passing.
No matter your lifestyle, chances are there’s a kitchen remodeling idea (or five) that can make it even better. And there’s no better time to finally make it happen than when embarking on the new year.