Are you making these common kitchen renovation mistakes? Before you start, check out our remodel strategy to get the kitchen you covet—within your budget and time.
In our Indian homes, the kitchen is the magical corner of the house. It is that room that fills our stomachs (and our hearts). ❤️ Since the kitchen is where most of the work of the house happens, it becomes crucial that they are made to be super functional, user-friendly, and beautiful simultaneously.
So here are some valuable tips to help create and integrate the kitchen of your dreams.
Step 1: Chalk out a roadmap
Planning is essential as it keeps you in synergy with your budget. Every family has its own set of unique requisites. If you list these requirements in a roadmap-cum-checklist, it allows you to translate your needs into reality and have an efficient kitchen.
For any reconstruction, the most important step is to have a plan in place. A thorough roadmap that envisages the area in hand, the budgets, the ideas you wish to incorporate, the electronic kitchen devices you want to install, and so on will help you achieve the desired outcome.
You’ll need to finalize the kitchen layout before you secede on fixtures, fittings, or materials.
Step 2: Optimize the unnoticed corners of the kitchen
Sometimes, we may have nooks and corners in our kitchens that seem to be free and wasted spaces. For example, if the kitchen has a beam or a pillar passing through, the area around them looks useless. Such areas can potentially be used to make cabinets and additional storage spaces that could be of great use.
Modern kitchen designs start with a classical ‘wrap around’ layout- L or U shape.
Step 3: Make a kitchen that is accessible
Remodeling a kitchen is overwhelming, so sometimes, we may not pay attention to the kitchen’s smaller yet important aspects. Things like bottom storage drawers, building a countertop, installing ovens, and installing the water purifier at an easily accessible height are some fundamental factors that need to be considered.
Step 4: Identify Kitchen sinks and utensil drying area
Most homes today have kitchens that are not spacious. They may be of a decent size or sometimes even smaller, but large kitchens are becoming extinct. For smaller kitchens, it becomes important to install everything based on its size in the space available.
However, kitchen sinks should be an exception because more oversized utensils need space to clean. Installing a kitchen sink that is wider and deeper allows the space one needs to wash utensils and also avoids the turmoil of water splashing out. In addition to this, having a sizable area on the counter to dry the utensils would be perfect for those utensils to sit out to dry.
Sink grids provide a clean surface to rinse your fruit and vegetables.
Step 6: Install an extractor/ chimney
Our Indian kitchens witness the battles of tempering and pressure cooking whistles almost every day. The vapours of these activities can lead to a steep rise in the humidity inside the kitchens. Having an extractor fan or a chimney above the cooking hobs will instantly suck away the smokes and vapours, leaving your kitchen air dry and odourless.
Step 7: Install Durable Kitchen Tiles
Installing tiles with a suited colour palette that looks beautiful while having one that is easy to clean will reduce the maintenance woes and make life easy. This is yet another significant factor while remodeling the kitchen. Some of the popular colours in the kitchen include but are not restricted to white, off whites, beige, grey, and neutral shades like pastel green, pinks and oranges.
They are also available in many sizes, including 600×600 mm, 600×1200 mm, 800×1600 mm, 145×600 mm, and 195×1200 mm. All kitchen tiles at Orientbell Tiles are segregated into different finishes – matte, glossy, super glossy, satin matte, metallic, rocker, and sugar/lapato.
Earlier, our kitchens had shelves and cabinets with doors. We have moved from those doors to pull-out drawers thanks to modern-day innovations. These drawers have extremely smooth channels that make the retracement easy and hassle-free. Replacing the good ol’ shelves with pull-out drawers has made it easy for those homes with the elderly. They can now access everything with ease and comfort without any trouble.
When buying cabinets, make sure they are quality. You used to be able to tell by checking for drawers with dovetail joints.
Despite their appealing appearance, open kitchens are not recommended for heavy-duty kitchens. An open kitchen means all the food vapours are set out and can travel to the living rooms. This could make the living rooms smell like kitchens, something that not everyone may wish to have. Having a separate, enclosed kitchen allows you privacy and keeps the high-volume aromas and vapours at bay.
Mannika Mitra brings a wealth of experience to her role as Digital Content and Marketing Manager at Orientbell Tiles, having been associated with the company for the past 5 years. With a total of 12 years in the industry, Mannika holds an Arts degree from Delhi University and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication. Her journey has seen her excel as a digital producer at esteemed news agencies like ANI, NDTV, and Hindustan Times.
PGVT Calacatta Natura 600×1200 mm
