The kitchen is often considered the heart of every home. It’s where all the household members gather several times a day to share a meal, relax, hang out, and catch up. It’s also where the food and meals are prepared and cooked.
You may be happy with the way your kitchen is initially, especially if it seems like just the right size for everyone in your household. However, as your family grows, you may start to change your mind. Soon enough, the kitchen will feel cramped, and the overall space may not be enough to hold both family members and house guests.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to find a new home with a more spacious kitchen. Fortunately, there are a few changes and renovations you can make to help reconfigure your kitchen space and make it more spacious.
Here are five kitchen design ideas you can try, which may be perfect for your growing family.
Perhaps your kitchen is starting to feel too small when you gather there for family meals—more so when you have guests over. In that case, you may want to consider adding a kitchen island with extra seating options. This way, you can have more seating room whenever you need to cook, chat, or simply hang out with guests or family members in the kitchen.
To ensure you choose a suitable kitchen island for your home, you can call on the help of a company specializing in kitchen renovations in Sydney or other professional renovation companies in your local area. With their expertise, they can help design and customize the best kitchen island for your home, depending on the available kitchen space and your desired aesthetic.
When your family starts to grow in number, the amount of food and groceries you buy will understandably increase as well. But your countertops and kitchen cupboards can only hold so much. One great idea to consider is building a walk-in pantry. This will give you more storage space for kitchen supplies, snacks, ingredients, beverages, and canned goods. A walk-in pantry can also be a worthy investment, especially if you’re planning to sell your home in the future.
There are numerous ways to add a walk-in pantry that won’t require knocking down a wall. You can buy a stand-alone wire shelving or a mobile cart, or you could utilize the back of your kitchen door by adding hooks or door racks. Ultimately, a walk-in pantry with more shelving can provide more space for your kitchen necessities.
Aside from the increasing amount of food and groceries, it’s also likely that you’ll need to buy more dishes and silverware. With that comes the need for more space in which to store them. If your kitchen layout and space allow, you can add more kitchen cabinets to your walls or switch them out for more spacious types. You can also upgrade your kitchen cabinetry by adding pull-out drawers or soft-close drawers for your pans, pots, and other cooking tools.
Space organization is crucial to keeping your kitchen family-friendly. Now that your family is growing, establishing an organization system is even more important to ensure that all family members—even the children—know how to locate what they need without scrambling through all the drawers and cabinets in your kitchen.
To do this, you can differentiate the storage containers for each household member by using color-coded or labeled containers and placing them in designated areas. For instance, if your kids have their own food preferences and are old enough to get snacks by themselves, you may assign their storage to the lower drawers so they can easily reach for it. Meanwhile, for ingredients or foods that they won’t want or use, you can place them in higher areas that only adults can access.
You must also plan for the storage of dangerous kitchen tools, such as knives, scissors, and slicers. Ensure that they’re safely locked away at all times when not in use. The same goes for breakable items, like glassware and dishware.
More kitchenware means more dishes, glasses, pots, and pans to wash. To accommodate this, consult a reliable kitchen contractor for sink options and see which type would suit your kitchen best in terms of size and style. Getting a deeper sink is best for large families, as it gives you more room to work with.
Wrapping Up
When redesigning a kitchen for your growing family, you’ll need to consider the needs of everyone in the household. With a larger and well-designed kitchen, you and your family can easily share the space and go about your tasks together without feeling cramped. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy and utilize the space for cooking, dining, and relaxing as a group.
References:
“Is The Kitchen The Most Important Room Of The Home?” Updated June 13, 2022. Accessed July 2022. Source: https://www.mymove.com/home-inspiration/kitchen/is-the-kitchen-the-most-important-room-of-the-home/
“Shallow Vs. Deep Kitchen Sinks: Which One Is Right For Me?” Updated February 16, 2022. Accessed July 2022. Source: https://www.angi.com/articles/shallow-vs-deep-kitchen-sinks.htm
“Walk-In Pantry Ideas You’ll Want To Copy In Your Own Kitchen.” Published December 30, 2021. Accessed July 2022. Source: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/walk-in-pantry-ideas/