You may have read I recently moved home. One of the biggest upheavals has been trying to unpack all the necessary items from the old kitchen (a modern design in a modern house) into our new kitchen (a bespoke design in an old house) which was installed only a few years ago, but with the needs of a professional couple in mind rather than a hungry army of children in an endless array of sleepovers and impromptu invites to tea.
When we looked around the new property, it all looked very nice. However, now that we're unpacking, we realise that looks don't count for much if half your crockery and your tinned goods have to stand on a shelf unit that is supposed to be toy storage. We need help.
Perhaps we're not good at adapting? It's a lot of trivial things piling up I guess. For example: the fridge is a 50/50 same size as freezer compartment beneath it. We have a bigger freezer than we're used to but no room for a bigger fridge. With 3 kids and 2 visiting at weekends, fridge space is a premium - the kind normally reserved for a malibu beach front property.
Then there's the draining board (or lack of) since the 'new' kitchen has a lovely inset belfast sink but no draining board. We can fill the dishwasher up with one sitting at dinner time. We've resorted to washing the leftovers by hand and draining on a tea-towel laid flat on the worktop but you don't see that in kitchen brochures do you? And we accrue soggy tea towels like they're going out of fashion.
"we accrue soggy tea-towels like they're going out of fashion"
The 'stove'. It's lovely, it really is. With it's large centre ring for those fish poaching pans and an extra 'power-burn' ring for woks. All stainless steel - well you get the picture. Trouble is, it's built into an old fireplace away from the worktops so we find we're having to carry hot pans across half the kitchen - not good when 4 cats and 5 kids are trying to trip you up.
But it's the cupboards that really make life difficult - where to unpack a weeks shopping for a large family, compared to the professional couple who probably eat out every night. We're using plastic toy tubs that stack inside the cupboards etc but in reality we could do with half as much cupboard / shelf space again.
Reading this back, I'm afraid I'm coming across a bit negative. Don't get me wrong, we love our new house and there's plenty to keep us busy in the decorating department for quite a while, but once we're straight, I daresay we'll be looking at the kitchen from a family friendly perspective.
"we've discovered it's easy to try and make do"
Looking back over the past few weeks, we've discovered it's very easy to try and make do with a poor design, or rather, a design that wasn't built around you, but that 'good will' only stretches so far. Remember as adults we spend a lot of time in the kitchen so it has to be right. You don't have to forsake looks for function, you just need to give your plans a little more thought.
This is where a professional kitchen company really come into their own. Not only do they have the tools to tailor the build to your dimensions and needs, but they have the experience to be able to draw on and produce a layout that gives you just about everything you desire. Sure there may have to be compromises but at least you'll be able to discuss them with someone who's faced similar needs in a kitchen design before.
Let us give you an instant online quote for a new kitchen, which we can follow up with putting you in touch with quality kitchen companies local to you if you so desire. Visit Kitchen Quoter for your free online quote now.
photo credit: shimelle
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