Kitchens play an important role in our homes, and the kitchen is where the “magic” happens. If you haven’t noticed, a kitchen is where you share a brief but important time with your loved ones. It is not only for refueling your body but also refueling and rekindling your connection to everyone. This is why a nice kitchen is essential. We see many homes and kitchens in actual or on TV, and it’s baffling how many kitchen appliances and tools we see that we may or may not have.
The good news is, you don’t need to buy the whole appliance store to have the best kitchen. What you need is to improve most of the basic features that your kitchen already has. If you are ready to see the essential pieces that should be in your kitchen, let’s dive in.
Good Refrigerator and Freezer
Gone are the days that you choose a color for your refrigerator, and that’s it. The technology evolved the refrigerator not just as something to put cold water in, but many features that we didn’t know we needed. Besides excellent colors that will blend into your interior, you can choose a side-by-side door, making food organizing easier. A water and ice dispenser (you don’t need to worry about empty pitchers and warm water anymore!), huge storage, and sectional climate controls.
If you have a bigger budget, you can consider getting a smart refrigerator with voice and command control and even energy monitoring. Getting a good refrigerator and freezer will make a huge difference you never anticipated.
Handleless Cabinet
What?! A handleless cabinet? How would that work? Yes, you’ve read it right, a handleless cabinet is an essential addition you need in your kitchen. Poggenpohl kitchens, a German brand that turns your dream kitchen into the reality of your daily life, mentioned that function and beauty could coexist. They will give your kitchen a sleek, elegant, and minimalist feel. Besides, you will get rid of kitchen accidents like bumping your head, legs, and feet to the drawer handle.
And if you haven’t noticed, drawers and their handlers are the most commonly damaged thing in your kitchen. You don’t have to worry anymore about repairing and replacing kitchen drawers and handles.
Concealed Trash and Recycling
You can hide the unsightly trash bin and recycle easily. Moreover, you can keep them away from flies, pets, and kids. You can use fixated sliding trash under the counter, and if you don’t want a sliding one, you can opt for a pull-out. If you don’t want it inside any of your cabinets, you can do a pre-made stand-alone cabinet with a tilt-out door or rolling trash storage for easy access.
Tucking them out of sight is a smart idea; not only can you make your kitchen more aesthetically pleasing, but for hygienic purposes also.
Easy Clean and Durable Flooring
The flooring in the kitchen is the most prone to wearing and tearing. With all the scratches, spills, and high foot traffic, you need an easy to clean and durable flooring. If you want flooring that is good in the eye and hardwearing, you can get porcelain tile flooring. It is better than regular ceramic tile and harder and less porous. They can be more expensive than the usual ones, but they will give you value for your money.
If you want another option, you can go for vinyl flooring, which is cheaper and easier to maintain. Same as porcelain, they are resistant to moisture, scratches, and dents. While we don’t pay much attention to our kitchen flooring, it is important to ensure that you have the appropriate flooring to work with your kitchen’s dynamics.
High-Performance Appliances
When we say high-performance appliances, we didn’t mean kitchen-grade ones. If your budget permits you to do so, luxury and high-performance appliances are worth it. They are built to have a long life expectancy. In addition, high-end kitchen appliances deliver better performance. Lastly, they are built with aesthetics in mind. They have different colors, styles, sizes, and designs based on your interior.
High-performance appliances are an investment, as they add value to your home, save your time and energy, and improve the overall quality of your life. They may be costly at first, but you can see all the benefits and are money-saving in the long run.
Impressive Countertops
When renovating your kitchen, countertops are an important part that requires more of your attention. Remember that they are not just for decor, but it is to improve your kitchen’s functionality. An impressive countertop is what people can see when they enter your kitchen. There are plenty of materials you can choose from, such as:
- Marble – are stunning stones. They are also waterproof and heatproof. You have to be careful because they are easily scratched and very expensive to repair.
- Granite – they are very strong and durable, heat-resistant too. Granite is low maintenance to maintenance-free. However, they can be expensive.
- Quartz – they are easy to maintain and invulnerable to staining, heat, and acid.
- Soapstone – Soapstone is a stunning countertop that adds an antique, historic look to a kitchen. They are stain-resistant and fairly heat-resistant too. The only con is they darken over time and need to be treated with mineral oil.
Smart-Home Lights
The part of the house that should undoubtedly have excellent lighting is the kitchen. It is not only for good design and ambiance but also for functionality and safety. You should have ambient or general lights, task, and accent lighting to properly light the kitchen. The better the lights in the room, the better you can function on it. To make things easier for you, you can get smart-home lighting, a lighting technology designed for energy efficiency, convenience, and security. They have automation controls that adjust based on the environmental condition.
Here are most of the essential pieces that should be in your kitchen. When planning to renovate, ensure that you allot time figuring out the most basic and needed one before anything else. And don’t think about pretty kitchens that are not functional; with the right preparation, you can get your dream kitchen.
