Kitchen ideas
white kitchen Get the look Cabinet colour: Dulux ‘Lexicon Quarter White’ Material: Paint One of the whitest white paints out there. It’s bright, fresh and is guaranteed to never date. Benchtop colour: Caesarstone ‘Calacatta Nuvo’ Material: Quartz (engineered stone) This is Caesarstone’s interpretation of natural Calacatta marble. It has a crisp, white base with an elegant grey vein.
Bin location The kitchen bin is not only used for food scraps and packaging. More often than not, it is used for everyday household rubbish that is collected around the house. For this reason, it is useful to place the bin at a point in the kitchen that is easily accessible from the rest of the house. I suggest placing it on the end of the bench or island, closest to the kitchen entrance. That way, you can simply throw something in the bin as you walk past, rather than walk into the kitchen and get in the way of the chef! As for a compost bin, that you can keep as close to your food prep area as possible.
Under-sink drawer Under-sink cupboards are great for storing cleaning utilities, but are not always practical. Instead of foraging for bin liners, plastic bags, washing up liquid and hoards of cleaning products all jammed into a deep, dark space – with the one item you need always hiding away in the back corner – try an under-sink drawer option instead. A U-shaped drawer that fits around the plumbing pipes under their sink, giving them an easy-to-organise and easy-to-assess space to store all their cleaning products. Use the top drawer to store washing up liquid, hand wash and dish cloths so they’re off your bench but within easy reach. And fill the subsequent bottom drawers with less-used items like cleaning products, bin liners and scourers.
Kickboard drawer Shallow kickboard drawers are inconspicuous and offer secret storage you’ll continue to thank yourself for. Since they’re shallow in height, they’re the perfect place to store baking trays, oven racks and chopping boards. They can also be used to store other flat items such as placemats and table linen.
Internal Drawers One of the best solutions for creating a more user-friendly pantry is using internal pull-out drawers instead of shelves. By using pull-out drawers, you can easily access items stored at the very back, and it saves you from bending down and trying to reach into an awkward space. Look for drawer runners that have a high weight carrying capacity so you can really load them up without having to worry about them breaking.
Under-cabinet lighting lighting should be positioned not to throw shadows in the work centres. “This is achieved best by concealed LED strip lighting under overhead cabinets above the bench area,” Patterson says. “This achieves not only good light, but lovely even light that floods the bench area and evenly displays splashbacks and benchtops.”
coffee area
splashback
splashback
chairs
splashback
splashback And island
splashback
Go all white so you don’t feel boxed in
Benches are far more efficient seats than chairs when space is tight
pocket doors on here so they could be stored neatly out of the way,
wipeable paint instead of a standard splashback
The breakfast bar in this kitchen, designed by Julie-Ann Clements at In Ex Design, is higher than the benchtop behind
useful pantry cupboard with an extra benchtop inside for storing appliances, making coffee or preparing a snack, and located it right next to the fridge.
Introduce task lighting The primary purpose of under-cabinet lighting is to illuminate the countertop. Task lighting – as opposed to ambient lighting – makes food preparation easier because it spotlights your primary work surface instead of shadowing it. Always install the task light toward the front of the cabinet, not toward the back. If the light is stationed closer to the back wall, it primarily highlights the backsplash and not the countertop, defeating the purpose of the lighting.
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