IS IT TIME TO UPDATE YOUR KITCHEN?

The kitchen is one of the most used areas of the home, if not the most used area. Kitchens see us laugh, cry and celebrate, and they provide us with a necessity of daily life: food! Kitchens can come up in all shapes and sizes, and there are really no standards. As long as your kitchen contains all of the elements that are important to you, you’ll be happy!

With this in mind, it might be time to think, when was the last time you renovated your kitchen? As such a high use, high traffic area, kitchen can become worn and in need of some love. Styles and preferences also change over time, so it’s a good idea to think about updating every 5 years. Now an update might not mean a complete re-design. It could be as simple as a fresh coat of paint, updating your tiles or upgrading your appliances. However, it can be necessary to update your kitchen more dramatically as your needs change.

One more dramatic kitchen change is the addition of an island bench. Island benches are great if you like the idea of incorporating a breakfast bar into your space, really creating an area that people can sit around and have fun. Island benches are also perfect if your kitchen area opens onto a patio or garden. In order to update your kitchen to include an island bench in the most cost-effective way possible, we suggest looking at Sanivite. This product carries the water waste by a small 25mm pipe directly to the closest waste point, meaning there is no need to disrupt your floor, which can end up costing you a lot of money.

Another more dramatic change could be the re-configuration of your living/dining/kitchen area to make it open plan. There are many schools of thought around whether or not to go open-plan, and it really comes down to personal preference! Open plan is great if you have a smaller space as this allows each area to flow onto the next, creating the illusion that the space is larger. Likewise, the open plan can also be perfect for larger spaces as it enhances this large size. If you decide to go open plan, make sure you consult your builder to ensure that you don’t remove any important, structural walls.

If you are relatively happy with your kitchen and just want a small update, I recommend checking your paint, tiling and flooring. Over time, these can crack and wear. For a fresh, modern look, I suggest using a neutral base like Pantone’s Hazelnut for the walls, then accentuating with a brighter colour, or colours, of your choice. If your flooring is looking shabby, consider having your floorboards re-polished, or your tiles re-grouted. This re-fresh can help to bring new life to this area!

Read: KITCHEN ADDITIONS TO CONSIDER THIS YEAR