What’s so important about the kitchen?
When a couple buys or builds a home, they always seem to pay a lot of attention to the kitchen – but what’s so important about the kitchen? With most couples, there’s usually one person who loves to cook. For everyone, male or female, young or old, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house. The kitchen is often the hub of the home, the centre of activity. Someone spends time preparing food, creating something fun, or trying a new recipe in it. People tend to gather where there’s food. So guess what? Kitchens are important!
Men sometimes underestimate the importance of this room. We love our garages, BBQ areas, decks, and patios. But the kitchen? We can completely miss it’s importance and it really is the hub and the heart of most homes.
It’s important to remember when you are designing a home to consider the re-sale value and design accordingly. A well-designed and functional kitchen not only makes the cook happy, it also ensures a greater resale value. Currently – the market is for large open plan kitchen dining and it’s easy to achieve in many homes.
A person who loves to cook or create culinary masterpieces for family and friends absolutely needs a spacious and well-appointed kitchen. On the other hand, if a cook wants to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen, then your design and layout can be simpler.
When selecting kitchen cabinets, look for quality. This is not the place to be overly consumed with trying to save money. Well-made cabinets will provide lasting pleasure and functionality for decades. Drawers (as opposed to cabinets with doors) are more useful and efficient even compared to cabinets with pullout drawers. In addition, choose hard surfaces, durable, and high quality countertops. There are a variety of colours and selections available. Granite is an ideal counter surface for the most important room in the house.
What about appliances? Don’t skimp here, either. You don’t have to purchase the absolute top of the line, but good quality appliances help sell homes. Often the cost of an additional dishwasher is only slightly more than the cost of the additional cabinetry it replaces.
When you design your home, be sure the kitchen is given special consideration and that its relationship to other rooms, functions, and features are the best you can provide. If you want expert advice on building and designing, speak to us!
