Easy Kitchen Updates for a Better Life
Thoughtful features can make your kitchen a far more comfortable – and pleasurable – place to be
With open-plan living putting the spotlight on kitchens like never before, it pays to make your culinary quarters both easy to use and comfortable to spend time in. These comfort-boosting ideas will soon have your kitchen rivalling your living room when it comes to the best place to hang out, no matter how nap-inducing your couch is. As for cooking, eating and cleaning up, things are about to get a whole lot easier.
Body-friendly island seating
Perching on a wooden stool gets pretty uncomfortable within a short period of time, especially for friends or family members who’ve long left their youth behind. Upholstered chairs with backs are the ultimate in comfort and if you live somewhere that gets hot, steer away from vinyl or plastic – peeling yourself off a sweaty chair is appealing to no one.
Perching on a wooden stool gets pretty uncomfortable within a short period of time, especially for friends or family members who’ve long left their youth behind. Upholstered chairs with backs are the ultimate in comfort and if you live somewhere that gets hot, steer away from vinyl or plastic – peeling yourself off a sweaty chair is appealing to no one.
Temperature control
How hot does it get where you live? And what are the mornings like in winter? Start the day off right with a kitchen heated or cooled to a comfortable temperature, and you’ll be grateful forever more. Anyone breakfasting in this kitchen can be assured of toasty toes no matter how freezing it is in the rest of the house.
TIP: If you have no need for heating in your kitchen, you can still add warmth with the addition of timber accents in the form of seating, shelving, benchtops or cabinetry – it will be all the more inviting.
How hot does it get where you live? And what are the mornings like in winter? Start the day off right with a kitchen heated or cooled to a comfortable temperature, and you’ll be grateful forever more. Anyone breakfasting in this kitchen can be assured of toasty toes no matter how freezing it is in the rest of the house.
TIP: If you have no need for heating in your kitchen, you can still add warmth with the addition of timber accents in the form of seating, shelving, benchtops or cabinetry – it will be all the more inviting.
Casual dining
A breakfast nook adds instant comfort to any kitchen, encouraging you and your cohorts to linger a little longer before getting on with the day. Plenty of padding and cushions, and perhaps even a sheepskin or two, will make it so delightful you’ll want to sit here for lunch and dinner too.
Breakfast nooks with cool designs
A breakfast nook adds instant comfort to any kitchen, encouraging you and your cohorts to linger a little longer before getting on with the day. Plenty of padding and cushions, and perhaps even a sheepskin or two, will make it so delightful you’ll want to sit here for lunch and dinner too.
Breakfast nooks with cool designs
No-reach corners
Galley kitchens remove the need for corner cabinets completely, but if an L- or U-shaped kitchen better suits your space, make the contents in corner cupboards easy to reach with one of the smart corner solutions now on the market.
Galley kitchens remove the need for corner cabinets completely, but if an L- or U-shaped kitchen better suits your space, make the contents in corner cupboards easy to reach with one of the smart corner solutions now on the market.
Handy handles
The right handles can make an enormous difference to your comfort in the kitchen. Some can have unexpectedly sharp edges or require your hand to scrunch into an unnatural position in order to open drawers. Consider removing the need for handles altogether with push-to-open drawers like these.
Choosing handles for kitchen cabinets
The right handles can make an enormous difference to your comfort in the kitchen. Some can have unexpectedly sharp edges or require your hand to scrunch into an unnatural position in order to open drawers. Consider removing the need for handles altogether with push-to-open drawers like these.
Choosing handles for kitchen cabinets
The perfect pantry
Get the details right in your pantry and your family will thank you for it. Like the fridge, the pantry is accessed numerous times during the day by more than just the cook. This clever pantry allows for easy access of its contents, with a combination of slide-out drawers, shallow shelving and spice racks attached to the doors. Brilliant.
Get the details right in your pantry and your family will thank you for it. Like the fridge, the pantry is accessed numerous times during the day by more than just the cook. This clever pantry allows for easy access of its contents, with a combination of slide-out drawers, shallow shelving and spice racks attached to the doors. Brilliant.
Ready for action
What’s the point of having life-easing appliances when they are stashed away in a cabinet far from reach. A kitchen designer will be able to help you come up with appliance solutions for your kitchen, and be sure to ask that they can be hidden from sight at will, if you’d rather them not be on display.
Everything is easily accessible in this kitchen, but bi-fold doors can quickly turn it into a sleek cooking zone to impress your guests when it’s time for entertaining.
Essentials for the entertainer’s kitchen
What’s the point of having life-easing appliances when they are stashed away in a cabinet far from reach. A kitchen designer will be able to help you come up with appliance solutions for your kitchen, and be sure to ask that they can be hidden from sight at will, if you’d rather them not be on display.
Everything is easily accessible in this kitchen, but bi-fold doors can quickly turn it into a sleek cooking zone to impress your guests when it’s time for entertaining.
Essentials for the entertainer’s kitchen
The right bench height
If you’re renovating the kitchen, you have the perfect opportunity to put comfort first by thinking through how high you want your benchtops. Before you demolish the old kitchen, experiment by adding a bread board or two and seeing how it feels to prep food with a little extra height. On the flip side, stand on a hard-cover coffee table book to see if benches positioned a little lower would be better for you.
Ideas to make a good kitchen great
If you’re renovating the kitchen, you have the perfect opportunity to put comfort first by thinking through how high you want your benchtops. Before you demolish the old kitchen, experiment by adding a bread board or two and seeing how it feels to prep food with a little extra height. On the flip side, stand on a hard-cover coffee table book to see if benches positioned a little lower would be better for you.
Ideas to make a good kitchen great
Out-of-the-way wine
Are you the type to order everyone out of the kitchen while you’re cooking because you feel like they get under your feet? Planning ahead will save your sanity. Put your kitchen island to good use with a bar fridge and/or wine rack that can be accessed by your partner and guests, without them having to enter the kitchen at all.
Are you the type to order everyone out of the kitchen while you’re cooking because you feel like they get under your feet? Planning ahead will save your sanity. Put your kitchen island to good use with a bar fridge and/or wine rack that can be accessed by your partner and guests, without them having to enter the kitchen at all.
Several sources of light
Natural light is a godsend in any kitchen, but it pays to be smart about it – giant windows that let in the western afternoon sun can make for a sweltering rather than sun-lit room, and when you’re prepping meals or slaving over a hot stove, this is no recipe for success.
Think skylights and windows that can be shaded as needed – just be wary of roman blinds or venetians positioned too close to cooking grease or splashes from the washing up; the less work your kitchen requires of you to keep it looking good, the better.
How to get kitchen lighting right
Natural light is a godsend in any kitchen, but it pays to be smart about it – giant windows that let in the western afternoon sun can make for a sweltering rather than sun-lit room, and when you’re prepping meals or slaving over a hot stove, this is no recipe for success.
Think skylights and windows that can be shaded as needed – just be wary of roman blinds or venetians positioned too close to cooking grease or splashes from the washing up; the less work your kitchen requires of you to keep it looking good, the better.
How to get kitchen lighting right
Room to move
If there’s one thing that makes a big difference when it comes to comfort in the kitchen, it’s this – plenty of bench space. And when your bench is coupled with an undermount sink, cleaning up is a breeze.
TELL US
What else makes a kitchen more comfortable? Share your ideas and experiences in the Comments section below.
MORE
16 Common Kitchen Dilemmas Solved
How Much Does a Kitchen Benchtop Cost?
Key Measurements to Consider When Designing the Perfect Kitchen Island
If there’s one thing that makes a big difference when it comes to comfort in the kitchen, it’s this – plenty of bench space. And when your bench is coupled with an undermount sink, cleaning up is a breeze.
TELL US
What else makes a kitchen more comfortable? Share your ideas and experiences in the Comments section below.
MORE
16 Common Kitchen Dilemmas Solved
How Much Does a Kitchen Benchtop Cost?
Key Measurements to Consider When Designing the Perfect Kitchen Island
Drawers tend to be more user-friendly than cabinets – less bending and reaching is required to use them – especially if they have soft-close drawer slides that take jarring sounds out of the acoustic equation. Comfort for your ears is easy to forget, but taking a softly-softly approach with your kitchen enhances its liveability no end. Be sure to soften the acoustics with rugs, curtains and other soft furnishings in the space adjoining the kitchen to further soak up noise.
Kitchen drawers that make life easier