Whether you’re working from home or want to add some exciting extra elements to your kitchen, here are a few ideas to help you improve your kitchen for daily life.
Our kitchens have been working extra hard over the past year to meet the daily demands of a life spent mostly at home. We now appreciate the versatility of the humble kitchen, a room which we are now using for activities beyond just cooking and dining. While many of us have stepped up to the challenge with creative (and sometimes comical) improvisations – who knew an ironing board could work so well as a desk? – it’s worth putting some more thought into it.
With a little effort and creativity, you can add features to your kitchen that will not only help you adjust to spending more time at home now, but will serve you for years to come. Here are a few ideas to improve your kitchen for every day life!
Create a dedicated workstation
With more of us working from home than ever before, having a dedicated space to get our work done has become essential to our productivity levels. If your home isn’t big enough for a separate study room, then the kitchen is often the next best thing. Without the office commute to break up the day, the boundaries between work and play at home are blurred. This is when a concealed study comes in handy, an ingenious way to integrate a workstation into the kitchen without taking up much space. A double-door larder can be turned into a cosy home office with minimum effort – you’ll just need to clear out the space and add a chair. The best part? Closing the doors on a long day’s work and keeping it hidden away until tomorrow.
You can also make use of unused corners to add a little working nook. All you need is a simple desk or a bit of worktop space that’s clear of clutter, add an ergonomic chair and you can turn even the smallest of spaces into a study corner. Even easier still, add a few bar stools to your kitchen island for an ideal spot to set up your laptop. Make sure the bar stool is the right height for the worktop to encourage a correct and comfortable sitting posture.
Have fun with a home bar
We can’t wait for the day when we can finally have friends and family over again for a long-awaited get-together. Until then, stock up on your favourite tipples and get your kitchen dinner party-ready by converting a kitchen cabinet into your very own drinks bar. A double-door larder like this one by Kuhlmann would be perfect to store colourful bottles and show off your best glassware. You can also fill in the back panel with funky wallpaper or a mirror for extra wow-factor – this is how we style it in our showroom below! And if you’re planning a new kitchen and really love entertaining, why not install a built-in bar? Add in a wine fridge and you’re good to go!
Install an integrated media centre
Open-plan kitchens and living spaces are here to stay, and we are now spending the majority of our time at home in the kitchen. So to make the space flow seamlessly from the cooking and dining area into a laid-back living space, an integrated media centre will really bring the space together and improve your kitchen. Catch up on the latest episodes while you cook with a wall-mounted TV as the focal point or a floating unit as the TV stand. The surrounding cabinets can be used as extra kitchen storage, and can also be handy for keeping your gadgets all in one place.
Whatever you use your kitchen for outside of cooking and dining, at Kemphaus Kitchens we design kitchens tailored to your specific space, needs and routines, giving a little extra wow-factor to make your kitchen unique to you. Get in touch on 01279 758777 or send us an email at info@kemphaus.co.uk to book an appointment at our showroom to see what else you can add to your kitchen.
