The kitchen is just about the most important room in the home. Essentially, it is the family's workshop and the chief person who takes care of the household will spend a great deal of time in it. Therefore, if you are constructing a new house, and you have some input in the design or if you are renovating your kitchen, you should take a little time to learn what makes an ideal kitchen.
As with every other room, the first aspect to think about is the light. You should permit as much natural light into your kitchen as you can. If you can have two or more windows, so much the better. Make sure that these windows can open wide as well so that you can allow the air to change through circulation easily.
You will also have to provide mechanical ventilation for when the weather prevents you from opening the windows. The amount of steam produced and kept in the kitchen has an effect on every room in the house and damp and mold are unhygienic.
Make the kitchen as large as your family requires, but bear in mind that it can become tedious very quickly if you need to keep walking five or six yards to get something. So, have a big kitchen by all means, but keep your working area, the so-called ergonomic working triangle, pocket-sized.
The floor covering is important because things get spilled, and you do not want these spillages soaking into carpets or wooden floorboards where they will go moldy and attract insects or rodents. The best surface for a kitchen floor is ceramic floor tiles, properly grouted to make your floor impervious. If you have to have a wooden floor or you just really want one, keep it water-resistant by polishing it every week.
Finally, for decoration, keep all kitchen colours light and bright: white, off-whites and yellow are the best for the floor, walls and ceiling. Hang some pictures up and maybe a few romantic candle wall sconces and grow a couple of potted plants around about.
You must have a lot of cupboard space and each cupboard or cabinet should be devoted to one sort of item, so that everybody can find things. Some people prefer sliding doors, others prefer swing doors. I find that what I want is always on the shut half of sliding doors, so swing doors for me. If the cabinets have ventilation, which is a good concept, cover the holes with fly screen to stop insects and reduce the dust gaining entry.
Some people prefer their cabinets to be on wheels so that they can clean behind them, but I like to have a fitted kitchen, so that the dust can not get behind there in the first instance. Whatever you choose, it should be easy to keep clean and preferably all be in a similar style and colour. It is best to have everything colour coordinated. White or light oak looks wonderful.
You will have to have a table or breakfast bar to eat at, and there should be a pendant light above it for reading by. Maybe one of those pull down lights that look as if they are on a spring, so that you can push it back up if it gets in the way. Clearly, the size of the table and the number of chairs depends on you and the size of your household.
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Owen Jones, the author of this article writes on many topics, but is at present involved with thinking about the
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