Do you LOVE your kitchen? I do!
We’ve teamed up with kitchen retailer, Magnet, this month to ask the question ‘Do you LOVE your kitchen?’ It’s a room that we find ourselves in multiple times a day from making breakfast, lunch or dinner, making a cup of tea or simply loading or unloading the dish washer, so we’re going to talk about my kitchen and what makes it work for me.
Magnet are the UK’s leading kitchen suppliers and kitchen design specialists so it is really a one stop shop to designing your perfect kitchen and what works for you. Some people cook very little and some people cook non-stop so your kitchen design will all depend on how YOU use your kitchen.
Magnet have challenged me to name some features of my kitchen that I LOVE the most! So here goes!
Baking!!
Well you’re on my website first off so I know you’re aware of my love of baking. It’s the whole reason BakingBar was conceived in the beginning. But baking for me hasn’t always been plain sailing. When BakingBar was first created by me back in 2010 I was renting in a one-bedroom apartment in Belfast City Centre. It was lovely at the time but it certainly wasn’t a functional kitchen space. It was minimal in space it took up and with that came limitations on where to put stuff, worktop space and even the type of oven. None of which I could change because I was renting.
When I was looking to buy my house it was clear that the kitchen was massively important. I might not find the PERFECT kitchen but I must be able to make it work for me.
What does a baker need?
If you’re a keen baker you’ll know that most creations are made in the oven. So for me that was the number one important appliance and feature in my new kitchen. I wanted one of those lovely eye level ovens you see on cookery programmes on TV. No more bending down on my hands and knees peering into the oven to see if something was ready. Easy access as well as easy viewing was essential. Magnet has some great ovens and you’ll see some amazing eye level ones among them.
The Triangle!
I think I had heard of the triangle concept from shows such as Location, Location ,Location (thanks Kirstie and Phil for teaching me about kitchens!). This is where my first kitchen in the old apartment failed me the most. Everything was in one row. Whereas now my kitchen is a U shape, meaning that I have a triangle movement between my sink, hob or worktop and the oven. That is one triangle. I also have a triangle for moving between the dishwasher, plates/glasses cupboard and the cutlery drawer/saucepan storage cupboard, making emptying the dishwasher easier.
Yes yes it is not essential to have the perfect layout all the time but if you’re designing your own kitchen, why wouldn’t you! It makes perfect sense and allows a more efficient use of your time and energy.
Reducing Carrying
Now this is a strange one, but it is something that I took into consideration when designing my kitchen. I wanted a worktop right next to my eye level oven. This is where my mixer sits with enough worktop space for a cake tin or two. This means that when I pour cake batter into a tin I only have to open the oven door, pop in the cake and I’m done. I wanted to reduce the carrying of cake batter around the kitchen. Or anything else going in the oven for that matter. We’ve all had accidents carrying things before. It wouldn’t be a first for one of my cakes to land on the floor before it’s reached the oven! This also ensures that the oven door is open for the absolute minimum amount of time, meaning less heat escapes.
Magnet’s experts are always on hand when it comes to designing your kitchen even just providing inspiration or ideas you might not have thought of at all. They have a special team of expert designers who have years of experience and an unbelievable passion for kitchens, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of their knowledge.
The Looks
We’ve talked a lot about function of kitchens and that is very well, but of course you want it to fit well with your own personal taste and style too. This is why I’ve made some adjustments over the years to my kitchen to make it LOOK just how I want. Only around February this year I decided to have a tile splashback put around my worktops. Before, I just had painted walls splattered with baking mess (flower, eggs and the odd splash and spillage), they were beginning to look a bit grubby and there was no way to easily clean the walls other than re-painting. So I decided I would get them tiled with subway style tiles, in grey of course. And I absolutely love them. Easily wipeable to keep clean. I did used to have a stainless-steel splashback to my cooker hob however keeping it shiny all the time was a pet hate of mine so now it is also tiled and I love it!! Another feature of my kitchen which I love is the wooden worktops. I dislike the standard PVC covered chipboard style worktops which you find in a lot of kitchens. It works for lots of people but I just don’t like how it looks.
Do YOU love your kitchen? What are your favourite parts? What would you change if you could and why?
If you are looking to make those changes and create a kitchen you’ll love for years to come, book a design appointment with Magnet either in-store or online here.
