Spending time together as a family deepens connections and strengthens family traditions. That’s why modern kitchens aren’t just based on cooking. Instead, they form a central hub for the family to connect and create. Below are thoughtful kitchen remodeling ideas that will make it family-friendly.
Choose a Perfect Layout For Your Family
The best possible layout depends on whether you want your children in the kitchen. Kitchen layouts that closed off access at one side were traditional days designs. This is when kitchens were child-free zones, and people believed in living room interactions.
Nowadays, the kitchen environment has changed. The L-shaped or island layout flowing into the living area are thoughtful kitchen designs for families. Also, peninsula or U-shaped kitchen layouts create a welcoming feel for the family. According to statistics, a typical family dinner lasts for about 30 minutes. But this would not be enough time to bond as a family. So, these layouts encourage having more time to bond as you prepare dinner.
Another popular design is the G-shaped layout with the kitchen island at the central part. The island is used as a sitting area for the family. However, in any layout you choose; G, L, and U will be perfect for your large family. Ideally, have all the access ends open to encourage easy movements.
Choose a Safe Cooking Area
Many homeowners prefer an open-plan kitchen. But it’s essential to shift from these 90s ideas if you have little kids around the home. Come up with thoughtful kitchen design ideas like gas stove protectors that will protect the cooking area to avoid fire accidents. Also, let your local kitchen remodeler know the ages of your children. This will help determine the best location and countertop design to keep children safe.
If you have wood fireplaces around, have the chimney installed at the far end of the kitchen. Set the island area for the children to minimize the chances of accessing the fireplace. This will also enable the adults to watch the children as they perform simple kitchen tasks.
Make the Kitchen More Multipurpose Using the Island
In a study, 57% of the homeowners who want to renovate their kitchens said they would include an island. 27% of the homeowners said they would upgrade their existing island for the better. On the other hand, 30% said they would like to add a new island to the space. This indicates that many families have realized the benefits of quality interaction.
An island is a free-standing cabinet that matches the design of the whole kitchen. Traditionally, it has been used for storage and also as a countertop. You can use the island for family seating while preparing meals. It’s a perfect space for the children to practice light kitchen duties, study, do homework, and eat.
Using the island as a cooktop enables the children to watch and learn as they cook. You can also include a sink on the island to clean splashes and spills easily. These are the features a luxury kitchen designer will add for you.
Consider Appliances Safety
Especially for electric appliances, you must come up with thoughtful kitchen arrangements ideas that will enhance their efficiency and children’s safety. According to a report, 160000 children are injured yearly in kitchen accidents. Most accidents occur as a result of appliance misuse. So, protect your children from electric shocks or electrocutions.
Most appliances seem safer, but they pose a lot of danger. Appliances like microwaves and refrigerators remain cool on the surface, but poor handling can result in shock or electrocution since they use electricity. Call a specialist to help you decide on appliance installation ideas, like keeping them away from the cooking area.
Raise the cooking gas stove or the electric cooker to eye level to make it harder for children to touch the coils or the flame. It’s an added advantage for adults since you don’t have to bend much while cooking.
Have Work Surfaces of Different Heights
If you have young children and teenagers around, then you must design surfaces of different heights. You can design various surfaces with different heights from the three-year-old to the fifteen-year-old estimations to make it easier for all people to carry out their tasks.
Typically, an island may be too high for your little children. But you can set some stools on the breakfast bar for the kids. This will allow the preschool kids to study and eat easily while interacting as a family. The only thing you must not consider with a lower height is the surface with sinks. This can lead to water wastage since kids love playing around with taps.
Nevertheless, you can develop thoughtful kitchen ideas like portable plastic furniture to accommodate the children. It will help create space when working alone in the kitchen by moving their furniture to the store.
Set Enough Storage Space
Another thoughtful kitchen idea is including enough storage space. Remember, this is a family kitchen. So, set up a space for adults where you can store knives and other sharp items. Cabinet restoration will help you add space and set specific drawers for various utensils.
For easy access, children-related items such as bottles and baby food must be in the lower drawers. You must also separate the breakables like glasses and delicate dishware out of reach of teenagers and small children.
Most parents set specific cupboards and cabinets for certain ages. This makes it easier to assign children the cupboard level they can access. For instance, you can store plastic cups, plates, and trays in the lower drawers for younger children to use.
Install Easy to Clean Countertops
Choose fuss-free surfaces because sticky handprints can be a problem with kids. Use corian or quartz for countertops because they are stain resistant. Another suitable material is Silestone because of its non-porous and antibacterial features.
It’s important to note while cooking; children will include fun and playful activities in their tasks. As such, they play around with water and other sticky substances around the countertops. If you have an outdoor straight run kitchen, install the countertops in the linear form. This enables you to watch children as they perform simple activities.
But if you are on a budget and incapable of purchasing quartz or corian, you can opt for laminate. It’s an easy-to-wipe material with various colors and patterns, adding beauty to your thoughtful kitchen layout.
Be Careful With the Cabinetry Style
The cabinet takes up the most significant part of the kitchen. And considering that kids love stylish things, you must choose the best cabinet style to maintain a joyful mood. Adding styles to the door is one of the best thoughtful kitchen ideas for the cabinet.
Anastasia Harrison, creative director of AHD&Co, says choosing the cabinet door style can be overwhelming. So, which styles are more likely to boost your family’s mood by making the kitchen adorable?
The number one style is framed and the frameless cabinet doors. I would go for the framed since they have an added face frame with the attached hinges. This makes the cabinet so appealing. However, the frameless cabinets originated from Europe and have gained much popularity in the United States.
The second style is the shaker design, consisting of a panel with a frame and rails. This is ideal for the children to open easily, unlike the slab cabinet doors, which are plain with no handles. Another great style is the traditional cabinet door. They have old-fashioned handles but with a homey and elegant look. Other styles that fit modern houses are beadboard doors and glass front cabinets. In most designs, the glass front cabinets are installed on the cupboards mounted on the wall to keep children off the glasses.
Merge the Kitchen With the Dining
At times, you may find yourself in an old house with a smaller kitchen that is hard to extend by renovation. Many homes built in the 80s and 90s aren’t easily customizable with modern features. Many homeowners design the floor in an open plan between the kitchen and the dining room.
Merging the two rooms increases the kitchen size, and family members can stay in the dining room, enjoying the proximity to the kitchen. The benefit of merging the rooms is that you can use the area occupied by the wall to install an additional island that suits the children’s height. Another advantage of merging the rooms is that you can install a TV on the furthest wall from the cooking area for the family to watch while preparing meals.
Larger storage space is another benefit of merging the rooms because you call a professional to extend your cabinet. This makes it even more economical because you can share a bulb in both rooms reducing the electricity bill.
Install a Chalkboard
A chalkboard in the kitchen is one of the most brilliant ideas you can implement. Apart from the children, adults need to make notes on the recipe and the menu. For instance, if you have a recipe for every day of the week, you can list it on the chalkboard or the whiteboard. This makes it easier for any adult who arrives earlier to prepare the meals for others.
That aside, the black or the whiteboard is the best way to teach the children to prepare meals with recipes and menus. Children learn faster if taught by writing and diagrams. It balances the learning process with the theory and the practicals.
Since it isn’t advisable to have chalk dust around the cooking area, you can install the board at the furthest wall in the kitchen. Otherwise, install the board in the dining room where kids can easily see and read. But the best option is to have a whiteboard and a marker instead of a black one. One of the adorable kitchen photos on House Beautiful’s website had the whiteboard fixed near the back door. This makes reading the recipes easier for people in and out of the kitchen.
Organize the Fridge
It’s always advisable to keep the children off appliances like refrigerators. This is because of the historical cases of children getting suffocated in refrigerators while playing. To curb this problem, the United States enacted the Refrigerator Safety Act, which requires manufacturers to equip refrigerator doors with easy mechanisms to open them from the inside.
Since the law was enacted, units you’ll find in refrigerator stores are safe for homes with children. But when purchasing a fridge, go for the unit with separate drawer configurations. This will enable you to lock some of the drawers and stock food items for kids in one accessible drawer. Organizing the fridge and having a thoughtful kitchen location for it saves time. Also, it makes it easier to clean the inside and save energy.
Choose the Best Kitchen Flooring
You cannot remodel the kitchen without including the floor. The floor is one of the most crucial parts of the kitchen that needs a lot of attention. Otherwise, your flooring can get messy and ruin the whole kitchen’s beauty. So, what are the dangers of improper floor hygiene?
A less maintained floor can be the breeding area for germs. It can also trap the water in the cracks, which later stinks. Finally, a slippery floor increases the risk of falling, especially when kids move and run around. Ceramic and porcelain tiles make the most suitable kitchen flooring material. They are waterproof and resistant to staining. Moreover, these tiles are resistant to scratches or easy breaking.
A kitchen is an essential room of a house where modern families bond. To come up with thoughtful kitchen remodeling ideas, research on the internet about the latest designs. The kitchen floor, cabinet, cooking area, and appliances are the priority when upgrading the kitchen. After the upgrade, order your favorite dish from Mexican food distributors and create an awesome dinner for your family.
