Looking to design the ultimate kid friendly kitchen?
In this article we’ll discuss our tips for designing a family friendly kitchen and how the experienced team at Builders Discount Warehouse can help you make it happen.
Tips & Tricks for Designing a Family-Friendly Kitchen
So how do you go about designing a family friendly kitchen without compromising on all those unique design features you love so much? In this section, we’ll give you our tips and tricks
Pick a Functional Layout
With a kitchen, it’s always important to keep functionality at the front of your mind. But it’s crucial if you have children constantly running in and out of your kitchen, or you want to encourage your children to start helping with meal preparation.
Consider:
– height appropriate benches (or step stools and other workarounds)
– space to move
– accessible snack storage (because everyone gets cranky when they’re hungry)
– whether you want it to be a multipurpose area (with homework stations, seating etc)
Open it Up
This point feeds into our suggestion regarding functionality. The best way, in our opinion, to make your kitchen family friendly is to make use of the space you have. Whilst most homeowners have long been opting for removing surrounding walls and doors in entryways to their kitchen, some homes still have closed kitchens.
If this is your home, why not remove the door and see if your family will make their way into the kitchen of their own accord?
Choose an Appropriate Design Aesthetic
Just because you’re designing a family or “kid friendly” kitchen doesn’t necessarily mean you have to design it for your children. If you don’t like magnets on the fridge or bold, vibrant colours, don’t include them.
Pick a design aesthetic you know you – and your littlest family members – won’t get sick of in a couple of years and include those funky, left of centre touches with cheaper things like cutlery or placemats.
Use an Island Bench
The inclusion of island benches in new kitchen designs is increasingly popular, but they aren’t used just because they’re “in”. An island bench can be a great way to make your kitchen more family friendly – whether you use them as an additional prep space, a place your kids can sit and talk or something else entirely – there’s almost no limit to what you can do.
And, there are even options on the market for island benches on wheels. This means you can move the bench in and out of your kitchen as required.
Integrate Appliances
Thinking about where you want to place your appliances is of importance if you want a family friendly kitchen. Of course, you can teach your children to stay away from hot water or not go near the stove when it’s on but accidents do happen.
Therefore you may want to consider integrating your appliances into your kitchen cabinetry to ensure they don’t use it without supervision (or until you’re happy for them to use it without you there).
Use Smart Technology
Smart technology is becoming increasingly popular. If you want a family friendly kitchen, you can use this to your advantage. With the right programming, you can set up your appliances to respond to certain commands.
Install Deep Drawers & Wide Cabinetry
Installing deep drawers and wide cabinetry is a good way to make your kitchen more family friendly. This way your children can easily access them without getting in the way or damaging things.
Opt for Less Maintenance
Just as when we discussed designing a family friendly bathroom, if you can get away with choosing kitchen cabinets, sinks and the like that are made from easy to clean materials, we suggest you go for it.
Increase Storage Options
If it’s just you and your partner living in an apartment or house, you may be able to get away with less storage. But when you have children or a bigger family living with you, the more storage options the better.
Some choices you have are:
– open shelving (if your family members are neat)
– using corner cabinets wisely
– ditching the kitchen bin
– installing spice racks or baskets
– keeping recipe books on the bookshelf (not in the kitchen)
Consider Your Flooring
If you want to create a family friendly kitchen, don’t forget about your flooring. Just as in your bathroom, you should be sure to choose non-slip tiles or vinyl so your little ones don’t slip and fall.
Non slip flooring options are often incredibly hard wearing and durable. Look at this as another advantage, especially when it comes to reducing your maintenance.
Install Safe & Unique Powerpoints
One thing you don’t want to forget about is your powerpoints. You may opt to include safety covers while your children are young or even dual purpose USB adaptors to create a charging station for devices.
Don’t Neglect Your Door Hardware
A family friendly kitchen needs to be accessible for everyone – from young children to the elderly and everyone in between. One often neglected area in this arena is the door hardware. You want something that is easy to open or close. Soft close options might even be a good option in some cases.
Remember Your Tapware
One way you may like to introduce your children to the kitchen is by getting them to help with washing the dishes. If this is the case, you should be certain to choose tapware that has integrated safety features like anti-scalding.
Baby Proof Your Kitchen
While it’s good to introduce your child to assisting in the kitchen at an early age, you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself. If you’ve just had a baby – or you have crawling and toddling little ones around the house – you may want to install baby-proof locks until they get older.
How Builders Discount Warehouse Can Help
Need help upgrading your family-friendly kitchen? Give us a call!
At Builders Discount Warehouse, we have a range of kitchen accessories, appliances and fixtures you might like to include in your own home. Our qualified, experienced team members are some of the best in the business and can help make your renovation as smooth as possible.
For professional assistance designing your perfect family friendly kitchen, contact the experienced team at Builders Discount Warehouse today.
