Design and Maintenance Tips to Update Your Kitchen

It is a common fallacy that you have to invest thousands of dollars in renovating the kitchen if you want to update it. When the kitchen isn’t too run-down, regular and savvy maintenance has the power to revamp the kitchen without spending too much money.

Use the walls for storage

Ideally, the kitchen walls should be lined up with cabinets with doors (glass ones are aesthetically the most pleasing). However, you can use wall space beneath them as well. Magnets, rods, and hooks can all be used to hang pots, pans, and cooking utensils from them.

Since dust is going to be a major issue, use these walls pegs only for cooking utensils you use every day or week. The biggest advantage of vertical wall storage is its customizability, i.e. pegs can be any size and they fit virtually every kitchen, no matter how small it appears.

LED decorative and functional light

Speaking of hanging cabinets, they are usually placed right above the kitchen countertop. This makes them ideal for sticking an LED strip underneath the cabinets. The strip would be decorative because of the color of the light but it would have a practical purpose as well. The countertop is usually the place where you cut and prepare food, so an extra light source couldn’t hurt.

A cooktop with clean lines

The stove is one of the centerpieces of the kitchen. However, the outdated design of the cooktop can really hurt the loom of the whole kitchen. Luckily, there are modern, clean-line cooktops that are made from glass-ceramic.

Contrary to popular belief, these stovetops aren’t fragile, as you’d be surprised by how much pounding they can take. The sleep profile of a ceramic stovetop fits the dimensions of conventional cooktops, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make the switch.

Kitchen “continuity”

When it comes to clear lines, the entire kitchen should be streamlined in a sense. Namely, all of the cabinets and appliances should be purchased at the same time or from the same dealer, so they have a uniform look.

In terms of maintenance, it will be easier to mop the floors in form of the kitchen island for instance. All appliances and cabinets have the same depth, i.e. they are positioned in a line, so it’s easy to clean them. Every time you decide to buy an appliance or a utensil, make sure it matches the overall decor of your kitchen.

Economical use of space

Don’t you just hate it when you have to climb a stool or a stepladder to dust the top of the hanging cabinets in the kitchen? If you were really smart about the way you used space inside the kitchen, you would never have to go through all this trouble.

Namely, the economical use of space allows you to fill all the gaps, both vertical and horizontal, where dust accumulates. For instance, you can extend the cabinets all the way to the ceiling, gaining extra storage space in the process.

Also, you can extend the cupboard sideways, so there is no gap between it and the wall. When custom ordering furniture and appliances for the kitchen, make sure all pieces fit neatly together, so you use up the space available to the max.

Solving the problem of corners

As part of the effort to maximize the use of space in your kitchen, you’ll need to use the corners as well. There are hardly any appliances that are designed to fit a corner of a room but that doesn’t mean you can’t be innovative.

A corner-cabinet can be made using a two-tiered carousel. This contraption doesn’t just look cool but it’s functional, as you get to store rarely-used and often-used cutlery and utensils together. All you have to do is open the cabinet door and voilà, everything is within easy reach.

Mise en place storage

The French term mise en place is often used in culinary arts to denominate when all the cooking utensils are stored properly. Such organization of space is ideal for residential kitchens, as it allows owners to know exactly where each and every fork or pan is.

In a nutshell, you want to store the items you use every day, such as glasses and spoons, in easily accessible places in the kitchen. In order to achieve this, cabinets and drawers are often partitioned, so you can store several types of cutlery in a single storage unit.

The kitchen island doesn’t have to be boring

Most homeowners think of kitchen islands as rectangular structures. When imagines like this, they are often crossed out during home renovation projects, as they are deemed bulky. However, a kitchen island can be of any shape you like, from the letter “U” to an oval shape.

The modern kitchen, especially in a family home, is unimaginable without a stately kitchen island, so make room for one. Not only will you get an extra countertop but additional storage space as well. Modern islands feature modular cabinetry and pegs that are located underneath the countertop.

The significance of appliance maintenance

There are numerous different electrical appliances in a typical kitchen and they need to be fully operational. A toaster that had been sitting disused for months is no longer an amenity but a waste of space.

Likewise, you need an urgent oven repair if you notice that broilers have lost power. A broken piece of hardware in the kitchen is a nuisance, so you should look to fix it as soon as possible or discard it altogether, replacing it with a newer model.

Storing spices

If you’re a culinary expert or you simply like to try out new dishes, then you must probably have tens, if not hundreds of different spices. They are usually kept in jars or vials which aren’t big but when you add them all up, you have a problem where to store all these containers.

A neat solution for storing spices are inserts for drawers that allow you to store spices horizontally. These inserts usually come with uniform jars that have labels on them, so you’ll never again mix up oregano with basil, for example.

The power of LED strips

The base of hanging cabinets isn’t the only place suitable for an odd LED strip in the kitchen. There are lights with built-in motion sensors that turn on automatically when you enter the room. This is pretty handy (put intended) when you are carrying a pot of boiling-hot water, for example.

If we know that burglars usually gain access to your house through the sliding backdoor in the kitchen, then smart LEDs can be considered as a safety measure as well. Furthermore, short LED strips can be placed inside cupboards and drawers to prevent injuries when retrieving sharp objects like knives.

Updating the cooktop

We have already discussed the importance of switching to a glass-ceramic cooktop. However, when choosing the right model, you should take care of its energy-efficiency. The more advanced the cooktop, the less energy it will consume, lowering your utility bill.

Dealing paper clutter and waste

Whether it’s the bedroom or the kitchen, clutter is equally annoying. However, the kitchen has a surprising amount of paper clutter that seems to appear out of nowhere. The source of paper clutter is mostly packaging that comes with our food.

If there is a recycling scheme in your community, then be sure to create a special bin for recycling. Organic waste, on the other side, should be thrown out as often as possible before it starts decomposing. An alternative is to build a compost box in the backyard and use food leftovers as compost.

Labeling will get you far

In terms of organizing the kitchen, labeling everything will get you far. The spices we wrote about earlier come ready with tags that you use to identify their content. The same can be used for every other container you keep in the fridge or the larder.

The importance of labeling is truly evident in large households. Namely, other people cannot know every single item you bought or whether the expiration date is due after you rip open the wrapping. Labels ensure everything in the kitchen is named and has the “best before” date.

The cleaning never stops

In order to keep the kitchen pristine clear, you should clean it as often as possible. These cleanups don’t have to be detailed, as sometimes there are just two wine glasses to rinse. Other times, a wet cloth will clean the fridge or you might scrub the countertop real quick.

Unloading the dishwasher quickly

Speaking of big families, the dishwasher is mandatory in a large household, as washing the dishes by hand is out of the question. As stated earlier, the appliance must be fully operational and you should unload the dishwasher as soon as it’s done washing.

The reason behind unloading the dishwasher right away is that you shouldn’t let clean dishes sit around unutilized. During the period when the dishwasher is blocked, so dirty dishes will start oiling up in the sink and on the countertop.

Free up the sink

When it comes to the sink, you can have the sleekest-looking washbasin in the kitchen but if it’s full of dirty plates and food leftover, it’s going to be an eyesore. Ideally, you should wash the dishes after every meal or at least at the end of the day.

You don’t want dirty dishes sitting for too long in the sink, as they reek and it’s really unsanitary. After you do the dishes, be sure to wipe the area around the sink, so you don’t leave it wet overnight. Hard water stains will prove difficult to remove.

A homemade cleaner to save money and the planet

Finally, you want to make your own cleaning agent, instead of buying commercial ones. With a green cleaner, you’ll get to save money and help protect the environment.

The “recipe” goes as follows: one teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of dish soap, and two tablespoons of vinegar and. You pour the mixture into a spray bottle and shake it before use.

A modern kitchen is seldom something you buy but you rather create a functional kitchen. From LED strips underneath hanging cabinets to calling a repairman for the oven, savvy design and regular maintenance have the power to revamp every kitchen.