Have you ever wondered how much time you spend in your kitchen? If you start doing the math and add up all the hours and minutes you devote to cooking, prepping meals and other kitchen-related chores every day, chances are you’re going to get a pretty surprising figure. Even if you’re not a big cook and don’t necessarily enjoy being surrounded by pots and pans on a daily basis, you’re still probably spending a good amount of time in the kitchen given that this room has transcended its traditional purpose of food preparation and has become the hub of the home due to its multifunctional nature.
Modern-day kitchens are versatile spaces that allow for a smooth transition between culinary endeavours, working, relaxing, socialising and entertaining. But with so many roles to fulfil, kitchens also have to endure a lot of wear and tear and that can make them lose their appeal and efficacy.
So, what’s there to do when you notice your kitchen is starting to look a bit lacklustre and doesn’t function as it once did? Is it worth taking on a big renovation project and replacing your entire kitchen from scratch or is there a more affordable and less time-consuming solution that can help you breathe new life into your kitchen and fix what needs to be fixed?
The answer to that latter question is a definite yes. Whether you’re looking to modernise your kitchen or simply want to switch things up a bit so that you can enjoy this space more, here are a few simple but smart design hacks that can make you see your kitchen in a new light.
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Store all your small appliances in one place
These days, kitchens are populated with all sorts of innovative utensils and appliances from toasters, kettles and coffee machines to blenders, mixers, juicers and everything in between that are meant to help one save time and effort and give the space a sleek and modern vibe. But as helpful and visually appealing as these pieces of equipment can be on their own, they can also take up a lot of countertop space and add to the overall chaos and clutter that tends to take over the kitchen.
One way to address this annoying issue is to have a dedicated storage space for small appliances. This allows you to have easy access to everyday devices so you can use them when needed while also keeping them out of the way when they’re not in use.
Use drawer dividers
Drawer dividers are the unsung heroes of organised kitchens. These unassuming storage solutions can become real game changers in keeping your kitchen tidy and clutter-free which is known to be one of the most challenging tasks for homeowners.
Drawer dividers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and you can even build your own if you enjoy DIY projects. They’re perfect for separating your kitchen items into categories and preventing them from mixing and becoming one giant mess. It’s rather impressive how such a small improvement can have such a big impact on the functionality of the space, but once you try this hack, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Maximise storage with shelf inserts
Open shelves are all the rage when it comes to kitchen design trends, but they’re not exactly storage-friendly. They’re great for putting on display part of your cookware and kitchen utensils, usually the ones that have an aesthetical quality to them, but for anything other than that they’re rather impractical as they make you lose storage space and can become cluttered.
If you don’t want to give up on open shelving but also crave more storage and flexibility, a few clever additions like hanging under-shelf baskets or using clear acrylic risers can make a huge difference in this respect.
Install a ceiling rack for your cookware
Pots and pans are a must in every self-respecting kitchen, but storing them represents a real challenge due to their size and shape. So, you can either sacrifice a lot of cabinet space to hold your cookware collection or think up a clever solution to avoid this from happening.
In this case, the ceiling which is often an overlooked aspect of home design can provide the answer. You can use hooks, rails or ceiling-mounted grids to hang heavy saucepans, frying pans and other kitchenware and have them within easy reach whenever you need them. Not only is this going to save you a lot of cabinet space, but it also adds a special charm to your kitchen, so you get to check boxes for form and functionality.
Build a door-mounted spice rack
Another area that contributes to kitchen clutter is the spice collection. Even if you keep all your spices neatly labelled and organised in separate jars, if you don’t have a place where you can keep them all they can end up in every nook and cranny of the room and get lost among all the other kitchen items.
So, instead of having your spices scattered across the kitchen, why not take advantage of the vertical storage space that doors provide? Whether we’re talking about cabinet doors or pantry doors, these vertical surfaces can serve as a perfect location for hanging spice racks. This way, you won’t have to play hide and seek with your herbs, spices and seasonings but know exactly where to find them.
Wrapping up
If you want to enjoy your kitchen to the fullest, it’s important to make it work smarter, not harder. These small design tips, although not ground-breaking, can help you reorganise your kitchen space and find a fix to many longstanding problems. So, if you’re ready to give your kitchen a quick makeover without breaking the bank, feel free to try these hacks yourself and test their efficiency.