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| Premier Interiors Kitchens |
The kitchen is the heart of the home & its role has changed hugely over the past few decades. Once apon a time the kitchen's purpose was just that of preparing food but has now become far more multi functional, especially now with the growing trend of open spaces & the popularity of kitchen/dining areas being combined. A kitchen can now be a place of entertaining & dining rather than just food preparation. Planning your space needs a lot of thought, working from the basis of the work triangle rule. The working triangle is based on the three main working areas of the kitchen, the oven, the fridge & the sink. These three areas should be planned in the form of an imaginary triangle so they work efficiently together when preparing meals. These three points need to flow together so you can reach them all with eaze. Working from this you can then plan the rest of your kitchen.
Firstly think about what works really well in your present kitchen and what you want from your space. Suitable storage needs to be considered for each area of your kitchen. Next to your fridge/freezer allocate storage for other food whether this is normal cupboard space or pull out baskets or tall larder cupboards for tinned or packet foods. Wicker baskets are a great idea to store your fresh fruit & vegetables. By the cooker & hob you need to allow storage for your saucepans & other cookware. Pan drawers are a great use of space as they make eveything easily assesable. They work incredibly well under a hob making everything close to hand & are also a good idea at the bottom of a tall oven housing unit. Cupboard space for glasses & plates is useful by the sink & dishwasher as our plate racks so you can wash, dry & put away within this area. In the kitchen below 2 pull out larder units were fitted around an american style fridge freezer with the small space at the top used for a wine rack.
Dynamic Space by Blum focuses on creating even more storage space and improving quality of motion in a kitchen. It enables well-organised storage using the 'Orga-line' inner dividing system for drawers and pullouts. This makes it easy to arrange and access all items in a kitchen by using interior organisation. This concept looks at working in five specific zones to create a more organised workflow in the kitchen.
Not everything has to be hidden away & in smaller kitchens you are limited to cupboard space so displaying kitchen equipment is the only option. Frequently used utensils can be stored in decorative containers on the worktop or hung from a rack over the hob. In the same way pots & pans can be hung from the ceiling.
You need to consider the shape & space of your kitchen when planning your space, whether you have a galley kitchen or a large U-shaped kitchen. It is always best to have your kitchen proffesionally planned as a designer will know what works best for your space & can suggest how to utilize what you have well. There are lots of clever pull out systems for corner cupboards to help you make the most of the space you have. There is often small gaps to fill in & these can be used for spice drawers, tray spaces or small pull out wire racks. 
Consider the design of your home when chosing your kitchen style, try and keep with the general theme of the rest of your home when choosing the look you want to create. Collect pictures from brochures & magazines & build a little moodbook of ideas on styles you like. There is such a huge range of kitchens on the market it can be a little over whelming so collecting inspiration will help you narrow things down & determine your taste. A kitchen is a big investment so getting things right is important. Lets look at the differnt types of kitchen style:-
Modern/contemporary style kitchens
Sleek high gloss doors are a hugely popular door style right now light & airy & easy to clean. Whether your preference is black or white or a vibrant pop of colour in red or green or a mix of colours they are streamlined & practicle choice. Below the customer choose white gloss doors on the main kitchen with black gloss as a feature for the island, teamed with sleek stainless steel applianaces & door handles & white granite worktops & crisp white walls. For a softer look opt for wood block worktops mixing cold & warm materials for a more balanced feel.
Country style kitchens
Country style kitchens have also come back into fashion becoming hugely popular again. This may be due to the rise in the home made home & a more ecclectic, homely feel to interiors. There are many variations of the country style kitchen from the popular shaker door style & tongue & groove panelling to the more modern touch of scandinavian style. The colour pallette tends to be a mix of creamy whites, soft blues & greens, but the warm ecclectic style of mediterranean or spanish influences have edged there way through bringing sunny yellows & warm terracottas to the country style kitchen. Strong influences in this style kitchen are Aga cookers or ranges, often with a chimney mantle built around it like in the picture below. Belfast sinks are another must have for the country style kitchen as are dresser units to house your crockery. Dresser units can be built in especially in the same door style as the rest of the kitchen or can be purchased seperately in an old vintage style dresser in a contrasting wood. Plenty of utensils hanging above the aga or pots & pans hanging above an island are a dominant look. Country kitchens really play on the fact that kitchens are the heart of the home. Spice drawers & wine racks are other interesting features.
The traditonal style kitchen mixes wood with a natural colour pallette, adding slate or stone flooring & ceramic tiles for a functional working kitchen that is less harsh than the industrial style kitchen. MDF wood look doors can replace natural wood & are designed with tongue & groove or patina staining to give the illusion of real wood & traditional appearance. Hard wearing wood tops like granite, silestone or corian are popular with this style.
I have slightly touched on appliances, Agas & range cookers being a dominant appliance in a country style kitchen but range cookers are also found more & more in modern kitchens too due to the fact they have more cooking capacity than a normal style cooker. But with so many differnt designs on the market the choice is never ending. its a good idea when shopping for appliances to visit showrooms where you can take a good look at the products for yourself & get a feel for them. American style fridge freezers are also popular in traditional, country or modern style kitchens.
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| Modern AGA |
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| contemporary cooking incorporating 2 single ovens together with a large hob above |
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| American style fridge/freezers popular in any style kitchen |
Curved doors are becoming an ever growing trend & are not just found in contemorary style kitchens either, curved wooden doors like these beautifully crafted glass wall units look stunning in a traditional kitchen & just give a soft look to a design as well as being a fantastic feature. Curved pan drawers below a hob are one of my favourite features.
For more inspiration & tips on kitchens or appliances & sneak peeks at some of our previously fitted kitchens blog hop over to http://premierinteriorskandb.blogspot.com/
or visit the premier interiors website http://www.premierinteriors.co.uk/
