At the heart of the home, it’s essential your kitchen space works for you and your family. If your kitchen needs a new lease of life, discover tips on how to design the perfect family kitchen with a guide from InSinkErator.
The family kitchen has seen a transformation in recent years, moving from a separate room used simply for preparing food to the hub of the family home. On average in the UK, we spend 5.9 hours cooking each week, also using our kitchens as a space to eat, socialise, work and relax.
A busy modern lifestyle creates the innate need to bring the family together for meals, rather than spending time in separate rooms and eating individually. It is also much more practical for parents to be able to cook in the kitchen whilst keeping an eye on their children at the same time.
Your kitchen design will depend on your individual family needs and the ages of your children. Ideally the space will be able to evolve with your family as it grows and your requirements for this essential space in the home shift. The kitchen can be used for family meal times and homework during the week, before transforming into a lively space to entertain friends once the weekend arrives.
With this in mind, what can you incorporate into your vision of the perfect family kitchen?
Plentiful storage is one of the most essential elements in a family kitchen design. As kitchens are now not just used for food preparation, families need a place to put all their ‘stuff’.
In a family kitchen, cupboards and drawers for storing homework books, plastic bags, games, activities, arts and crafts and the piles of paperwork and junk mail that inevitably stack up are a must. The list goes on.
By planning a place to store everything within your family kitchen design, you should no longer need to waste time searching for that elusive pen or pair of scissors when you need them. Sound like a dream?
Kitchen designers are coming up with storage solutions such as appliance garages, pull-out spice racks, hidden separate bins for recyclables and caddies for pots and pans. Everything will be organised and easy to find exactly when you need it.
The future of kitchen design sees a continuation of storage solutions designed to save time and make daily family life easier.
Open-plan kitchens have become the norm for a family, but they have problems that kitchen designers are looking to find solutions for. For example, if you’re planning to host a dinner party in your open plan kitchen, where do you hide the pots and pans you’ve just used to cook with?
A broken-plan layout provides this solution by adding freestanding shelf units or a raised breakfast bar where previously a wall would have been.
You can create different family zones on the same kitchen island unit by using contrasting materials to provide a seamless transition of space from food preparation area to dining space.
The future of kitchen furniture looks to continue this trend, with moveable sideboards that contain wine glasses and TV stands that can be hidden and pulled out ready to watch a post-dinner film, or to catch up on your favourite show whilst you’re cooking.
A family kitchen doesn’t have to mean clutter and chaos - you just need to make sure the space works for you.
There is no reason why a family kitchen can’t be stylish as well as practical, especially as the kitchen has become an area for entertaining in the evening.
You can add statement lighting such as large pendant lamp shades above your kitchen breakfast bar or island to add an element of style to your kitchen space.
Sparkly surfaces and wall tiles are in fashion - from subtly shimmering metallics to glitter grout to make your kitchen sparkle and shine. A glittery feature splashback or even some shimmering plug sockets will add some dazzle without being over the top.
Alternatively, add touches of on-trend rose gold and copper combined with luscious green pot plants and chunky wooden kitchen surfaces to add colour and texture to your kitchen design.
Look out for kitchen design buys on your family holidays. You can find items that are on-trend and will also keep the happy memories you made on your holiday alive once you get home. You can find striking Moroccan, Turkish, Greek, Italian and French tiles while you’re away at prices much lower than you’d find at home. Just a small number of statement tiles will create a stunning kitchen splashback that will be totally unique to your home.
Rainbow colours are also in fashion for a fun, bold family space. Colour coordinate a rainbow of books on a shelf or kitchen dresser and match with statement mugs and coloured kitchen utensils. Add a brightly coloured upholstered chair or sofa if you have the space - think a pop of colour like pillar-box red, sunshine yellow or fushia pink.
A colourful AGA is always a popular family addition and creates a warm, inviting centrepoint for the family (and the dog!) to gather around.
As an alternative eye-catching statement to bold pops of colour, add fashionable geometric patterns on cushions, blinds or rugs.
You can also use exposed brickwork in your kitchen for an edgy urban feel. You can do this by using real brickwork or wallpaper with a brickwork or bookshelf print.
One trend that has taken the family kitchen market by storm is the steaming hot water tap and it is easy to see why.
Often the first thing that you ask your friends or family when they visit your home is whether they would like a cup of tea or coffee. A steaming water tap means you can make a cup instantly rather than having to boil the kettle. It also leaves you more time to chat to your guest and more time to keep up with the kids.
A hot water tap is a huge time saver, designed to match the demands of family life. Overfilling the kettle is a big eco no-no, whereas with a steaming water tap you only use as much hot water as you need. You can also use the near-boiling hot water tap to fill pans for the stove to speed up the time it takes to cook dinner - invaluable when you’re feeding hungry children!
Families with babies will also benefit from the addition of a hot water tap into their perfect kitchen design, as you’re able to sterilise bottles quickly and easily. You can wave goodbye to fiddly sterilisation units that scald your hands when you’re trying to prepare the night feed.
As a parent, safety will be paramount in your kitchen. More than 6,500 under 5s have to go to A&E every year due to scalds from kettles. A steaming water tap is practically child-proof, so you can enjoy ultimate peace of mind when your little ones are in the kitchen.
If you have the space, it is wise to create a separate working area in your family kitchen. Not only do your children need a space to be able to do their homework while you’re nearby to help, many jobs now mean that parents are working from home several days a week.
If you want to maximise your floor space, a kitchen designer can create a desk area that is simply tucked away neatly when it’s not in use.
If you have the space for a family kitchen dining table, think carefully about the many uses that this table will have, perhaps alternating between homework, casual family mealtimes and more sophisticated dinner parties.
Dining tables with long benches are fashionable for families at the moment, as a long bench can accommodate more children at the table than individual chairs when your children have parties or play dates. A bench might be awkward for a dinner party but it will be a must if you’re cooking Christmas dinner!
The family kitchen has become the hub of the home and there is no ‘one solution fits all’ approach to finding the perfect design that works for you, your family and your home.
Kitchen design depends on personal taste as well as individual needs. For example, some people want a minimalist kitchen akin to the latest bar equipped with tech, TV and electronics, while others can’t bear the idea of a TV in the kitchen and want a more traditional space for the family to eat, socialise and disconnect from their screens.
The choice is yours, but you’re sure to enjoy planning the perfect family kitchen.
