When it comes to your kitchen, it not only resembles your personality, and what sort of household you run, but it can speak a huge amount about what kind of cook you are. So what is your kitchen personality?
Whether you spend most of your spare time in the kitchen, if it’s a family area, or if it’s just a necessity, the way you design your kitchen is important – it needs to suit your lifestyle. Here, kitchen experts Harvey Jones gives you an insight into the types of kitchen styles that will best suit you:
The Master Chef
Are you the genius behind your kitchen? What type of cook are you? Do you love spending hours on end experimenting with new flavours and recipes, making lavish meals and keeping up with family traditions for everyone to enjoy? If you have answered: yes, yes and yes, then come and claim your title: The Master Chef.
You’ll most likely dream of having a top-of-the-range kitchen with stacks of the latest utensils and appliances so you can get the most out of your cooking. You might want to consider a hi-spec built-in oven, a hot-water tap and a large fridge freezer to store all your fresh ingredients.
If you are king or queen of hosting, then you might also want to add a wine cooler or cabinet to keep everyone’s favourite tipple at the perfect temperature. The Linear range is perfect for the Master Chef – gorgeously refined, flat-fronted and easy to clean. Finish the look off with stainless steel or cool stone worktops for great pastry-making.
The Family Baker
Is your kitchen the heart of your home? Is being the family baker your kitchen personality? If it is the place where the whole family gathers to laugh, talk and eat a delicious meal, then it’s likely that it needs to be family friendly. It needs to be safe for your little ones who could potentially be running around whilst you cook the family dinner – curved cupboards and worktops are a good idea to prevent any sharp bumps.
The centre of the traditional kitchen should include a table, or a more modern take to this is an island or peninsula. After all, it’s a place for the family to gather whilst you prepare and cook. An island or peninsula can also act as a breakfast bar and homework station by adding bar stools. There are also stacks of interior solutions that can be built into your cupboards so you can store all utensils, appliances and any hazardous equipment away from little ones’ hands.
Again, a large fridge freezer is a good investment for a family kitchen, especially one with an integrated water dispenser so that your children can help themselves to a drink when they need it. Similarly, with little feet running around you’ll want a non-slip, durable floor that is easily cleaned and doesn’t show all those sticky fingerprints.
Finally, if you are one for baking sweet treats and fresh bread for everyone to enjoy, then a larder, where baking goods can all be kept in one place, and plenty of internal plugs so you can leave your mixers and blenders ready to go but still out of sight are both great investments for a Family Baker.
The No-Fuss Cook
For the cooks who just don’t have the time or patience to spend hours in the kitchen preparing and cooking lavish three-course dinners, you still deserve a beautiful, stylish kitchen. And there are so many appliances that help you cook quick and easy meals with everything at hand.
Shaker kitchens could be the perfect design to suit your kitchen personality – they are packed with plenty of time-saving devices so that you don’t have to spend hours on end cooking. Great appliance choices for the reluctant cook include multi-functional combination ovens with pre-set recipes, or a modern range topped with five powerful gas burners that will make quick work of stir-fries.
Keeping everything accessible is a top priority for the No-Fuss Cook, so efficiently store all appliances close to areas you will need them — put pans below your hob, for instance. Little tricks like this help keep everything as fuss free as you need it.
