Kitchen Trends

Kitchens today have transformed from being traditional places devoted only to cooking and washing, to being well-lit open family spaces. If you are a working woman, it is imperative that your kitchen is designed so as to takes less of your valuable time.

A modular kitchen helps you achieve this with utmost precision. It is dedicated to understanding your requirements and offering customised solutions. So, if you are juggling time between kitchen and office, here are a few tips to design your kitchen:

The work triangle of your kitchen must be compact so that it reduces movement time between the key appliances and yet allows enough legroom.

Replace old kitchen countertops with marble, Kota or fancy coloured corian counter tops. They not only enhance the look of your kitchen but are also low on maintenance.

Replace your old gas burners with stylish hobs which are easy to clean and have a neat look.

Install a kitchen chimney for smoke-free cooking area. In most Mumbai houses, due to lack of proper ventilation, the kitchen becomes claustrophobic. So treat yourself to a pollution-free kitchen by installing a chimney available in a spectrum of shapes, sizes and colour to suit your preference.

Place all the essential and frequently used items like chilli powder, tea, coffee, sugar etc on a mid-way system. A midway system is a stylish steel holder with a single tier or double tier shelves. This can be installed near your gas or a handy corner available.

Use budget friendly tiles above kitchen countertops and sinks. They look stylish and most importantly, are easy to clean.

Often when you are working in the kitchen you are moving fast. Don't leave boxes, stools, bags of groceries or anything else out on the floor where they can trip you.

Build cabinets for storage at eye level. It helps you find the things easily and ensures that you are not bending down half the time.

Replace your traditional kitchen sink with deeper stainless steel sinks which can accommodate more utensils and are easier to clean and maintain.

Use glass or pearl-pet jars to store the ingredients and duly name them like sugar, tea, coffee, and so on. This makes it easier to find them when in hurry. Now if you want to enhance the existing area of your kitchen, you can intelligently utilise every corner:

Carrousel: The carrousel baskets are also known as a merry-go-round baskets . These baskets revolve individually around the rigid centre shaft, thereby enabling easy accessibility of even the corner-most jar. These baskets are especially designed to optimise corner space in the kitchen.

Pole System: All your frequently used items can be within arm's length. The pole system is a multipurpose storage unit that can be mounted on the breakfast table or on the ground. You can use it to store fruits, cups and just about anything you need. Since it is compact and vertical it is wonderful in saving space and increasing efficiency at the same time.

Dee Tray: These D- shaped trays can be used to save the corner space in an L' Shaped kitchen, where the platform depth is unequal. They consist of two independent trays that swivel around a pivot fixed on a central frame

General tips:

To keep your kitchen smelling good dampen a couple of cotton balls with vanilla and place around the kitchen.

To remove hard water stains from your dish drainer, pour one cup vinegar over it and let it stand overnight. Wipe it off in the morning with a wet sponge.

A cup of vinegar in your mop water will give your floor a shine.

Deodorise your garbage disposal with leftover orange and lemon peels.

Always use dustbin bags as they are easy to remove and also hygienic.

Use a pair of kitchen scissors to chop chillies, etc. It will keep hands from burning, and the job is done much faster too.

Keep your knives sharp so that they will slide easily through what you are cutting, with little force involved .

If you have a choice, avoid glazed tile for kitchen floors. Glazed floor tiles are beautiful, but dangerous. Anything breakable, when dropped on glazed tile will definitely break besides, even a thin coating of oil or soap water can make it slippery as ice.