Tips For Finding Your Dream Kitchen

Kitchens are, to someone like me who loves to cook, a workspace where you need room to create, but is also functional. As someone who has moved and experienced six different kitchens in the last twenty years, I’ve had the chance to find out what features are better than others. What’s my dream kitchen? You may be a little surprised!

Counter Space is Gold

I love lots of counters, especially a large continuous space where I can roll out bread dough or have room to cool a few batches of cookies. There is nothing worse than being squeezed into a tiny space or having little patches of counter space, but no actual place to work. My favourite kitchens have islands, and I’ll admit, now that my kitchen has an island, I’m a little like a guy with a fancy car—always polishing the surface and being particular about keeping it clear of clutter.

Appliances are Worth the Investment

If you cook a lot, an oven or dishwasher that really works for you is a wise investment. Dishwashers that don’t quite do the job and only redistribute the crumbs, make more work for you in the long run, and a fridge that consistently freezes your food instead of just keeping it cold is wasteful. Avoid the frustration of cheap and untrustworthy appliances by purchasing quality in the beginning, and they should serve you well for years to come. Take a good look at extra features and decide what works for you—I love a dishwasher that grinds up all the scraps of food and flushes them, as well as a fridge that has a water and ice dispenser feature. Do your research, try out your friends' appliances, and ask around. One unexpected bonus of having a water dispenser in our fridge is that our teenager now drinks a lot more water!

Size Counts

My last kitchen had lots of space, but much of it was wasted. I had to walk quite a distance from the counter where I was chopping, to the stove, and nothing was in easy reach. An efficient use of space is the key to a really good kitchen. I love kitchens that have many things right within your reach, and where you can go from the counter to stove easily, without practically running across the room. You don’t want it too small or you are tripping over each other, but very large isn’t always the best either. 

Storage is a Must

When we moved, John kept commenting on how much ‘stuff’ I have for the kitchen. I’ll admit, in the last few years, I’ve acquired more kitchen tools and appliances than you can shake a stick at, but they are all very well used. It’s very important to have enough cupboards to store all your kitchen essentials—even if you don’t cook a lot now, if you enjoy cooking and think that one day it could be a focus, make sure to have a little extra space. Speaking of cupboards, I love ones that go directly up to the ceiling to avoid that greasy dust trap on the top of them, which I’ve had to clean each time we’ve moved. We also love cupboards and drawers that have a self-closing feature to eliminate kids slamming them by accident, and ones that have a simple design on the front that won’t collect a bunch of food and spills.

Pay attention to the inside of the cupboards, too. There are all kinds of cool features you can get to make your cupboards and drawers more interesting and help to maximize your space.

Let There be Light!

One thing that I can’t work without is lighting over the stove. I need to really see if that chicken is pink or not, and what the food that I’m stirring is actually doing. Is it browning? Has it started to burn? I need to see! Kitchens with lots of light, especially natural sunlight, make me happy.  

The only real way to figure out what your dream kitchen is, is to try different ones out. Just like buying a car, there are all kinds of shapes and models that you’ll need to test drive before you find the one that’s right for you. Ask your friends what they like best about their kitchens, and if you can, even cook together in one. It will give you a really good idea of what to expect. Keep a list of the things you like, and before you know it, you can create your own!