Plan well
The festive season is a time to eat, drink and be merry, so what’s the best way to make maximum use of your kitchen appliances for the festive season?
Easy! It’s all in the planning. As anyone who has had to cater for family, loved ones and friends over the festive season will tell you, if you’re well prepared (lists, anyone?) a lot of angst can be taken out entertaining and cooking over the festive season.
Kitchen’s character
Of course, the best way to achieve this is to have a great kitchen in the first place (hint, hint, Santa). Nowadays, many homes have the kitchen as the focal point for gatherings and that means kitchen appliances, and what surrounds them, will be used to the max.
Whatever is going on around your kitchen appliances such as your cooktop, oven, rangehood, fridge (and wine fridge, if you’re lucky) and dishwasher includes:
Clean up
Your oven and stovetop are going to be in high demand soon, so it’s a good idea to clean these two appliances – though it’s not a fun job if you haven’t done it for a while. Luckily there’s plenty of non-toxic products around these days to make it less onerous.
Kitchen island
Your kitchen island – have you got a fabulous, modern and sleek island that covers all your household’s needs? Is the finish complementary to your kitchen’s overall look and design as well as being functional with loads of storage space and its finish such as laminate, wood or solid surface is easy to clean?
Benchtops
Ask anyone house hunting what a major turn-off in a kitchen is and they’ll quickly tell you it’s a lack of adequate benchtop space. Hopefully, yours will be plentiful (just like the season!) and in a beautiful finish such as engineered stone or solid timber. To be ready for the onslaught of holiday baking and cooking, start off on the right foot with clean, uncluttered kitchen benchtops. You’ll not only love the extra space for pudding and cake decorating and meal prep, you’ll probably need it too.
Wall cabinets
Your wall cabinets – the festive season is likely to challenge your usual catering needs as you may well have more people in the home at this time of year. Does your kitchen allow for this with a user-friendly wall cabinet system such as the Blum AVENTOS range? This flexible, easy to use lift system offers timeless design and technology that allows for the flaps to open easily, stay in any desired position and close silently and effortlessly.
Cabinetry
Cramped drawers overcrowded with cutlery and kitchen utensils is so 1990s! These days sleek kitchen design allows for fantastic cabinetry with a place for everything and stunning finishes such as handles (metal finishes or routed and integrated are just two popular styles) to complement the overall look.
And does your kitchen allow for cabinets designed for higher ceilings (typical in older homes) which are custom built to any finished height? During the festive season, you’ll be so thankful for an organised kitchen so you can spend time on what matters more.
If you need a hand with any design questions for the different elements in your kitchen, speak with someone on our design team here.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!