Kitchen Delights

Kitchen Remodelling

The love for cooking just doesn't stop at cooking. To have an enjoyable cooking experience, it is very important to have a good ambiance, effective tools and exquisite cutlery.

In this section, I shall share that love story with my kitchen.

It all starts with our parent's 30 year old kitchen. It has been a really long time since anything was moved out of this kitchen (including the tiny 'lovely' creatures) so we thought we would do a kitchen makeover. I used to be awestruck with the HGTV show 'Bang for the buck' which deals with kitchen transformations. So I thought why not do a makeover for our own kitchen. The transformation was really fabulous. The old kitchen had a huge chimney with the natural air-drifting concept. It also had a service window between kitchen and dining which in most household is not used effectively. Also technology improvements in the past few years have presented us with a lot of time effective, cost effective and energy efficient tools to substitute for the older ones. These also enhances the pleasure of being in the kitchen.

Since a picture can speak a thousand words, here goes the old pics

The objective of our makeover was to focus and improve on certain specific points

1. Increase the work area while having a lot of space to move around
2. Unclutter the workplace by using modular kitchen concept
3. Replace old gadgets with energy efficient and multi-purpose gadgets

The first golden rule that we followed was "If there is empty space on the granite-top, do not fill it with something. Keep the space free". I guess it is a natural human tendency to fill the free space (we justify this act by the words 'Utilizing the space'). what happens with this tendency is that the place eventually becomes cluttered and this increases continuous swapping of items and hence fatigue. I think the point is clear here. Have as much free space as possible so that time in the kitchen is fun and not frying pan.

We completely removed the existing work area and replaced it with a modular unit. The only items that will be there on the counter will be the stove (which is cut into the granite top), an induction stove and glass oil canisters. This makes the entire place clean and inviting.
All the items that were on the counter before are now in the drawers and shelves. Voila the new kitchen for you.

This project was really exciting. A total transformation to an optimal functional space. This enlivens the spirit of organized cooking. The chroma of  green and white gives a sense of freshness. Lighter colors are hard to maintain is quite a myth. Dirt is well spotted and the sensibility of keeping it pristine comes automatically. Also the lighter the hues, the brighter and spacious the room looks.

One can even add a mirror to enhance the sheen.