You’ve crafted culinary delights as though you were Gordon Ramsay 2.0, wolfed down your meal quicker than a dog devours its dinner and cleaned everything with more intensity than a hygiene-obsessed ninja.
But one problem remains – your kitchen still looks rubbish.
Indeed, without a full makeover, the hub of your cooking and eating will always be more of a kitchen nightmare than a foodie’s fantasy without a few essential design changes.
So, what decisions should you take to make the most of your cooking space?
Fantastic flooring
If you’re in the heat of the moment, throwing carrots into pots and fearlessly flinging tofu into a frying pan, it’s pretty likely you’ll create some sort of mess. That’s why your flooring has to be foolproof and ready to withstand stains, smears and crumbs with gusto.
To maintain a sparkling floor, invest in lino or marble that will wipe clean easily. To top it off, and to keep your toes warm on that cold flooring, buy a few kitchen mats to dot around the areas you’ll regularly be standing in.
A utopia for utensils
There’s nothing worse than wanting to make a special dish, only to find you don’t have the right cooking utensils or appliances to prepare it properly.
Every eventuality should be covered in your kitchen, so stock up on a garlic press, various knives, weighing scales and any other utensils to make sure you’re not caught short when perfecting a meal.
White goods to worship
When you’re buying an oven, refrigerator or other pricey white good, it can be tempting to vie for a lo-fi option.
But by skimping on white goods, you’ll suffer poorer levels of energy efficiency, smaller storage space and decreased durability in comparison with more expensive options.
While you don’t have to own the fridge or oven of the gods, find one with a high energy efficiency rating (usually specified on the fridge) reducing your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
Trust your joiner
You know those builders who show up late, take tea breaks longer than a Peter Jackson film, add on arbitrary extra costs and talk about getting your kitchen cupboards “off the back of a van”? Probably best not to hire them.
Finding a joiner or kitchen fitter you can trust might seem difficult, but you’ll generally be able to tell in the initial meeting. Good chemistry makes for the best partnerships.
In addition, ensure your joiner has the right qualifications, is reviewed favourably by previous clients and won’t muck you around on pricing.