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Family Matters Seven steps to a family-friendly kitchen  Image courtesy KraftMaid Where does everyone in your family go when they first come into the house? If your family is like most American families, they head straight to the kitchen. "The kitchen is the gathering place for the family. It is also usually connected to the family room, so it really is the heart of the home," says Dara Barber, a cabinet design consultant for Cabinetcraft in Charlotte, N.C. "It's not only a place for preparing meals, but for kids doing homework and school projects, entertaining friends, taking care of household paperwork, etc." With so many uses, it's important to make your kitchen as family friendly as possible. From layout to lighting, cabinets to colors, here are seven expert tips. Grab a kitchen island stool or chair and read on. 1. Select materials that are beautiful but low-maintenance This way the kitchen can handle the traffic of a family and still look nice on a day-to-day basis, Barber says. "For countertops, we often use Silestone for this purpose - it gives a beautiful finish, but is extremely durable and is maintenance free. We also recommend using soft-close drawer slides for families with kids. When they are little, it helps to protect their fingers from getting caught in the drawers, and when they get older it helps to prevent the sound of the constant slamming of the drawers." 2. Keep kid supplies at kid level "By this I mean that when your kids are little, have a drawer in the island or at the end of a run of cabinets that is theirs which may hold crayons and a coloring book or kid-friendly snacks," Barber says. "As they get older, their spot can hold homework supplies or on-going projects. You can also place things like a napkin holder or silverware at a level where kids can easily reach them and can help the grownups with chores such as unloading the dishwasher and setting the table." 3. Make it beautiful A family-friendly kitchen does not have to just cater to the kids in the family. "You can choose finishes that are durable but match your taste and style," Barber says. "Have areas to display things to personalize your kitchen - maybe some open shelves or a wall cabinet with glass doors where it is out of reach from little hands. Select extras such as decorative tile for your backsplash or some trim on your cabinetry to make your space uniquely yours." 4. Color Me Mine James Vallejo, president of the Vallejo Corporation, an international consulting group based in San Diego, suggests "blending warm or cool color schemes depending on the client's life style and integrating them to conform with the style of the home." For example, a metropolitan or country kitchen can reflect your color choices, such as the colors in your clothes, cars and furniture. 5. Wide Open Spaces "If you can create the cooking zone away from the path from the living room to the fridge or pantry," Barber says, "you can allow kids and guests access to drinks or snacks while keeping extra people out of the main cooking area when preparing meals or entertaining. In some cases, we add a second under-the-cabinet fridge in the island or at the end of a cabinet run to provide a designated fridge for drinks, juice and sodas." 6. Create A More Open Space If able to, Vallejo proposes "creating a great room by including the family or casual dining area or both. Also, using appliances that meet cooking and entertainment needs, such as steam oven convection, under-counter beverage and or wine captains, single dish-drawers, etc." 7. Lighten Up Skillful use of lighting delineates the ambiance in different forms, allowing to set any desired mood, Vallejo says. He suggests, "Good use of lighting can change the setting from serving dinner to entertaining guests." |
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