Kitchen Bling

Considering food preparation is now as much a part of the 'entertaining act' as the meal itself, it's important that your cooking space reflects your personal style

There is much to be said about the kitchen. In many ways, it is the epicentre or heart of the home. A well-used kitchen serves as a place that connects the inhabitants of a home, bringing them together during cooking and dining. As the needs and lifestyle of the modern family change, home designs worldwide are changing to reflect this. Modern times call for modern kitchens!
Channels like Food Network, Cooking Channel, and cooking shows on Travel Channel, are increasingly garnering more screen time - and drawing more people into the kitchen with them. If there ever was a time to boast about your cooking prowess, it's now. Everyone wishes to have the skills of a keen cook - and those who actually have them want to be part of the party when they are entertaining and part of the family activity when preparing everyday family meals.  The days of being locked up in a kitchen without ventilation are long gone. Enter the new age centralised show kitchens.
Developers in the UAE have been pretty quick to implement worldwide trends in their local home constructions. Hundreds of apartment buildings and villas now come with open kitchen concepts that allow the
cook to be part of the party and the cooking to be part of the entertainment.
Actually, food preparation is now as much a part of the 'entertaining act' as is the actual meal - and rightly so. At a time when it is easy to eat out all the time, cooking at home is becoming an art worth preserving. This is why we spend so many hours of our lives watching other people cook on television and in live demonstrations, as well as reading about food on food blogs and drooling over pictures of food on Instragram.  Food is - arguably - the hottest ticket in town and a great kitchen makes a great home.
Now, with the kitchen being such a visible part of the home design and décor, discerning home cooks are also looking for sleek styles for large and small kitchen designs that also double for efficient and effective function. Side-By-Side and French-door refrigerators are highly sought after and stainless steel appliances are increasing in popularity as we desire better-looking styles for the things we must have. Counter top appliances are also coming in sleeker designs from many brands, while the classic ones are adding a wide range of colourful attachments to add pops of colour to modern kitchens. Even fridges are coming in bright colours, with brands like Smeg coming in solid bright hues, stripes and even the British Union Jack flag. These appliances take the modern kitchen from the standard brick and mortar to a highly customisable and personalised workspace. And who wouldn't like to cook in a kitchen that has their name all over it?
The fact is that kitchens sell homes. Large, well-designed and well-appointed kitchens with custom hardwood cabinetry make a home stand out. Details like marble or special granite counter tops, wood butcher blocks, large working spaces and beautiful blacksplashes that all tie together with the flooring make a kitchen a masterpiece rather than a hot box. Large windows with natural light, and ample lighting (under cupboards to show off the backsplash, and overhead for night vision as well as style) make certain that all that attention to detail is always seen in the best light. We are indeed living in a new era and our kitchens should prove it.
I, for one, just bought my first Side-by-Side stainless steel fridge with a water and ice dispenser. I am also renovating my grandmother's stove and will be changing the colour to either a pale yellow to match my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer or turquoise or aqua to complement it nicely. I may not yet be able to build my own custom kitchen from ground up to my every cooking whim and baking fancy - but, until then, I am certainly going to make my appliances make my kitchen mine.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com

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