Designing a New Kitchen When You're Over 50 London
A new kitchen can radically improve the appearance and functionality of your house as well as lifting your spirits! Whether you're going for a re-vamp of your existing kitchen or a complete re-design incoporating new units and appliances, there's plenty you need to consider in advance, as this article explains.
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Designing a New Kitchen When You're Over 50
When you’re over 50 a new kitchen design has to reflect your needs today as well as your possible requirements in the years to come. Although you shouldn’t let the possibility of future loss of mobility or flexibility dictate your choices today, you do need to take a few things into account.
To ensure you get it right, these are just some of the questions you should ask yourself:
• Is your kitchen currently ergonomically efficient – that is, designed to reduce unnecessary walking between cooker, sink and refrigerator?
• Are the current units at the right height for the person who does most of the cooking and food preparation and if not, how easily can they be changed?
• Is access to all cupboards, drawers and shelves easy and safe?
• Are work surfaces, walls, floors and window coverings easy to clean and maintain?
• Is there room to sit, ideally at a table, while preparing food?
• Can more than one person work in the kitchen at a time?
The answers to these questions may dictate how suitable your existing kitchen is for your ongoing needs and may help you decide whether it can be updated or whether you really will need to rip it out and start anew.
Bearing in mind that these days the kitchen is the heart of the home, you may decide that your old kitchen is too small and you would prefer a room in which you can cook, eat and relax. This being the case, you may want to look into the possibility of extending your kitchen by knocking through into an adjacent space or even relocating it to another room.
But bear in mind that this can be expensive, particularly if you need to re-route water, drainage, electricity or gas. And remember that you should always seek the advice of a professional surveyor before you contemplate knocking down any walls.
Having made these major decisions, you next need to focus on some more key issues:
• Budget: how much can you afford to spend? Is that in keeping with the value of the rest of your house? Set a budget at the outset and stick to it.
• Style: do you prefer streamlined and minimal, or traditional and cosy? You need to decide a style and ensure that all aspects of the kitchen reflect that style in order to avoid an uncoordinated look.
• Appliances: Can you use any existing appliances, or do you need to buy new? Can any appliances such as a washing machine or freezer be located elsewhere to create more space?
• Storage: Is there sufficient room for your needs? Can more storage be found elsewhere? Are all storage units easy to access? Can the items you use most often be stored within easy reach?
As with all large purchases, taking your time and doing your research at the outset will help ensure you end up with the kitchen of your dreams rather than an expensive and badly planned disaster.
Click here for more information for the over 50s from in my prime.
To ensure you get it right, these are just some of the questions you should ask yourself:
• Is your kitchen currently ergonomically efficient – that is, designed to reduce unnecessary walking between cooker, sink and refrigerator?
• Are the current units at the right height for the person who does most of the cooking and food preparation and if not, how easily can they be changed?
• Is access to all cupboards, drawers and shelves easy and safe?
• Are work surfaces, walls, floors and window coverings easy to clean and maintain?
• Is there room to sit, ideally at a table, while preparing food?
• Can more than one person work in the kitchen at a time?
The answers to these questions may dictate how suitable your existing kitchen is for your ongoing needs and may help you decide whether it can be updated or whether you really will need to rip it out and start anew.
Bearing in mind that these days the kitchen is the heart of the home, you may decide that your old kitchen is too small and you would prefer a room in which you can cook, eat and relax. This being the case, you may want to look into the possibility of extending your kitchen by knocking through into an adjacent space or even relocating it to another room.
But bear in mind that this can be expensive, particularly if you need to re-route water, drainage, electricity or gas. And remember that you should always seek the advice of a professional surveyor before you contemplate knocking down any walls.
Having made these major decisions, you next need to focus on some more key issues:
• Budget: how much can you afford to spend? Is that in keeping with the value of the rest of your house? Set a budget at the outset and stick to it.
• Style: do you prefer streamlined and minimal, or traditional and cosy? You need to decide a style and ensure that all aspects of the kitchen reflect that style in order to avoid an uncoordinated look.
• Appliances: Can you use any existing appliances, or do you need to buy new? Can any appliances such as a washing machine or freezer be located elsewhere to create more space?
• Storage: Is there sufficient room for your needs? Can more storage be found elsewhere? Are all storage units easy to access? Can the items you use most often be stored within easy reach?
As with all large purchases, taking your time and doing your research at the outset will help ensure you end up with the kitchen of your dreams rather than an expensive and badly planned disaster.
Click here for more information for the over 50s from in my prime.