When you are revamping a kitchen, there is lots to get excited about: colour choices, time saving appliances, and fancy lighting fixtures. It's important to remember, however, that the kitchen is a room in the house where you are working with high temperatures, sharp knives, and potentially dangerous appliances. It's imperative, therefore, that safety informs your kitchen design somewhat. Here are some design fixes that will make your kitchen a safer place to cook and enjoy the company of your friends and family.
Upgrade to an induction cooktop. If you are the kind of person that gets excited by gadgets and technology, an induction cooktop is the safety solution for you. With this kind of cooktop, the stove only heats up when a pan actually comes into contact with the surface of the stove. When the pan comes off the stove, the surface immediately cools – a fantastic safety solution if you have kids who are still learning about the dangers of heat.
Keep your stove and sink away from each other. The layout of your kitchen could make or break how safe of a space it is. It's really important that stoves and sinks are not too close to each other, because everyone knows what happens when water makes its way into hot fat. The fat will begin to spit, which can cause burns, and it can also cause a fire.
Non-slip flooring is key. In a kitchen space, spills are inevitable. As a result, you should choose non-slip flooring that will last for a long time. Rubber is a really good choice because it is naturally non-slip, but if you are set on something more traditional, like tile flooring, you can make this non-slip by purchasing tiles that are gritted in the manufacture process.
Task lighting is important too. In a kitchen, you need to have many layers of lighting. The general lighting will create an ambience, and will typically be quite soft. But when you are chopping up vegetables, you'll also need some specific task lighting to complete the job safely. This could be something like hanging pendant lights. You should also make sure there is lighting inside cupboards so that you can find anything you are looking for safely.
Plan your storage well. Storage is always tricky within a kitchen, so this is something that a kitchen designer could help you with. It's a good idea to make sure that everything has cabinet space. This way, your surfaces will be less cluttered and there is less chance of something falling or that you could cut yourself on a stray item that doesn't have a home within a cupboard.
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