Time to bring back the pantry & scullery?
How about an old-fashioned solution for modern kitchens
Architects and kitchen designers call the kitchen the hub of the home but truly it is the heart. All family life revolves around this room and a well-planned kitchen helps the world go round more smoothly. So a good kitchen is not just an investment in terms of hard cash but in family comfort and enjoyment. Duh! Of course you are going prepare, store and cook food in the kitchen, but what else? Today the modern kitchen is more and more a living space so is it time to bring back two old-fashioned features: the pantry and the scullery, for designated food storage and doing the dirty jobs respectively. Should we give these two kitchen duties their own space again?
It sounds a touch Downton Abbey but there is a good case for the modern family home to now have, as standard, a ‘utility’ room alongside the kitchen to fulfil today’s equivalent of the pantry and scullery roles.
Use it to free up living space in the main kitchen; utility space is for storing extra dry goods and tackling laundry, dogs, boots, tack, bikes and wet gear. And how about including a shower/ WC also to truly utilise the space as a one-stop-shop for dealing with muddy people, pets and kit? If you decide to move you will be pleasantly surprised at how many potential buyers will be attracted by this combination. The trend to create separate zones for the kitchen living space with lighting systems, different textures in cabinet and wall finishes plus complementary worktops, some wood, some composite, is a good one. Two sinks and a ‘hot’ tap for boiling water are becoming commonplace, almost excepted in larger kitchens.
And if you are building a very large house then how about a dedicated, larger walk-in cupboard-cum-box room for a small sink, coffee maker, fridge and microwave? This adds a certain ‘wow factor’ value to the property. The kitchen industry today has lot of good, experienced people and as well as the ‘big boys’ there are many quality, smaller firms, often family businesses, out there. What ever your desires, you will find the right match in terms of kitchen and kitchen company. Don’t be afraid to have a good look around.