Making Your Kitchen Look Cool Making Your Kitchen Look Cool

Kitchens are no longer simply a space for cooking food in a home. With the popularity of open plan living, they're now at the heart of family activity and are a space to work, socialise and entertain. If your older home has a dated and tired kitchen to match, then you may be planning to update it with a major remodelling project.

As far as home renovation projects go, the kitchen is one of the more extensive and costly ones. Because of its high visibility in the home, it's also one that you'll want to get right. For this reason, many people choose to enlist the services of a professional kitchen designer who specialises in custom kitchens to create a layout and look that works both practically and aesthetically.

Before the first consultation with your designer, it's helpful to have some ideas about the major features you'd like to include. Here are two highly popular and contemporary kitchen ideas that will help to create a functional, modern and beautiful new kitchen.

1. An island bench

Island benches aren't a new feature on the kitchen scene, but they're still a fantastic feature for a modern kitchen. They give you plenty of extra food preparation space, as well as doubling as an informal dining space or a space for homework or paperwork. They also provide an interconnectedness with the dining and lounge areas of an open-plan living space.

The surface that you choose for your island bench is also an important element in the overall design. The large surface area provides you with a great opportunity to add visual impact to the kitchen and to set the tone for the style of the rest of the room.

2. A butler's kitchen

Also known as a scullery, a butler's kitchen is a small, adjoining room that acts as a backstage area for your kitchen. It's a popular choice for modern kitchens because it allows you to keep the 'front of house' part of your kitchen looking clean, tidy and clutter free. When your kitchen is part of an open plan living area, this is an extremely attractive feature.

Most butler's pantries are used to house appliances such as the dishwasher and fridge. They usually include an extra sink area in addition to the one in the main part of the kitchen. Having plenty of built-in shelves is also a great idea so the area can also function as a walk-in pantry for food storage.