Kitchen Remodel Ideas – Now That We’ve Been Staying Home Together

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, kitchen remodel projects typically revolved around incorporating the latest trends for an updated look. However, now that many of us in the Bay Area have been living and working at home around the clock, you might have noticed that the latest trends aren’t necessarily giving you the best home environment. When you’re juggling working from home while also supervising your children’s remote learning, making changes to your kitchen can help things go more smoothly. Keep the following in mind when you’re thinking about improving your kitchen.

Wear and Tear

When you and your family are in your kitchen more often, wear and tear shows. Your kitchen needs to have fixtures that can handle heavier use, as well as surfaces that are easy to clean and maintain. For example, debris and grime can accumulate on surfaces with ornate details, such as cabinets and hardware. Appliance trends that were popular with chefs can be difficult to clean. For example, a gas cooktop with multiple burners versus an electric cooktop with a single glass surface. Sometimes the sacrifice is worth it and in some cities, new construction will not allow gas appliances for safety reasons.

Daily Use

Your daily kitchen usage before the pandemic was probably limited to breakfast and dinner, along with a few general tasks, such as going through mail or helping kids with their homework. During the pandemic, though, your kitchen usage has most likely increased significantly. While working from home and kids in remote school, you’re now using your kitchen for all three meals, as well as snacks, throughout the day. Cleaning, homework, and other regular tasks might also be done more often these days, which adds to your kitchen traffic.

Your family’s needs should be a priority when it comes to remodeling your kitchen. The latest trends might not offer the convenience or the right setup to handle your family’s increased kitchen use. Architects can help you make the best changes that allow you and your family to use your kitchen more comfortably.

Efficiency

Being home all the time means you’re probably experiencing higher energy bills from the lights being on more or the stove and other appliances being used more often. When you’re planning to remodel your kitchen, keep efficiency in mind. There are several changes you can make in order to improve your energy efficiency and avoid huge energy bills. For example, you might replace your dishwasher with a newer dish drawer model, so you can do smaller loads. You might also want to consider other kitchen remodeling changes, such as having a smaller convection oven installed for more efficient cooking. Improving the ventilation in your kitchen will help from smelling last night’s dinner during your morning meetings.

At Drafting Cafe Architects, our team focuses on helping clients in the Bay Area achieve results that work best for their life rather than relying on trends. We work with clients on coming up with kitchen architecture designs that help them get the most out of their home, which involves taking each client’s’ input into consideration. Please contact us today for a free estimate on your kitchen remodel.