How to decorate and organize your kitchen

The kitchen is where appetites are satisfied and family and friends meet around the table to enjoy and explore culinary delights. Many fond memories have been created in the heart of the home, the kitchen.

Bearing this is mind, a kitchen needs to have enough space to encourage people to gather, eat, drink, and be merry and where those who want to help prepare and serve can comfortably do so. For a kitchen to be attractive, functional, roomy, and comfortable, certain steps need to be taken:

• Kitchens should be well lit. Artificial light and natural light (windows) will lend to a more spacious and airy look.
• Kitchens should not be cluttered. Store things that are not immediately needed in shelving in a room adjacent to the kitchen if your kitchen is too small to store the items you need in preparing meals.
• Shelving can be attached to the back of the door too for added storage and ease of access.
• Remove duplicate items. Give them to someone else who needs them or sell them at a yard sale. Why store two mixers or two blenders when someone else could be using them, and you can use the space to store something else?
• Use square or rectangular stacking storage containers for flour, sugar, tea and so forth. Round containers hold less and take up more counter and or shelf space. Square and rectangular containers will fit snugly against one another allowing you to maximize your space.
• Take advantage of wall space above windows and doorways by installing shelves there to place canisters, appliances, or cereals to free up valuable counter space.
• When painting your kitchen select a color that is light and cheery in a high gloss paint so it is easier to maintain. Buy extra for touch ups.
• Place an easy to clean no-wax shine tile, hardwood, or linoleum on the floor so spills can be easily gotten up.
• Install a ceiling fan to help maintain a comfortable temperature. Ceiling fans not only help to keep one cool, but also circulate the heat, depending upon which way the air is circulated.
• When remodeling the kitchen, place appliances in a convenient to reach path. A stove should be near the sink, so a few steps are all that are needed to drain pots in the sink, or to wash and dice vegetables then place in a pot on the stove. Reducing steps reduces the wear and tear on your cook and the risks of accidents.
• If possible place your sink near a window to get better lighting for your food preparation and for dish washing tasks.
• Place frequently used items on easier to reach shelves and things which are only used for special occasions on higher shelves or in another room altogether.
• Assemble similar items, or items used for particular tasks near one another. For example spices should be kept inside a cupboard as spices will retain their flavor and health components better if stored in a cool dark place. Storing all your bakeware in one area will lessen your chances of having to look in multiple places when baking a cake.
• Plastic bags and wrappings kept near the stove will make storing leftovers easier.
• Hang utensils such as ladles, spatulas, wooden spoons, measuring cups, and so forth on hooks near the cooking area to make them convenient to reach for when needed.
• Place sharp knives in a handy storage area to avoid the danger of knives placed loosely in drawers and to make finding the one you want a snap.
• Use wire or rattan baskets for small items, such as gravy mixes to reduce clutter.
• Hang pots and pans above the stove.

Karen Maxwell is freelance writer and writes about specialty products like Kitchen wall clocks, BBQ Sets, etageres and lot more.

Image: Flickr/Pieter Pieterse