Stylish and Smart: Design Hacks for Your Kitchen Refit

Your kitchen is the room where 'style meets substance' is most important. You need a lot of surface space, storage and functional features — but since you'll be spending a lot of time in it, you also don't want it to look purely functional. In order to tick every box, you may want to employ some bright ideas that will serve this dual purpose for you. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started — and good news! They'll work no matter what kind of aesthetic you're aiming for. 

Glass Splashbacks

Prevent your walls from being stained or damaged by installing glass splashbacks behind your oven and cooking surfaces. Because glass is easy to wipe down and keep looking shiny, you won't need to put in a whole world of effort to keep your kitchen looking brand-new. Choose clear glass to preserve a classic look and colour scheme or go modern with frosted or tinted glass. A pop colour could add a real area of interest to draw the eye.

Rotating Shelf Space

Rather than devote practically all of your kitchen space to storage, why not make use of corner sections of your counters by installing rotating storage racks? These generally unreachable spaces can be occupied by pull-out, rotating racks. Whether you keep food or tableware in there, you'll be utilising an area that would otherwise be unavailable to you — and freeing up other space at the same time.

Integrated Drying Rack

Save space that would be occupied by a large sink and draining area by combining the two into one. Instead of marking out a draining area, simply surround your sink with standard countertops and have a drying rack made that fits your sink exactly. Place this rack on one of the countertops beside the sink while you're washing up. Once you're finished, and the rack is loaded up, simply place it over your sink to drain and the rest of the countertops will be immediately clear again.

Substitute Marble for Polished Granite

If you're looking for that classic, luxe high-gloss marble look but can't bear the expense of real marble, you're in luck. Opt for polished granite countertops instead. It will have exactly the same look and feel — and in fact, granite is much easier to maintain and take care of than real marble. As a bonus, if you do opt for this super-shiny surface, it will combine well with the glass splashbacks, and both reflective surfaces will make the room feel bigger and brighter.

Of course, your design will eventually come down to your individual taste, and not everybody needs the same things from their kitchen. However, at least one of these ideas should be able to save you time and space, giving you a more open and inviting space to live and work in.

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