~ This is a featured post. ~
Home is where the heart is, as the old saying goes, but if that’s the
case, then the kitchen is certainly the heart of the home itself. Think of the
time spent there – chatting with friends, creating delicious meals, pouring
drinks, enjoying time with your family, and even giving yourself some peaceful,
quiet time when you do the dishes, or stack the dishwasher. No matter what you
like to do in the kitchen, there is no denying that it is a massively important
space within your home. Here are some of the reasons why your kitchen needs to
be cared for, and why it is just so important.
Everyone’s Space
The kitchen is the center of a home, and it is a space that everyone
uses every day. Breakfast and coffee or tea are made there to start the day,
and the day often ends there too with dinner, or even snacks before bed.
Perhaps a mug of hot milk, or a similar
soothing drink is made before heading off to sleep. No matter who is in your
home or what they are doing there, they are sure to end up in the kitchen at some
point. Making it look wonderful, comfortable, and perhaps even functional too
(ideally you will want all of these things!) is all-important. It’s why so many
people choose Garden Soap Soapstone for their countertops and spend a long time designing
their dream kitchen.
Food
Of course, the main function of the kitchen is food preparation.
Everyone has great memories to do with food, and it can evoke fond times in the
past, as well as bringing everyone together in the present. When the food is
being cooked in the kitchen, those smells will float around the house, letting
everyone know that something delicious is on its way.
Food is hugely important to humankind. Not only is it for sustenance and
to keep up alive, but it is a social thing too, causing people to stop what
they are doing just for a little while and come together to eat. They might
even all prepare the food together too, prolonging that essential closeness and
comfort. Imagine if a home had no comfortable kitchen to use; takeouts every night just aren’t the same
(plus, that would be bad for your
health).
Responsibility
When you first move out of your parents’ place and have your own, you
need to fend for yourself. That means providing and creating your own food.
Learning how to cook is a rite of passage that everyone has to achieve – some
just manage it better than others. Learning these skills in your own kitchen in
your own home is special, and it is where you can really learn what it means to
be a responsible adult.
Of course, learning how to cook before you leave home is even better,
and again, this all comes down to the kitchen. If a parent lets a child help to
cook their food, this is teaching them responsibility too, but it is also
giving them life skills that will certainly come in useful at a later date.
Even if they are too young to safely cook, they can watch you. This will
help them to learn where everything goes in the kitchen, and what each utensil
is for. Younger kids can lay the table and do the dishes, so there is always
something for them to help out with.
Bonding
Bonding with your family is hugely important, but in our busy lives that
bonding time seems to become less and less. Finally, at the kitchen table, or
when meals are being prepared, or even if people are just wandering in and out
for a snack or to grab themselves a drink, there is the opportunity to talk
with anyone else who happens to be there. Getting to know more about the day
that people have just had, or their plans for the next week or so, or simply
just asking them how they are going is a great tool when it comes to bonding.
You will immediately feel closer, and you
will have learned something about one another.
This can, of course, happen in places other than the kitchen, but it is
the kitchen where you are most likely to ‘bump into’ another family member
because, as mentioned above, everyone will use the kitchen multiple times each
day.
Hone Your Skill
Some people love
cooking, others are less keen – and it is usually a matter of confidence rather
than a true dislike of cooking. When you have a wonderful kitchen to enjoy and
work in, it can almost become like your own laboratory where you can experiment
with flavors and really take your time over creating something amazing. Even
those who are less confident or don’t think they like to cook very much will
start to have a little more fun with their creations when they have a great
space to do it in.
Not only will this result in some tasty new ideas when it comes to food,
but it will also increase your confidence in other areas of life. Once you know
you can cook, you’ll be more willing to try other things and feel positive
about them.
Increase The Value
If you are hoping to sell your home and you want to
make as much money as possible on that sale, then make sure your kitchen is
well looked after. Investing in good work
surfaces, new cabinet doors, integrated appliances, a good, durable floor, and
more will pay you back when you come to sell. Something that almost everyone
who is looking to buy a property will want to see is the kitchen. Even if they
don’t do much cooking themselves, they will instinctively gravitate to the
kitchen as being the heart of the home, and they will want to envisage
themselves there.
Making sure that the kitchen is in the best condition and that it is
practical as well as homely will certainly help to sell your home more quickly,
and ideally for more money too.