THE KITCHENISTA

Expert advice on kitchen design, trends and innovation

Archive for the ‘Designs’ Category

Majjie Doesn’t Shout, she Yells

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Our  favourite blogger Majjie, has been spreading her wonderful kitchen design skills through yell.com.

So far she’s already covered:

Measure Carefully – which talks about how important it is to know the exact size of your kitchen, as she says “a few inches can make a huge difference”.

Choose your Appliances First – here she describes how it is often best to choose what appliances you would like in your kitchen first as it if choosing something like a range cooker you’ll have to build the kitchen design around it.

Collect Ideas – Majjie says that you should take time to explore ideas and see what’s available. The more you know about kitchens the better informed you’ll be when making decisions!

Majjie’s most recent post ‘Design for You’ explores the practicalities behind designing a kitchen for both you, and your circumstances.

Keep an eye out next week for more top tips from Majjie!

Ultimate Football Kitchen

Friday, June 18th, 2010

MagnetMe allows kitchens to be truly personalised by printing your own images, designs or photographs direct onto the cabinet doors.

As the World Cup gets in to full swing, we wonder if this could be the perfect kitchen for a football fanatic??

Innovation… Because Storage Matters

Friday, June 11th, 2010

We all know that storage space is always at a premium, especially in more compact kitchens. Fortunately Magnet has developed some cutting edge and stylish innovations to help maximise storage and make the space in the kitchen work harder.

LATERAL OPENING LARDER

The Lateral Opening Larder Unit offers an efficient and contemporary storage solution.  The unique opening mechanism allows doors to open sideways to provide easy access in restricted spaces, such as galley kitchens.

INNER TIMBER DRAWERS

To overcome the common problem of overcrowded cluttered draws, drawer box sides add an additional layer to a deep drawer. They are ideal for separating items such as herbs and spices, as well as dividing cutlery.

PREMIUM WALL STORAGE PACK

To ensure cupboards stay organised, storage packs are great for dried food such as flour, pasta and spices. They are ideal for keeping cupboards neat and tidy and it’s easy to see when you need to replenish stocks.

TWIN CORNER UNIT

The latest innovation in corner storage which boasts a smooth, sleek mechanism for effortless access to those typically hard to reach corners.

Are You Smarter than your Fridge?

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

If you’re not a Delia in the kitchen and ready meals are the staple of your diet, then the Smart Fridge might just be the gadget for you.

Imagine a world where your fridge is intelligent enough to invent it’s own recipes based on whatever it stocked with – That’s the idea behind the Smart Fridge, designed by Ashely Legg from ASUSDESIGN.

The design features a multi-touch panel mounted to the door where users can enter ingredients as they are placed inside. The fridge can then use the inventory to generate recipes and serving suggestions that the user may not have thought of. The fridge would also include a voice guide to give step-by-step instructions for preparing the meals.

Sounds pretty impressive to us!

Innovative Kitchen Design… In a Roundabout Way!

Friday, May 14th, 2010

This year the international Design Boom contest attracted 2980 designers from across the world for its ‘Kitchen is the Heart of the Home’ category.

The Winning entry came from three designers from China and is called “Round cupboard assembling that can be rotated and lifted”. Each element is designed to allow objects to come to the user instead of the user moving to them to help save time and space.

Magnet loves this concept and think it would work great in a compact kitchen where space is of the premium!

Here’s what the designers had to say:

(1) Creating the new concept of happy kitchen: Sharing the joy with relatives and friends face-to-face.

(2) Cupboard adopts double-deck rotator structure, can rotate 180°respectively, the three major work center of washing, mixing and cooking can rotate in the front of the operator, let “zero” distance in each workflow; And can lift in certain distance in order to be suitable for the different operator.

(3) Flume has two kinds of outlets: The parallel water outlets of induction type lie on both sides of flume; The holding type faucets with metal hose lie in the middle of two flumes, that can be suitable for operating under various environments.

(4) Abandon the board type, slide rail and hinge of the traditional cupboard completely. This cupboard regards the structure frame of aluminum alloy and the combination of stainless steel pipe as the integer structure. Adopt level bearing, hydraulic pressure system, shutting system to realize lifting of cupboard and wall cupboard.

(5) Integrative structures with operational table-board, flume and kitchen, cupboard distribute icebox, disinfector and oven symmetrically, other borders are closets.

(6) Lower cupboard is drawing structure, can pull out wholly while using, and make the operation simplify. Hang the kitchen ventilator under the top cupboard with function of illumination.

Get the Top Look for your Worktop

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

This year the trend for kitchen worktops is to go extreme – choose either thick or thin to achieve the hottest look this year. For thin worktops either glass or laminate look great, and for thick opt for a timber or stone effect.

Try the following tips to achieve a stunning look:

  • Mix thick and thin worktops for extra impact e.g. Magnet’s Madison range. This further personalises the kitchen design and creates a unique on-trend look.
  • Wrap thicker panels around kitchen units to achieve a sleek contemporary finish as seen in Magnet’s Cubista Oak range
  • Using a mixture of worktop materials can add a dramatic effect in the kitchen e.g. Magnet’s Cubista Walnut range.

New technology means that thicker worktops and wrapping panels are available at the more budget end of the market and are now lighter and easier to fit.

When buying a kitchen, always invest as much money as possible in a good quality worktop as it is the area that gets viewed the most.

A Watched Kettle Never Boils

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

I don’t know about you, but I love a good cup of tea. People always give me strange looks when I ask for “Strong but milky”. It’s not an oxymoron, it means stew the tea bag and then add lots of milk.

But I have to admit, when I stand watching the kettle slowly boil, I ask myself “how much of my life is wasted waiting for the kettle to boil?”

I haven’t done the maths and I don’t intend to.

Fortunately, the answer to all my prayers is here, the Insinkerator.

The Insinkerator hot water tap provides instant hot filtered water straight from the tap at 98 degrees, perfect for making tea, coffee, or for filling a pan ready to boil some veg.

And if you’ve got friends over, the 2.5 litre stainless steel tank will deliver 100 cups of filtered water per hour and the whole system fits neatly under the sink so you wouldn’t even know it was there.

It’s highly energy efficient and economical so it will also help you save time and money.

These kitchen appliances plus other time-saving gadgets are available through Magnet.

Is a Stone Floor Right for your Kitchen?

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

When choosing a floor for your kitchen there are a number of options available such as stone, wood and laminate, and each comes with their own advantages and disadvantages.

This year stone floors are very popular – so If you’re considering getting one there are a number of things you need to consider before making the decision.

Stone floors look great in modern kitchens and are extremely hard-wearing and completely water resistant. They are also very easy to clean which is very important in the kitchen because it’s the room where spillages are most likely to occur.

Another benefit of stone floors is that during hot summer months they will help keep the room cool. However, during the winter they can feel cold and hard.

However, stone floors aren’t suitable for every home. They look great but they are also very expensive and costly to install. Sometimes a stronger sub-floor may be required prior to installation due to the weight of the stone which can further add to the cost.

To achieve the stone effect at a fraction of the cost you can try using a stone floor tile, such as one from Magnet’s Flagstone range. Tiles have the same look and feel of stone but will not require reinforced floor. It is also much easier to replace them if they get damaged.

It is also very important when choosing a stone floor to avoid glossy finishes as they can be very slippery when wet.

Catwalk Look Comes to the Kitchen

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

This year we are seeing lots of floral prints on the spring/summer catwalks. They are varying from the vivid right down to the chromatic and in both maxi and mini prints.

If you open any homes magazine you’ll see that this trend is already making it’s way in to the home. But now, thanks to the latest technology, it’s even possible to add floral prints to the kitchen too!

Vibrant colours look great in designer kitchens and can be highlighted by matching coloured appliances such as cookers, toasters or kettles. For a truly contemporary look try extending the accent colour into accessories such as vases and crockery.

Kitchen Splashblacks are also a great place to replicate an accent colour. Magnet’s glass splashbacks can be colour-matched to any colour to create a truly unique kitchen design.

Get Curvy in Time for Summer

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Kitchen Curves set to be the Hottest Trend for 2010

Incorporating soft curves in kitchen units creates sophisticated and contemporary feel and is set to be one of the most stylish and elegant designs this year

By using a mixture of both concave and convex curves it’s possible to create a very dramatic effect, especially in larger kitchens where the variety of curves can be used to give greater prominence.

Corner units provide a great opportunity to accentuate curves, and really show off the elegant design and the look can be emphasised by introducing curves into accessories such as extractor fans or lighting fixtures.

Curved end units offer a highly contemporary storage option, which look great and but provide an extremely practical deep internal storage space.

Due to the extensive manufacturing process, curved units are more expensive than regular kitchen units, but as seen in Magnet’s Crème Lineaire range, the final look is breathtaking:

· A mix of concave and convex create instant impact

· A combination of Zodiac Quartz Soft Mahogany worktop and natural walnut worktop provide a perfect balance

The Crème Lineaire costs £320.45 for a 600mm single base unit.

Creme Lineaire