When you look at the modern, bright airy kitchens of today where we spend time with our families, it’s hard to imagine a world where kitchens were nothing more than a functional room for preparing food.
Over the past decade the way we use our kitchens has changed dramatically, and this can be seen by the changing size of kitchens over the years. According to new research published this week by Magnet, our kitchens have doubled in size from the box rooms of the 1920s to the splendiferous rooms that measure up to 121 sq ft that you see today.
We also spend more money on decorating our kitchen than any other room in the home, according to the Magnet study – an average of £19,000 including appliances and furniture, compared to £6,000 on our lounge.
Most modern kitchens now have a flat-screen TV, large dining table and chairs, CD/MP3 player and DAB radio as well as all the expected traditional kitchen fixtures like oven and hob, microwave, toaster, storage cupboards, sink and kettle.
The advent of the typical British three-bed-semi in the 1930s saw the kitchen increase in size to an average of 78 sq ft, allowing for more room in the, then, bigger sized family home. That size remained pretty constant through the 1940s and 1950s but increased again in the Swinging 1960s when the average British kitchen increased again to 95 sq ft. But it was the 1980s that the early signs of the kitchen becoming more than a cooking room first started to show.
The research also says that we now spend more hours relaxing in the kitchen every day (2 hours) than we do in the lounge (1.5 hours). We love spending time in the kitchen, relaxing with the family and we’re glad we have a lovely big kitchen to do it in.
