Refresh Your Kitchen

Kitchens get heavy daily use in any house, and nowadays they often double up as kitchen, diner and family room. The combination of usage, water, cooking and dirt quickly make any kitchen soon look tired and distressed. Fortunately it is easy to breathe new life into a kitchen, cheaply and quickly. Just follow some or all of the following interior design tips to surprise your family and house guests.

Cleaning

Kitchen And Dining

Like bathrooms, kitchens need regular cleaning but they need particular attention to ensure food hygiene. Kitchens also have special rules for handling cooked and uncooked meats for this reason. However here we are only concerned with matters aesthetic.

From time to time kitchens need a thorough deep clean, all over. Good old fashioned scrubbing is necessary to remove build up of grease and dirt from floors, tiles, worktops and surrounds.

Use proprietary kitchen cleaners though traditional cleaner such as vinegar and baking soda still work perfectly well. Just take care to avoid strong acids in lime-scale removers on any marble or limestone surfaces

Also remember to clean the air vent or extractor fan. These are often overlooked despite being a magnet for grime and gunge. Cooker hoods usually have filters which rapidly get clogged, but if they are of the metal grill variety they can be cleaned in the automatic dishwasher.

Open the window regularly to get fresh air in. This will get rid of dank smells and also will reduce the humidity in the room, often a cause of mould or fungus.

Tidy

Often kitchen owners and designers like to fill the kitchen with overhead features and garnishes, to give a "farm house" look. Unfortunately the image quickly gets tarnished by dust and dirt which is difficult to remove except from smooth surfaces.

So although you can have a myriad of kitchen styles, look at commercial kitchens and you'll quickly realise why surfaces are flat and smooth and mainly stainless steel, glass, granite or Corian.
Even tiles which are hard-wearing have their limitations. Firstly they quickly date the kitchen style, secondly they are very difficult to remove or alter, and thirdly the grout remains a dirt and germ trap.

Adding a Splash of Style and Colour

Kitchen walls and ceilings will benefit from fresh coats of paint more frequently than other rooms so you can experiment with colour - but make sure surfaces are cleaned with bicarbonate of soda or sugar soap before painting.

Two other ways of quickly changing colour in a kitchen are:

If your kitchen doubles up as a family room with a living area you have many more decor options with sofas and chairs. However it is worth remembering that these sofas will be a magnet for TV dinners, so they will be prone to food staining. Bear this in mind and avoid pure white shag pile finishes! Dark leather is a good option as it is easy to clean and maintain.

Waterproofing and Dirt Proofing

It is important that all cracks and crevices are watertight around sinks and so on. If in any doubt remake silicone seals, though with the right material and craftsmanship these should be good for 5-10 years. For a good seal it is vital that the surfaces are thoroughly clean and grease free. You can clean with general purpose kitchen cleaner but then finish off with a degreasing solvent like acetone.

Look for dirt traps, especially under and behind kick panels between kitchen cabinets and the floor. Regularly remove and thoroughly clean here. Another dirt trap often overlooked is the top surface of wall mounted cupboards and cabinets and other high level units.

Tiles usually are hard wearing and long lasting but the grout used between them rarely is. Use a knife to carefully scrape out old, flakey and dirty grout and then re-grout to give your tiled wall an instant makeover.

Accessorise

Kitchens can be accessorised but care should be taken to avoid too much clutter unless you are willing to do the extra cleaning. The most useful accessories tend towards the functional; think of:

Accessorising a kitchen can be relatively cheap and it is fun to experiment. Your efforts will be appreciated every day by your family and friends when they are in this busy hub of the family home.

Refresh Your Kitchen

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