The average American spends 37 minutes a day in their kitchen prepping and cooking food. For the average Mom though, the amount of time spent in the kitchen is generally longer, and it isn’t just about feeding the family. The kitchen is often the hub of the home, it’s where everyone gets together for meals, talks about their day, does a little homework after school and hangs out with friends. If you are designing a family-friendly kitchen, it is worth thinking about how you are going to make it stylish and practical so that it is a both a sociable and functional space.

Kitchen Home

Hard-wearing flooring

Anyone with children will understand how messy they can be. This is why it is important to lay down some good quality flooring that is easy-to-clean and hard-wearing. Industry experts recommend slate tiling that is naturally warm underfoot, but extremely durable. Terracotta is another good choice for a kitchen floor. As long as you look after the tiles, they will last a lifetime and survive any spillage that your family makes. The Mediterranean look is very much on trend, take inspiration from the patterned tiles found in houses in southern France and Greece. They will give your kitchen a stylish, timeless feel and a lovely splash of color.

Central units with storage 

A kitchen island is still one of the most successful ways of combining somewhere that you can eat breakfast, with good storage. It can become the focus of your kitchen, where you can sit and be sociable with friends and family. If you are looking to seat a family of four, an island should be at least 4 feet deep. You will also need to have at least 3 feet of space around the island to move around. Aside from a dining area, you can also use a central island for food prep and cooking. If you’re going to have your stove or a hotplate on the island, don’t forget that you will need to also install an extractor fan directly above the space, so that the smell of cooking doesn’t linger. When you are thinking about style, a central kitchen island is a great way to inject some color and personality into your kitchen. You could even think about using vintage units to give your kitchen a classic look. 

Making it fun for the kids 

If you have young children and toddlers, it may be a good idea to install a few kitchen features to help them gain their independence. If you have space, you could have a kid-sized table so that they can enjoy eating with siblings or friends. Keep one of the kitchen cupboards at floor height reserved for their plates, bowls and cups, so that they can always help to lay the table, or get themselves a drink of water. You can always install some easy kitchen steps too, so that they can help with simple food preparation or a little baking with Mommy.

The kitchen is the hub of the home, so it needs to be functional and practical, but still stylish. When you are designing the space, think about how you can make it perfect for both the big and little members of the family.