8 Top Kitchen Must-Haves Every Home Needs
January 21, 2020Whether you are just starting to plan out your custom home or you’ve been living in your dream custom home for years, there are some items that are an absolute necessity. These items will vary from room to room. As one of the busiest rooms in the home, the kitchen is often the first room that comes to mind. Here are some of the top kitchen must-haves every home needs:
1. Solid Flooring
Because the kitchen is one of the most highly-trafficked rooms in your home, it’s important to have solid, durable, and easy-to-clean flooring. You’ll want something that will hold up against food and liquid spills as well as plenty of foot traffic.
Making sure it’s easy to clean and maintain on top of it is essential. Wood, stone, tile, and vinyl are some popular choices for kitchen flooring.
2. Durable Countertops
It’s also important for your kitchen countertops to be durable and easy-to-clean as well. And, it should fit your needs. Choosing the wrong material or choosing on price alone instead of getting what you need are some common kitchen design mistakes to avoid.
Granite and quartz are two of the most popular countertop materials and each has its pros and cons. For example, granite is impervious to stains and heat, but is a porous material that requires some maintenance in order to stay well-sealed and protected. Quartz is impervious to stains and does not need to be re-sealed, but it can be damaged by heat over time.
There are plenty of other options for countertops aside from granite and quartz countertops. Laminate, marble, soapstone, wood, and even concrete are all popular countertop materials. Working with your custom home builder can help you determine the right countertop material for your style and needs.
3. Energy-Efficient Large Appliances
Every kitchen needs large appliances. Your refrigerator, oven, cooktop, dishwasher, and more are all kitchen must-haves. In addition to the look, style, function, etc., you’ll also want to make sure these items are energy-efficient.
Most modern appliances are automatically built to be energy-efficient. But, you still want to make sure these large appliances won’t be a huge drain when it comes to electricity and heating and cooling.
4. The Right Mix of Small Appliances
The right mix of small appliances is going to vary from home to home. What is consistent across kitchens is making sure you have the small appliances you need. Microwaves, coffee makers, blenders, food processors, electric mixers, slow cookers, toasters, air fryers, rice cookers, and more.
You may not need all of them, but making sure there is space in your kitchen for the ones you do need is essential. You can even opt for these appliances in bright or bold colors; this is one of the ideas for using bright colors in your kitchen.
5. Good Lighting
Every kitchen needs good lighting. A good mix of overhead, spotlight, natural light, and task lighting that you can turn on/off as needed is usually a good approach. You want to make sure you have plenty of illumination for meal preparation and other tasks and enough light in the room to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.
At the same time, you don’t want to go overboard with lighting and make your kitchen look too bright, harsh, or overbearing. Thankfully, there are plenty of flexible lighting choices available to help you get the right mix of what you need.
6. Enough Storage
One of the biggest complaints about kitchens is not having storage. So, when you get a chance to build your own custom home, making sure you add more storage to your kitchen design is essential. Having enough cabinets is one way to get enough storage.
Plus, you can mix and match kitchen cabinet styles to get the look you want and the storage you need. You can also add more storage by including a kitchen island and a walk-in pantry. Creative accessories like hooks, racks, magnetic strips, and more can also help you add storage and organize it.
7. Basic Cooking Tools
One of the biggest kitchen must-haves is to make sure you have the basic cooking tools you need. Your kitchen can have the right flooring, countertops, storage, and more, but if you don’t have the tools you need, you still won’t be able to use your kitchen to its full potential. In addition to things like silverware, drinkware, and dinnerware, these are some more basic cooking tools to have on-hand:
Set of Knives
If you’re cooking at home, you need a good set of knives. It’s also not a bad idea to grab a knife sharpener too so you can maintain them. A dull knife can get dangerous fast.
Having a knife sharpener on hand helps to keep your good knives sharp and slicing through food easily without any potentially dangerous sawing or slipping. This is also one of the kitchen tool maintenance tips to help your kitchen must-haves last longer.
Cutting Boards
A stack of sturdy cutting boards is essential for every kitchen. Between plastic, bamboo, wood, and more, there are plenty of cutting boards to choose from.
Cooking Utensils
Cooking at home requires the right utensils. Things like spatulas, ladles, spoons, tongs, whisks, vegetable peelers, and more are all kitchen must-haves. Measuring cups and spoons are essentials as well.
Basic Bakeware and Cookware
A set of basic bakeware and cookware helps to round out the kitchen must-haves when it comes to the cooking tools every home needs. Baking sheets, cooking pots and pans, skillets, mixing bowls, and more are all basic necessities. Depending on your cooking style, your basic must-haves might also include things like a dutch oven, a wok, etc.
8. Versatile Wet-Dry Sweeper/Mop
Because the kitchen is one of the rooms that can get the messiest, it’s important to make sure cleanup is as easy and quick as possible. A good wet-dry sweeper can help make keeping the kitchen floor clean a breeze, which makes it a kitchen must-have and an essential for every home.
These are just a few of the top kitchen must-haves every home needs. If your current kitchen is lacking and no amount of remodeling will help, it may be time to think about a custom home that is designed and built to your needs and specifications. If you’re ready to talk about your custom home, call Custom Home Group at 717-284-4090 and start bringing your dream home to life!