The kitchen in your home is essentially a hub where you’re likely to meet other members of your household most of the time. Why? The answer is simple: it’s the place where food gets kept and meals prepared!
Whether you live in a small studio flat or a large house, investing in kitchen upgrades that save you and your household time and money makes perfect sense.
Sometimes it can be tough to get the inspiration you need to make the right upgrades that are most suitable for you and everyone in your home.
Fortunately, the following ten examples will give you some helpful inspiration for levelling up your kitchen and making it a fantastic place to frequent in your home:
1. Smart Washer-Dryer
Washing machines perform a simple job: to make your dirty clothing and fabrics clean and smell amazing. Dryers have an even simpler role: to dry any wet clothing according to your desired temperature and drying length.
Washer-dryers combine those two functions into one handy space-saving unit and are a godsend to families that get through lots of clothing each day!
These days it’s possible to buy a “smart” washer-dryer. All smart appliances connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network and using a smartphone app, you can manage various aspects of your washer dryer’s functionality.
2. Espresso Machine
Many people enjoy consuming at least one refreshing cup of coffee each day. If you’re not a morning person, the chances are high that you need all the help you can get to wake up properly and feel energised for the day’s proceedings.
An espresso machine can be a valuable addition to your kitchen; after all, espresso coffee contains higher levels of caffeine than regular coffee, resulting in the energy kick you need to start your day the right way!
3. Air Fryer
There’s no denying that deep-fat fryers are popular portable kitchen appliances. They cook your food and make it taste crispy and super-delicious, plus they are easy to use and simple enough to keep clean.
The only downside, of course, is such cooking methods aren’t very good for your health!
Thankfully, a healthier alternative that produces virtually the same results is the air fryer. Food cooked in air fryers generally contains up to 80% fewer calories than traditional deep-fat fryers and they are also energy-efficient.
4. Smart Fridge-Freezer
The 21st century has brought some amazing kitchen innovations to consumers. One of them is the smart fridge-freezer. How does such a kitchen essential compare against conventional appliances, you might ask yourself?
Smart fridge-freezers are Wi-Fi-connected appliances that contain some features gadget geeks will love.
For example, internal cameras allow consumers to see what’s inside from an external screen or app without physically opening any doors – handy when you’re away from home.
They can also tell you if you’ve left any doors open, and some models can even give you recipe ideas based on the ingredients stored within them!
5. LED Lighting
If your kitchen is rocking an old-school lighting setup, and the only change you’ve made to it is buying energy-saving bulbs, now is the time to invest in LED lighting technology.
LED lights offer an instant, crisp lighting experience – perfect if you’re not a fan of “warm” lighting. What’s also good about LED lighting is how they offer significant electricity cost savings compared with conventional CFL energy-saving bulbs.
You could use app-controllable LED downlights in your kitchen ceiling and LED striplights under your cabinets for the ultimate lighting upgrade.
6. Stainless Steel Splashback
One fact that everyone can relate to is how cooking some meals can be a messy experience. The heat from your cooker can send splatters of pasta sauce, for instance, flying into the air and landing at random areas in your kitchen.
You likely spend much of your time wiping down the tiled area by your stove, but sometimes it can be a time-consuming endeavour. Thankfully, a stainless steel splashback can make light work of such cleaning tasks as they are super easy to wipe down.
What’s more, stainless steel splashbacks look fantastic and work well with virtually all kitchen designs.
7. Smart Dishwasher
Most people will agree that a dishwasher is an essential kitchen appliance used daily in many homes. It saves time, uses little water and energy and protects your hands from over-exposure to water and washing-up liquid!
Levelling up to a next-generation smart dishwasher is something to consider for your kitchen. Smart dishwashers, like other smart appliances, are Wi-Fi-connected appliances that you can control via a smartphone app.
What do they offer? Examples include remotely peeking inside the machine during a cleaning cycle, scheduling a cycle when you’re away from home, and receiving alerts on your phone if salt and rinse aid levels are low.
8. Non-electric Water Softener
With all of your new gadgets and appliances, you’ll want to get the most out of them and make sure they last as long as possible. If you reside in a hard water region, your dishwasher, washing machine, espresso machine, and other appliances that heat water may experience limescale problems. Limescale build-up not only reduces their efficiency and potentially damages components, forcing repairs or, worse, untimely replacements, but it also hinders their function. Installing a water softener eliminates the limescale problem, resulting in your dishwasher no longer leaving marks on your glassware, your washing machine using less detergent and your clothes feeling softer and looking brighter, whilst your all-important coffee will taste better because the flavour is not tainted by the hard water minerals.
9. Premium Pots And Pans
Do you tire of pots and pans getting damaged easily – even with careful use? If so, the answer to this common problem is simple: upgrade to premium pots and pans.
These are kitchen accessories designed with longevity in mind rather than planned obsolescence. They also look and feel great, and they are generally easier to clean and maintain compared with cheaper examples.
10. Self-Cleaning Oven
Ovens make it easy to cook all kinds of things, from simple ready meals to the family’s Christmas dinner. Periodically, you must clean your oven, or a thick layer of dirt and grime can appear due to a build-up of fat and oil deposits from each cooking session.
Thankfully, self-cleaning ovens make this task easier for you with a process known as pyrolytic cleaning, where the oven’s internal temperatures can reach up to 500 degrees Celsius.
11. Toaster Conveyor
Last but not least, one amazing upgrade to make to your kitchen is to invest in a toaster conveyor! It does the same job as a conventional toaster but evenly toasts your bread on a conveyor.
You have probably seen them in commercial settings like buffet restaurants and hotels, and now you can have one of your own at home!