5 Helpful Features You Will Want to Add To Your Kitchen

In need of a sprucing up to your kitchen? Here are five features you can consider adding to your cooking space without embarking on a complete overhaul:

1. Breakfast counter

As more HDB Buy-To-Order (BTO) flats follow an open-concept design, breakfast counters are becoming a staple. It’s reminiscent of the café look we all love, with multiple purposes: food preparation station, worktop, and bar counter. Affix it in the height of your kitchen counters and vóila, you’ve got a food preparation station. You can slice and dice to your heart’s content, but only if it’s tough enough to withstand daily use.

Breakfast counters can also be a worktop station or for food preparation.

A granite countertop is perfect for food prep as it’s heat and scratch resistant. A 20-millimetre thick one is $80 per foot run for a single profile and $95 for a double profile. Breakfast counters can also be a workstation, especially with retrofitted plug outlets on its underside. No extensions needed or unplugging other kitchen appliances just for your laptop. It can even be a second dinner table, especially for pre- or post-meal indulgences. Like drinking some wine before dinner or having dessert after. Add a few high bar stools and you’re instantly elevated to hipster-sophisticated status.

2. Standalone kitchen island with cutting board

Don’t mistake a kitchen island for a kitchen counter. Like its namesake, a kitchen island is a solitary centrepiece for kitchens. It’s more functional compared to the multipurpose breakfast counter, especially for food preparation. Add a butcher’s block at the edge or make it one big wooden countertop. A butcher-block countertop is as easy on the knives as it is on the eyes. Plus, it’s susceptible to scratches or stains and won’t dull your knives.

Kitchen islands work best in a bigger kitchen or open concept homes. But there are rolling carts that work just as well.

And although bigger kitchens can accommodate an island better, smaller spaces can fit it as well. In such cases, a rolling butcher’s table can be the way to go. You can move it in and out of the way, whenever you need it. A rolling cart with a countertop can range from $100 to $2,500, depending on the size and additional features like cabinets or sinks and drains. To custom-build a kitchen island, it would cost an average of $3,000 to $5,000. Prefabricated islands would be cheaper, but it might be harder to assemble on your own if you’re not as experienced in remodelling.

3. Induction stove

Technology hasn’t just made an impact on mobile devices, but on kitchen appliances as well. And one of the most loved by homeowners in Singapore is the induction stove. Not only does it look sleek, it has great features as well. Compared to electric or gas stoves, induction cooktops or ranges can cook and heat up faster. It transfers heat directly from the glass cooktop to the pot, so it also cools down quicker. As soon as you lift the pot from the hob, it immediately stops heating up.

Induction hobs are more efficient and safer to use.

It also means that induction stoves don’t get as hot as it does on a traditional radiant electric range. Plus, it has an additional safety feature: If you turn an induction burner on with no pot on it by mistake, it won’t get hot. You’ll need a more specific set of cookware, however. Only pots and pans marked ‘induction-compatible’ will work with an induction range. To see if any of your existing cookware is compatible with induction range, use a magnet to see whether it strongly sticks to the bottom of your pots. An induction cooktop is priced around $1,200 and above.

4. Glass partition doors

If you’re not so comfortable with tearing down the walls of your home, consider installing glass doors or partitions. It helps to divide the kitchen from the dining area and living room. With glass partitions, you’ll have the illusion of an open-concept home without the lingering smell of recently-cooked food on your sofa or throw pillows.

Glass partitions create the illusion of more space.

Your dining area will also appear brighter as more light can get through. With simple yet elegant black frames, your sliding glass doors add a minimalistic vibe to your kitchen. This also helps with food preparation in that there’ll be less disturbance from your guests. You can cook in peace, without itchy fingers snatching up food to ‘taste’. Hacking one wall panel for a glass partition would be around $40 to $60 per foot run. Although, you’d have to check with your contractor if quotation includes haulage and clearing of debris.

5. Handleless cabinets

Handleless cabinets are no longer a design niche, but a popular fixture in most Singaporean kitchens. It’s simple yet functional and makes for a clutter-free look. It adds quite a bit of space in the kitchen, enough for more room to manoeuvre. This includes a visual flow that integrates adjoined spaces well. With handleless cabinets, you won’t have to bang your hip or snag your clothes on. For the same reasons, it’ll be safer for children as well.

Handleless cabinets create a more seamless and visually less obtrusive design to your cooking space.

You can even add child-proof locks to prevent children from gaining access to items you don’t want them to handle. The channel at the top for your fingers to pull it open may catch more dust and crumbs, but you can always opt for a push-to-open mechanism. With this, a single touch can open the handleless cabinet. Pair with soft-close hinges to ensure that there’ll be no more banging sounds in the future. Carpentry work for kitchen cabinets are usually around $110 to $180 per foot run. This article originally appeared on 99.co.  

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