Crafting A Child-Friendly Kitchen
Kitchens are a place of special memories for kids, and you can help to build those memories by creating a kitchen that’s designed with them in mind.
We find that the majority of our clients are looking to incorporate an informal seating area into their bespoke kitchens, in which they can spend time with their children and families. An
island at which your child can sit and get on with their homework while you prepare a meal is a great solution, and can be designed in an endless range of shapes and sizes. A window seat or
peninsular will do a similar job, depending on the size and shape of your kitchen.
The amount of storage you require will obviously vary depending on the size of your family, but it is always sensible to design a space that’s out of reach of smaller hands so you can store any chemicals safely.
Your kitchen designer will be able to advise you on the best positions for your hob, oven and so on, but these should obviously be away from the more social areas of the room. Also consider curved countertops or soft corner pads for worktops in areas where a child might be more likely to bang their head.
On a practical level, matte surfaces are a sensible choice in a child-friendly kitchen as they don’t show dirt and grease as easily as high gloss surfaces. Stone and wood are hardwearing worktop options and stand up well to dents and use.
Painted surfaces can also be repaired and retouched easily if they are damaged. One of our clients even chose to paint one of the cupboard doors in their kitchen using blackboard paint and allowed their kids to draw on it!
It is obviously vital to keep your child safe in the kitchen, and to keep them away from any potential hazards. However, educating children about the kitchen and about food in general is really important and, when they are old enough, a great way to do this is to get them involved in what you are doing. For instance, think about the height of your worktops and surfaces. Utilising
different worktop levels looks attractive and might also allow your child to see and be involved in what’s cooking. When the time is right, a step stool is also a useful addition to the kitchen, to allow children to access higher areas and to see what you’re up to.