Revamping the entire flat to remove the drab feeling with a modern look has been a most satisfying experience where you see what you planned and discussed become reality. In this post on the revamp of our kitchen, we share some tips on kitchen design. At the end, we hope that those who used to give resale flats a miss will be able to see that every old flat can be given a new lease of life as long as you permit yourself to imagine and consider the possibilities!
We remembered the first time we set foot into the kitchen. It was really oily, mouldy and sticky as the previous owners, being an elderly couple could not physically manage to maintain the kitchen. We were however impressed with the length of the kitchen and decided that the kitchen cabinet had to be shifted from it's original position to the opposite side to provide one seamless kitchen cabinet arrangement. This would also align the customised washing machine base for the washing machine to be in line with the washing machine drainage pipe outlet. At that time, the washing machine was placed with the original cabinet outside the toilet with an unsightly drainage tube protruding out.
For us, we had to extend the kitchen by 4 feet to house the microwave oven(above). We did not take the usual route of customising an enclosed housing for the microwave oven as it is not good for microwave ovens as they require a clearance space of min 10cm at the back and 5 cm at the sides to cool as they radiate alot of heat. An enclosed area would result in a built up of hot air which will over time damage the oven.
We painted the wall black so that it would look like a seamless fit with the kitchen cabinet. We also bought a console table (below)from Mondi which fits in with the black glossy theme of our kitchen to create further table top space for out toaster and electric kettle.
POST-RENOVATION
We decided to create a focus point for our kitchen while extending the primary colour scheme of red and black into the kitchen through installation of red sprayed glass backing which are far more manageable than the popular stainless steel or tiles( tiles have grooves where grease tend to get trapped and accumulate) The red backing lends a sophisticated charm to the kitchen and brightens up the area. We also had a open shelf built(below) beside the top dry rack for Gayle to start her cook book collection. If you can do consider choosing a solid top that blends in with the colour of your sink so that it appears to be a seamless fit like ours.
Space planning of the kitchen also involves a decision on where to site the fridge, the space of the fridge base depends on your fridge ( side by side door will require a larger clearance area to open up your fridge doors. Note that to remove certain trays from the fridge( for eg, ice trays for refill or cleaning of trays) in the case of side by side doors like our fridge, you will need to open the fridge doors to their full extent to check that nothing(such as a wall or cabinet) obstructs the doors from opening fully.We had to extend our fridge base by a feet to enable our side by side door for the freezer compartment to open to create allowance for the removal of the ice tray and freezer racks
( above) as the wall was within close proximity. Even for the main door for the non chill section, there has also to be enough clearance space for the door to extend fully to allow for the drawing out of the chiller tray(below).
Another point is to check and confirm the location of your appliances and relate it to the location of your powerpoints and switches. You should also check the length of the wire of the appliances that you use to gauge the height of the switch and socket locations/sockets.
BEFORE : KITCHEN ( FRIDGE BASE )
AFTER : KITCHEN - FRIDGE BASE
WASH AREA
For the wash area, we estimated the amount of workspace we required for comfortable movement within the wash area. We also asked for the kitchen cabinet to be extended into the wash area to cover the exposed water pipes and also to provide shelving and storage space for items like wash powder, pegs, detergent etc. As mentioned earlier, we asked our ID Jacky to build a laminated panel to act as a 'wall' to demarcate the kitchen and wash areas while providing some form of privacy and for aesthetic reasons , to block out a full view of the laundry from guests.
(Above) The Black glossy laminated panel that acts as a demarcation wall for the kitchen and wash area. We like the gloss as it creates a classy feel for an otherwise mudane wash area.
PRE-RENOVATION : WASH AREA ( DRYING AREA )
You will also need to think about the ceiling space of your wash area when considering whether you intend to install any laundry systems or reply on the traditional bamboo poles. You must ensure that there is enough height clearance when the laundry system is raised and when it is lowered or extended. Furthermore, do check that it doesn't clash with your wash area lighting location.
POST - RENOVATION ( LAUNDRY RACK AREA )
We installed a pulley system Easy Hanger for our laundry drying from HomeNiche Pte Ltd who are supposed to be the original manufacturer. We had explored other cheaper alternatives, some as cheap as half the price of what we paid( we got ours at $398) but these appeared more flimsy, did not have pulley systems that were smooth to operate, had 4 poles instead of 6 poles and what's more, our poles are stainless steel, so less chance of rust, quite important since the poles are exposed to wet clothes laid out to dry. You can visit them at 10 Jalan Kilang #01-02, Sime Darby Centre - tel: 62738005.
We are pleased with our kitchen. We managed to create our desired kitchen as one that fits in with our requirements for cooking and day to day practicalities while at the same time, putting in some touches to soften the kitchen and make it a more stylish area that blends in with the decor sand theme of our home.
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