You should know that in Australia, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Multi-user kitchens are great for groups of people who need to quickly make breakfast, friends who are setting up the barbeque, or people who live in a shared house who are working out when to eat. When building this kind of kitchen, you should focus on making it functional, useful, and comfortable to live in. Here you go! This blog post gives you all the tips you need to make a kitchen that cooks, kids, and roommates can all use, with the right mix of set and relaxed and friendly vibes.
Now, let me show you how to get your kitchen ready for more than one person to use.
Think about flow and space.
Everywhere there is room in a kitchen that many people can use, whether it’s in the mind or the body. Narrow passages in a suffocating kitchen would make people snap their elbows and lose their cool, so first, try putting forward some plan ideas. The traditional kitchen triangle of the sink, stove, and fridge is a good place to start, but if you have more than one person using the kitchen, you should go further. You might want to have an open kitchen that flows into the living or eating room. This would allow people to move around freely without having to feel bad about stepping on someone’s foot.
We can do this well on islands. There is extra room on a big kitchen island for prep work or just to put things down. This makes the kitchen a hub. It also lets people eat casually and lets kids do their homework while dinner is cooking. Since open-plan living is popular in coastal cities like Wollongong, you might want to look into kitchen renovations in Wollongong to make your space fit your needs. Just make sure there is at least one metre of space around your island so people can walk around without running into each other.
One more idea is to think about planning. Set aside certain areas for different jobs, like a counter for chopping, a counter for baking, and a corner for things like the coffee machine. Everyone will have their own space to work, and there won’t be as much chaos when everyone tries to fit in one spot.
Pick out smart storage options.
No matter what kind of multi-user cooking atmosphere you want, clutter will ruin it. It needs storage that is easy to find and use when you are doing more than one thing in the kitchen at the same time.
- The pots and pans should be kept in deep drawers instead of lower-level, awkward shelves where you would have to reach in and pull out a saucepan.
- For awkward areas, you could also put in corner carousels or pull-out shelves so that everyone can just grab what they want without having to go on a hunt.
This is when upright storage will come in handy. To keep the counters clear, put up open shelves or hooks for drinks, cooking tools, or even a spice rack. So no one runs to the lost-and-found room and asks, “Hey, where’s my favourite knife?” In a kid-friendly home (which is another word for chaos), try labelling everything. Having things in order goes a long way towards keeping everyone happy when you share a space with others, whether it’s a co-living investment property or any other shared property.
Do not forget the kitchen. Even though a walk-in pantry is better, a tall, pull-out pantry unit will work if you are short on room. Put things that you use every day at eye level and things that you don’t use as often too high or too low. It’s set up so that multiple people can get items without coming in the way of each other.
Rather, you should spend money on durable and vehicle surfaces.
When there are more than two people in the kitchen, the surfaces will get dirty. They will want surfaces that won’t get worn down after getting dirty, knife-scratched, or hit by a hot pot. Aussie kitchens love granite or quartz countertops because they last a long time and are easy to clean. They’re pretty pricey, but they’ll last for years of family meals or feasts with guests.
You should think about surfaces that can do more than one thing. You can use a butcher block on your island as a cutting board, which saves room and makes the surface feel great. If you don’t have a lot of room, look into benchtops that can be extended or tables that fold down and can be opened up to make a nice extra prep area when you need it. These are great for apartments and homes with limited room because they make the most of every inch.
Appliance sharing is a top priority.
Appliances can make a big difference in a kitchen where more than one person cooks. When you can, double up. For example, having two sinks is great when one person is washing dishes and the other is preparing vegetables. If you can afford it, a double oven is a good thing to buy because it lets you cook different foods at different temperatures without having to mess up your schedule.
When your kitchen is small, you should look for tools that are small and can be used for more than one thing. If you get a good one, an air fryer can be like a small oven. A mixer with extra attachments can make smoothies, soups, and everything else. Put tools in the right place based on what they’ll be used for. For example, kettles and toasters should go in a separate “breakfast station” to avoid delays in the morning. Stay away from the fridge! A French-door or side-by-side fridge with lots of storage spaces keeps everyone’s food and leftovers in order.
Make a friendly atmosphere.
Since more than one person is using the kitchen at the same time, it should have a warm and welcoming feel instead of being strictly useful. Lighting is very important. Some ideas for warm and useful lighting are task lighting (under-cabinet LEDs for prep areas) and ambient lighting (pendants over the island). Plus points for dimmer switches that let you change the light from very bright and focused to very warm and cosy.
The house is unique to the people who live there.
- If you want to make notes or meal plans on the wall, chalkboard paint can be a fun thing for kids to do.
- The Aussies love it when you bring plants inside or put an herb garden on the window sill to bring life to the kitchen.
- In a share house, a bulletin board will make sure that everyone knows about the schedules and food lists.
For reasons of safety and ease of access
If there are a lot of people around, safety should come first.
- If you have kids around, you should make the corners of your benchtops round.
- Next are non-slip floors, like tile or vinyl, that won’t turn into an ice rink when something falls on them.
- If you live with older people or people who have trouble moving around, “low benchtops” or “pull-down shelves” might be good ideas.
Take the time to understand the different wants of everyone in a share house or a home with people of different ages living together. On the lower shelf of the microwave, a teen might want to warm up some snacks. Or, there might be a step stool hidden in a closet that little kids can use to reach the counters. Above all, there must be clear, unobstructed paths. When everyone is working in the kitchen, a messy floor could be a risk for falling.
Finally, turn your home into a place where you can build relationships.
It’s hard to find the right balance of room, storage, functionality, and personality in a kitchen where a lot of people can work at once. One is making a kitchen that really makes you want to come in and is very useful, just so ready to complain at the thought of such spaces, whether they are for a family home, a shared house, or a place where people of different generations live together. Pay attention to how things flow and buy high-quality materials. Most importantly, feel free to add the little things that make the room uniquely yours.
