If you are planning on giving your kitchen a makeover in 2021, then you will definitely want to have a read over this list of things Mike Dunfee Group says you should avoid and things you must definitely include. It’s a common saying that the kitchen is the heart of the home and let’s face it, it’s true! At any party where do the best conversations happen? In the kitchen. Those fond memories of cooking or baking with loved ones? They happen in the kitchen. Midnight snacks? The kitchen.

Frankly, it’s a pretty important place so let us dive into the kitchen must-haves when thinking about giving it a new lease of life. 

 

Must-haves

Heated towel rail 

These marvels of engineering have become a favourite of bathroom designers, and with good reason.  Who doesn’t want to wrap themselves up in a warm fluffy towel? However, the bathroom is not the only place where a hand towel rail is useful. Adding one to the kitchen gives you the perfect place to dry off dish towels, as well as providing a little bit of extra heat to a room whose doors are often left open. 

Thinking about having to redo plumbing, in order to fit in an extra radiator, may seem like more work than you bargained.  This is why we are huge fans of the electric version we found at Trade Radiators. Simply hang on the wall, plug in and you can say goodbye to soggy dish towels.  

 

Quality Knives

There are some places where you can skimp on kitchen utensils. Vegetable peelers for example; a bargain basket one, for the most part, is going to be just as good as a super-duper fancy one, with an eye-watering price tag. Non-stick pans are another one. They aren’t designed to last forever, in fact, they should be replaced fairly regularly, as the non-stick coating can start to flake off with regular use, or become more stick than non! 

Knives are not one of those places. Cheap knives will blunt quickly and become a danger to you and others. Invest in high-quality knives that can be resharpened. Good quality knives will make meal prep much easier and can last for an incredibly long time if cared for well. If you have any chefs in your family, or friends, ask them for their opinions, they might even be able to get you a deal through their suppliers. 

Armed with the things you don’t want to miss out on, it’s time to talk about the ones that you definitely do want to avoid!

 

Mistakes

Non-washable paint

If you are considering adding a lick of paint to your kitchen, absolutely do not reach for your bog-standard house paint. What will do fine in your living room will cause nothing but headaches in your kitchen. As a high traffic area that also needs to contend with a mixture of grime, and higher than usual wear and tear thanks to dirty hands, cooking fumes and those mysterious stains that always seem to occur wherever food is regularly eaten, specialist paint is required. 

Be on the lookout for paint that is designed for kitchen and bathrooms. The reason for this is that you will be able to wash down your walls on a fairly regular basis without the paint colour coming off on your sponge. Kitchen paint will be able to withstand moisture much better than normal paint, which should help keep any damp or mildew at bay. Satin is a good finish to go with as it is shiner and will respond better to being cleaned. The colour? Well, we will leave that one up to you.

 

Single-use appliances

Storage is always at a bit of a premium in kitchens, so much so in fact that a bonus must-have tip is to plan for more storage in your kitchen than you think you could ever use. Because believe us – you will use it. If you are not lucky enough to have lots of storage, then stay away from single-use appliances. 

Yes, an electric waffle bowl maker may seem like a perfect purchase at the time but let’s be honest, how many times are you actually going to use it? Contraptions that reheat a single slice of pizza, or make a lone breakfast sandwich, fall into this category too. All that these devices will do is gather dust at the back of the cupboard and will most likely do their job poorly too. Everyone loves a gadget gift but the kitchen is not the place for them 

Prepared with your wish list of kitchen goodies, and knowing what to avoid, you are well placed to start planning your makeover!