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Kitchens are the most popular room to remodel in individually designed homes. Today, a lot goes into designing and building a custom luxury kitchen. You must keep practicality in mind, as well as pay attention to the look and feel of the space.

Now is the time to make your vision for your kitchen a reality. Maximize this essential home space with the help of the following must-have features that will take your kitchen to its peak functional and aesthetic form.

1. Double Ovens

Having a double oven will make your kitchen look stylish. The main oven can be used without requiring you to bend over with difficulty, while the secondary oven is used for additional baking and plate warming.

By separating the ovens from the burners, you can also install a nice cooktop which can open up new floor-plan possibilities.

2. Island Cooktop

A kitchen cooktop will provide countertop burners. If it is built into a huge island, you can have wide workspaces and some room for other provisions underneath, like a warming drawer. You can have a downdraft exhaust system installed to avoid a view-blocking range hood above it, and in some cases commercial hood cleaning can save you buying a new hood exhaust. Long cabinets can also act as tower bars.

3. Coffee Bar

Enjoy having a special area just for making your favorite drinks. Functional and stylish kitchen coffee stations can stock everything you need in one location, such as coffee cups and condiments.

 An area like this will provide functionality away from the main meal preparation and cooking area.

4. Built-In Refrigerator

Built-ins will keep the look integrated and smooth. Shallow refrigerators line up perfectly with lower cabinets. They have articulating hinges so they open fully. Moreover, customized panels blend your freezer and refrigerator into its neighboring cabinetry, and this can help boost the overall aesthetic appeal of your kitchen.

5. Enclosed Trash and Recycling

A trash and recycling area is a feature that you’ll use on a daily basis, and you will love the convenience it offers. However, this can take up floor space and attract pests. Interior designers thus recommend keeping it hidden. For instance, you can include compartments for your waste containers in custom cabinets.

Also, you can choose to put it in a pantry, either under the sink or in a pull-out drawer. Another tip is to consider if you’re already following a perfect diet or not, since it can go a long way to reducing leftovers if the food is so good it gets eaten straight away!

6. Divided Storage

Organize your kitchen utensils with internal drawer dividers. Built-in dividers will also provide a cleaner, more finished look to space as compared to organizers bought separately and placed inside the drawer.

7. Dishwasher Drawers

Dishwasher drawers are better options than the regular dishwasher or a full-sized dishwasher. Opt for dishwashers that have the look of a typical drawer that can be pulled out for fast and easy sink-side cleanup.

These appliances are efficient if you only need to clean few dishes. Install one in a basement game room, near a meal prep area, or in a butler’s pantry.

8. On-Counter Appliance Garage

This is quite similar to a garage for cars. It houses all the appliances that you often use but don’t want to keep in plain sight. An on-counter appliance garage has a roll-up aluminum door that closes to hide the blender or juicer, leaving a counter space in front.

9. Deep Drawers

Interior designers recommend having a deep drawer beside the kitchen range so you can have easy access to big cooking pans and pots. Typical drawers are limited in their size by the cabinet housing them. Deep drawers offer marvelous utility.

10. Proper Lighting

Consider having layers of light and multiple fixtures to cover each area in your kitchen. Use hanging lights to cover the island with ample lighting. Recessed ceiling lights can be used to shine down on work surfaces. For proper task lighting on each counter-top, install under-cabinet lights.

The kitchen deserves a clever lighting plan that will address the room’s different roles. Make sure your kitchen is a welcoming place for your family and friends to gather with excellent overall lighting. The helpful Trendsetter blog emphasizes that a well-lit kitchen typically displays three types of light: accent, task, and ambient.

11. Sustainable Flooring

The kitchen is one of the areas in a home that gets the most traffic. This also requires frequent cleaning. An ideal flooring option for your kitchen is ceramic tile. This material offers an unmatched combination of durability, maintenance, and good aesthetics.

12. Pot Filler

Finally, a pot filler is a smart convenience you will love if you enjoy cooking. This has a swing-out faucet on a jointed arm, which is mounted near or over the stove. You can use pot fillers not just for cooking but also for getting hot water for coffee or tea, making gravy, and adding water to soups.

The sky’s the limit when outfitting a custom luxury kitchen. Since the kitchen is often the main activity hub in your home, it is considered the most popular room to modify to fit the whole household’s needs. So if you are ready to build your luxury kitchen and quite unsure about where to start, get in touch with reputable luxury home builders who can provide expert help.

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If you are moving into a new home or just renovating your existing home, then you will so be thinking of fitting the kitchen with the right equipment. And if you are unsure as to which equipment to choose and which to avoid, then this post is for you. Below, we list out five tips that will help you pick out the perfect kitchen equipment.

Burner Heating Capacity

When looking to buy a burner, many people have a tendency to go for models that offer the highest heating option. This is not a good way to judge burners. For a restaurant, burners with high heating capacity are required since they will be preparing large quantities of food.  But when using burners in a home, you won’t need such high heat. Instead, what you will most likely require is a wider range of heating options.  As such, look for burners that can go to a low simmer and those that can go very high. This will allow you to cook all types of food, right from a chicken curry that requires slow cooking over long periods of time, to preparing large quantities of pasta. Ideally, look for burners in the range of 3000 BTU to 12000 BTU.

Oven Doors

When picking ovens for the kitchen, make sure that you double check the doors. If the doors are weak and unable to properly hold the heat inside, then the food will take longer to cook. And in some cases, it may not even get cooked properly no matter how long you keep the oven running. Plus, the heat from the oven will also increase the temperature of the kitchen and make it too hot to work.  So, when in the showroom to buy an oven, try opening and closing the doors multiple times. And inspect the doors thoroughly to ensure that they close perfectly, leaving no room for heat to escape out of the oven.

Energy Efficiency

Check out the energy efficiency labels on the equipment, and pick the one that consumes the least energy. And if you like any equipment, but find out that it consumes a lot of energy, check whether any alternative models are available that consumes less energy. Even if you have to spend extra money on a highly energy efficient equipment, it will be in your interest to make that extra investment since the equipment will easily recoup that amount in the form of energy savings.

Size  

Make sure that any equipment you buy fits in the kitchen very well, without creating a congestion. If the kitchen becomes too congested, then it will become difficult to work in it. And considering that you will be spending a good amount of time daily in the kitchen, being restricted at all times will likely irritate you, and eventually affect the quality of food you cook. So, if you happen to like a large equipment, ask the store for its smaller version.

In addition to the above tips, you can also check out the Helpful Habitat website for more information on selecting the right kitchen equipment for your home.