Making the kitchen the heart of the home

Mr A loves baking helping me in the kitchen

We spend a lot of time in our kitchen and it really is the heart of our home, it's the place we all come together in the morning and evening, where we discuss things as a family or hear about what each other has done that day, a place we love to bake goodies and where I make our meals. We are also lucky to have a larger kitchen in this house than our last, it has not only a kitchen island but also space for dining table and chairs and double doors out onto our garden and it's somewhere we enjoy being.

Saying that there are a few improvements we need to make before putting our house back on the market and I am not just talking a new lick of paint but a total decluttering of the surfaces, replacing the barstools, the ones that came with the house have never really been our taste and the other is the built in Fridge needs to be replaced. This has also made me think about what I would like my dream kitchen to look like and I am hoping that with our next home we can start from scratch and create a place we want to spend time.

I love these white tiles (image)

I know we are going to go with a white base and build up from there, with Scandi inspirations and pops of colour but the main thing is making our kitchen a family friendly place and thought I would share a few tips on making your kitchen the heart of the home

1. Bring the fun - don't be afraid of colour and allow your children art work to decorate the fridge, this allows them to feel more connected and apart of the room.

2. Appropriate seating - both you and your kids need to feel comfortable so when it comes to your dining table why not consider having seats on one side.

3. Be kitchen creative - I always involve Mr A with any new dish I am having a go at making or baking, a the end of the day it doesn't matter how much mess is made it always gets cleaned up so why not have fun with it and also allows you to teach your children about healthy choices and where food comes from.

4. Invest in quality appliances - there is noting more annoying that getting a cheap kettle or toaster only for it to break a few weeks later. Wether it be big or small it's important to go with a decent brand when it comes to your white goods such as Amica, which do a free standing hob I have my eye on.

5. Eat as a family - I think this is really important when it comes to making your kitchen the heart of your home, it should be a place you share ideas, eat good food, laugh, smile and also we make meal times technology free - so no phones at the table as it's important to really connect with each other.

The kitchen is one of those places that needs to be kept well maintained as it's a place you use daily but by investing in good equipment as well as considering insurance (after our washing machine decided to stop working we are looking into this) although at the end of the day the main thing is to have fun.

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