Whether you’re about to buy your first home and are excited to take on a number of renovation projects or your much-loved home is simply longing for a touch of TLC, one thing’s for sure: the kitchen is a great place to start!

The contemporary culinary space combines practicality and style for flawless results. Burlington Granite takes a closer look at how this is achieved through the use of interior materials and appliances, helping you design a kitchen you can’t wait to spend time in.

1. Camouflaged appliances

In the 21st-century kitchen, clutter is out and minimalism is in. So, when looking to optimise your kitchen space for more modern tastes, consider ways you can store away unnecessary, temporary appliances, such as the toaster and microwave, to keep your kitchen area spacious and stylish.

Large, sliding cabinet doors are an easy and sleek way to keep miscellaneous appliances and utilities stored away to create a chic aesthetic – all the while keeping them within easy reach for practical use. We suggest opting for block colours that allow small details and appliances to shine so that there’s still an element of individual style within your kitchen. This can be executed through bronze cabinet handles and small doses of colours in your fruit bowl centrepiece.

2. Practical splashbacks

As arguably the busiest and typically messiest room in the home, the kitchen is likely to see it’s fair share of food stains and other spillages. So, in order to minimise the risk of permanent water damage to your walls and surrounding areas, one stylish way of future-proofing your home for the future includes securing a fashionable yet functional splashback behind your sink.

If you’d like to adhere to the Scandi-style interior trend that’s taken home decor by storm in recent years, then look to incorporate shimmering gold accents or mirrored-effect finishes in your splashback tiling choices. Not only does this style have the potential to look both dramatic and tastefully elegant, but the reflecting purposes of these surfaces will open up your room while protecting your walls from water and other liquids used close by.

3. Timeless worktops

If you’re wanting to strip back and start from scratch without the hassle of investing in an entirely new kitchen unit, an easy way to transform your room is by swapping out your old and tired worktop and replacing it with a fresh countertop design that will stand the test of time and last through inevitable seasonal trend changes.

Depending on your individual tastes, you need a worktop that will sustain all that life throws at you, from the hectic family gatherings over Christmas dinner to the late-night cravings, all while remaining incredibly on-trend. For example, a stylish granite worktop will never go out of fashion and can act as a focal point in your kitchen. Not only will this type of worktop allow you to personalise your interior due to its natural colouring, but as your styles change, you can adapt your smaller ornaments and appliances around it without their colour schemes clashing. 

4. Space-saving dining sets

Whether you’re blessed with an abundance of space or your kitchen is a little on the cramped side, incorporating a multi-purpose seating area within your room will encourage a more social atmosphere in your kitchen – all while saving you some much-needed room in the process.

Think about swapping out wooden high chairs for sleek, silver bar stools that slot nicely around your breakfast bar and allow you to chat with your family and friends whenever you want. Alternatively, in keeping with the popular industrial interior design theme, why not integrate a dining table that uses a bench as a seating area? This way, you don’t have to try and fit lots of additional chairs that don’t coordinate with one another around the table when guests come round and can seat them all at the table at once.

Due to the need for practicality, kitchens often require an array of materials, styles and colours to make them work – so why not embrace the shiny tiled walls, rustic worktops and practical wooden and steel table sets to create a space you love spending time in? As a room you’re likely to spend a lot of time in, we’re sure you can agree that, if any room deserves the added TLC, it’s the kitchen!

Sophie Armstrong is a content creator for granite and quartz worktop specialists Burlington Granite, who provide a full bespoke worktop solution by offering templating, cutting, polishing and fitting, all driven by 25 years of industry experience