HomeWhere all the magic happens! A functional kitchen makes cooking a joy.
inthekohzwu
Slow living in a cozy space called home | 屋
Where all the magic happens! A functional kitchen makes cooking a joy.
279
- Japandi
- HDB (Resale)
- ~1,000 sqft
- 3 br
- Solo Living
Welcome to my humble (extended) kitchen! Table space is the most important for me. Coming from a cramped kitchen makes me want a spacious one myself. It's not that I cook often but having space to walk and breathe while cooking is important. Hence, open kitchen is the way to go! I was adamant to hack walls to open up space and I'm thankful this unit naturally is an open kitchen concept. I decided to extend the kitchen outwards with a peninsula for more table space (again) and also an area where breakfast can take place! Due to the layout, I was also able to have an area for dry pantry! This is still a WIP space though. 
Many are actually used to having the sink right beside the hob. This is for easy wash of kitchen equipment right after cooking. I took the leap of faith and shifted my sink towards the outer area of the kitchen. I wanted to have easy access to the sink nearer to the main living area. This also allowed us to retrieve items from the fridge and bring them to the sink easily. Even though a single door fridge makes more sense for a small household, I wanted a side-by-side fridge for both aesthetic reason and also to maximise the space for storage. All along I wanted to have a French door fridge but currently, having more freezer space is better than more space for fresh food. If only my side-by-side is white, then it will be perfect! 
This is another angle of how much table space I get. The multiple emphasis of table space also shows how much I'm excited about the space I have! The amount of space used for preparation, washing and storage is nothing but amazing. This is my favourite space to have my breakfast and also do get some work done. From this angle, I still get to watch Netflix! 
Have you realised one unique feature of my kitchen? It is a no hood kitchen! Lived my life with a kitchen with no hood even when my dad does heavy cooking as a chef at home and at work. It did not seem to make much difference. In fact, there is more cleaning and more grime with a hood. Decided to go against the norm and to my ID'S horror to make do with a kitchen with no hood. Though I have not been cooking much, but wiping down after every cooking session does help a lot. 
I did encounter a problem while planning. Having full top cabinets on both sides seems a little too much. Yet, we needed something to block the backsplash ending. Having a simple open shelving solved the entire problem! It was cost effective, problem was resolved and at the same time, it brings some character to the kitchen. This is my only open shelf as I'm not into having too much display around as dust collects easily. I went with the biggest sink that I can get and my gigantic pot/pan can fit in easily! I did not go for a double sink as I would have compromised both the look and the space I wanted. For more consistency, I used the same quartz as tabletop and backsplash. It brings out the seamless look in the kitchen! 
Gas hob over induction hob! As much as it is neater and cleaner look, I cannot forgo how different my food will taste. Gas hob it is! Decided to go for this triangle arrangement due to the placement of cookware. When there is a top and bottom gas hob, one pot/pan will block the other. Having the hobs spaced out, it will allow multiple cookware used at the same time. 
Check out the minor details of my quartz! It has little shimmers that will look bling bling when light hits on it. Some may feel it's a little too much and should be more muted. But, it is the shimmers that made me decide this as my tabletop. It makes me feel like it has that bling factor! This is indeed my favourite view while having breakfast or getting some work done. 
Having an open shelf allows you to put some nick nacks or your favourite collectibles. I love this barrel which was Sake brought back from Hokkaido which now serves as a display item. 
Biohome is one of the household necessities we must have! Love how the scent of their products are and it makes washing a much more pleasant job. I was gifted Ollie handwash from a colleague and fell in love with the scent ever since. Love how it is soft on the skin and it does not leave the skin too dry. Check out my honeycomb sink! 
Finally showcasing the other side of my kitchen! Oven is one of my must have appliances. Even if all fails, throwing food in the oven works! The top vent above the oven was my ID's idea to allow the heat to escape the carpentry. If you realised, I have quite a bit of storage space in the kitchen. Even if initially you do not have a lot to store, no harm having extra storage to keep the house neat and tidy. You'll never know if these storage space comes in handy. 
To ensure good flow and not compromising functionality of the food production, having the oven opposite of the hob is great! The hot pan can be placed on the hob directly or there can be a rack on the tabletop directly opposite the oven. There is enough tabletop space (again!)! Decided not to put the oven in the bottom cabinets so that I do not have to keep bending down to check on the food and retrieve the tray. Also, it prevents me from scalding my legs with the hot oven! This also means that having a tall unit is compulsory and that's another cost and consideration. If you now realise, the oven is shifted lower down in height as well as the kitchen table top. This is done so to accommodate to my short height and I do not have to struggle. Those of you who are in the midst of carpentry discussion or yet to reach that stage, remember that height of carpentry can be customised to suit your height! That's the fun of renovation. If I have to choose, my favourite kitchen feature is the hidden switches and plugs. Have you found mine?
