Which Kitchen Is Yours

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

When making a choice on a brand new kitchen or undergoing a kitchen remodeling, it’s important to know which kitchen is right for you. Not every design that looks good in a catalogue may necessarily match your home or style. Here are a few tips to help you make an informed decision.

 

  1. Take time with your kitchen.Test and retest all the possible permutations to find the kitchen style that suits your home and also reflects your personality. Don’t just pick the most attractive looking kitchen out of a catalogue or worse yet, copy a friend’s kitchen design.

 

  1. Never accept second best. The kitchen is the most lived-in part of the home, but also the most risky, prone to clumsiness and common accidents. So never accept second best. You need a safe environment for you and your family, and also one which will last. When you are designing it, remember that you will spend a large part of your day there.

 

  1. Avoid beautiful but impossible kitchen designs. Never choose an attractive kitchen that does not suit the space you have. We would all love to have massive, Hollywood-style kitchens, with large islands or peninsulas for family dinners, but we need to focus on ergonomics and functionality and use the space we have as best we can. Choose comfortable and functional units and avoid creating narrow spaces.

 

  1. Do not underestimate small spaces. There are numerous solutions for making the most of the space you have. Kitchens for small spaces must be attractive but functional. You can choose between the various modular kitchens with internal equipment and accessories so that you can easily optimise the space available.

 

 

 

 

  1.  Trust your instinct. Choose your own kitchen design.Advice is always welcome, but the choice is yours. Your mother wants a classic kitchen, your sister-in-law prefers a super-modern and sterile one, but you? Accept advice but remember that the great thing about designing a modular kitchen is that it is made to measure. It is a garment tailored to your need for space and the use you make of it. You can choose between a thousand different combinations. So be bold, think about what you like and choose the kitchen design that suits you best.

 

 

At The Platinum House we work with several international kitchen manufacturing companies that offer a range of designs. Our team of professional designers will consult with you, hear your ideas and help you pick the most apt kitchen for your home and budget. So drop us a line at design@platinumhouse.ae and let’s talk ‘Kitchens’.

 

Kitchen Countertops

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Selecting the right kitchen counter top is an important piece in designing a kitchen and it should be considered carefully. When deciding which is the best counter top to invest in, there are a lot of factors to consider. A worktop is not just a question of fulfilling aesthetics in the design element. It must also be functional, practical and, above all durable. The goal of worktops is to balance out the furnishing with the rest of the kitchen. Gone are the days when choosing a worktop was just about the colour of a laminate. Today there are several technologically advanced materials available in the market.

1) QUARTZ top

Quartz tops are made of slabs formed by a mixture of quartz and resins that offer considerable benefits and are also extremely practical. Tops in this material are flexible and can reach lengths of up to 3 metres. The choice of quartz for your kitchen top guarantees the use of a material which, albeit more expensive than laminate, offers excellent performance. It is extremely resistant to scratches and knocks and is both long lasting and stain resistant. This translates into practical use in an environment where surfaces are subject to intense and continuous pressure. Quartz tops can be cut to measure based on the size and layout of your kitchen.

2) OKITE® tops

Okite® tops mainly consist of natural quartz with the remaining part made up of acrylic resins and coloured pigments. This type of mixture guarantees excellent performance and resistance against scratches, attacks by chemical agents, liquid and heat absorption, and is five times more resistant than granite. The surface is extremely hygienic and antistatic, does not attract dust, while also guaranteeing consistency and good heat stability. This is a valid alternative to natural stone. Tops in Okite® have no pores into which dirt and bacteria may seep.

3) MARBLE / GRANITE tops

Marble tops are compact, consisting of medium hard materials that are easy to polish, are processed to reduce the natural porosity and are then, treated with water-repellent and stain proofing products. Granites, which are also compact and easy to polish, are made of ultra-hard minerals and generally feature more dynamic and varied colours. Moreover, they are much more resistant than marbles to surface abrasions. Granite, which costs less than marble and is less precious, is in fact an extremely resistant product. When used for kitchen tops, it undergoes a special process to create an irregular surface and, thereby, enhance its natural look. In this case, this means brushed granite. Finally, composites are aggregates of marble fragments bound together with resins and cements. Highly appreciated by anyone who likes a natural look in the home that fits in well with more traditional style kitchens.

4) CORIAN® tops

This is a composite material that is non-porous and even, consisting of a third acrylic resin and two thirds mineral substances. The main component is the aluminium trihydrate mineral derived from bauxite. It has been used for furnishing purposes for some years now. Its use as a kitchen top ensures a pleasing tactile sensation, but above all great performance as it is non-porous, robust and resistant to scratches and humidity, can be repaired, has no joints where dirt can be deposited, is ecological and hypoallergenic. A material that can take on any shape and has demonstrated its reliability and ability to innovate with colours for decades, as well as technology and environmental sustainability.

5) STEEL top

Stainless steel tops feature high resistance against wear and are not affected by high temperatures, although they do require constant maintenance and cleaning. Steel is stain-proof and highly suitable for hygienic treatments of kitchen foods. One of the advantages offered by stainless steel tops is that they can be directly soldered to sinks and hobs, for a seamless finish and eliminating joints where dirt deposits may form. From a visual point of view, this type of top adds a more industrial touch.

6) GLASS top

This top consists of a sheet of extra-light glass with a variable thickness of between 15mm and 19mm. It is coloured and has undergone a treatment to make it resistance to knocks. Tempered glass tops are obtained from a slab of glass, heated at a high temperature until it softens. Extracted from the furnace, it is quickly cooled with high pressure jets of cold air, which only stiffen the external surface, while the inside cools slowly. This procedure, which creates tempered glass, is used to improve the top’s mechanical resistance against flexing and thermal shock. If a glass top breaks, it shatters into lots of small, blunt pieces. For this reason, glass is considered a safe and robust product. This material makes a bold visual impact when used on work tops, but does not offer a very good performance as scratches are very visible.

If you would like more insight on kitchen tops, finishes and what best suits your need and budget, do get in touch with the designers at The Platinum House on design@platinumhouse.ae for a free consultation.