Most home owners have a special fascination for kitchen area. They have a dream kitchen in their mind: It should be enjoyable, super functional, helps save time, increase efficiency, comfortable to work, making cooking and cleaning up a breeze, is hygienic, smooth, long lasting and safe.
But do you feel the same way few years after the installation?
Many end up having negative kitchen experience being discontented and dissatisfied. On analyzing the possible reasons, there seems to be many: Poor quality, inadequate storage, functionality issues, maintenance issues, cost issues not getting value for the money spent etc., etc. There can be one or many problems of the above kind.
But interestingly we have observed that all the problems are consequences of one single mistake that buyers commit
80% of Dissatisfaction is due to #1 single mistake:
In 20 years of my experience in kitchen furniture, I’ve seen all kinds of customers, satisfied and dissatisfied; customers of varying tastes and demands, our customers as well as customers using other brands of kitchen.
Many times, I come across problems faced not even related to our domain of modular kitchen expertise. But awareness of all kinds of the kitchen problems helps us gain good insight into the difficulties that the kitchen users have.
I have found that more than 80% of the reason for dissatisfaction with the modular kitchen is due to #1 common mistake that users make. But to understand this first it is important to define what is the expectation from the kitchen.
What do you expect from the modular kitchen?
In the second habit, of the popular book ‘ ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ” by Stephen Covey, he talks about “Begin with the end in mind“. This habit emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision of one’s goals and desired outcomes before beginning any task or activity. Believe it or not, it has high relevance in many areas of life, including kitchen and other capital items that we buy.
The desires and needs related to the kitchen are :
- It should be aesthetically pleasing and good looking.
- It should be efficient, comfortable to work, smooth and long lasting.
- The modular kitchen should be an enjoyable space for cooking. If it is a large kitchen then the wish might add up to having an enjoyable space for dining, sitting and/or entertainment within the kitchen.
- It should be safe and assist in kitchen hygiene.
Out of the above desires, what is the end result you want from the kitchen? Is it the aesthetics- the door, the fittings or the color of the kitchen?
#No. 1 Mistake that buyers make in Kitchen Furniture:
#1 mistake that buyers make is they overlook the end results they want from the kitchen.
- One of the most common mistakes homeowners make when designing a kitchen is prioritizing aesthetics over functionality.
- The end result they want is a functional long lasting kitchen that increases work efficiency, and improves the functionality of kitchen but they limit their focus on having a beautiful looking kitchen. The end result gets overlooked.
- The kitchen buyers either believe that functional aspect of kitchen is the job of the kitchen designer, or they get lured by the lusture, beauty and aesthetics of kitchen overlooking the functional aspect of the kitchen.
- While it is important to have a kitchen that looks good, it should not come at the expense of functionality. The sight should be on the end result.
- The other mistake is overlooking the aspect of having a long lasting, trouble free kitchen with good after sales service support. Again this the consequence of the end result getting overlooked.
Gravity of kitchen functionality mistakes:
![organisd]ed kitchen cabinet](https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/2c31d7070fbe9d5a_4-5285/home-design.jpg "#1 Mistake That Can Ruin Your Kitchen Experience 6")
The key reason why the kitchen functionality is important is that it has far fetching consequences, few of which are as below:
- Functionality errors can’t be corrected post-installation. Functionality is finalized at the planning stage, nothing can be done once the layout has been finalized and materials ordered.
- The functionality errors mostly go unnoticed, it is a silent killer, which affects the body, the energy level and the mind without being noticed.
- It impacts physically starting with body discomfort, progressing to joint pains and arthritis.
- It drains and sucks energy, making you feel tired, with decreased efficiency, and sweating while working in the kitchen.
- It impacts mentally causing irritation, increasing temper, anger, a bad mood and bad relations in the family.
- It is a mistake which can ruin our kitchen experience, increase body aches, decrease mental peace and family harmony for our entire life.
The cost of functionality problem as evident is very high. This one mistake of overlooking the functionality aspect can ruin all your kitchen experiences, even though the kitchen may look beautiful, elegant and fascinating.
Why a Kitchen designer can’t design a functional kitchen?
Another important point to understand is that even a kitchen designer with vast experience having good knowledge of kitchen functionality, designing and planning may not be able to make a functional kitchen for you.
The reason is that you know your kitchen the most, and you understand the kitchen needs better than the designer. The following points will make things clear:
- Only you know the electrical/electronic gadgets that will be kept and used. The appliances- refrigerator, stove/oven, microwave, dishwasher, smaller appliances like a toaster, blender, and coffee maker that is used in the kitchen.
- Only you know the storage and kind of storage needed. The size, kind and quantity of utensils, crockeries, Thalis, cups and plates etc. that will be kept in the kitchen
- Only you know what cookware, Pots, pans, baking sheets, and casserole dishes will be used.
- Only you know what Pantry staples, Items like flour, sugar, cooking oil, and canned goods are commonly kept in a kitchen pantry.
- Only you know how the utensils will be washed – in kitchen sink, in Dish washer, or in a separate cleaning area.
Only you know what quantity of eatables has to be stored? Some store for months, some for a week and some store for only a day.
Apart from this, modular kitchen is only a part of the kitchen, the kitchen experience is dependent on all factors put together. Each component has to gel with each other. For example the experience won’t be good even if the modular kitchen is well planned under the following circumstances:
- If there is lack of good ventilation, good lighting, or enough free movement.
- There is wrong placement of switchboard, electrical sockets, water outlets, drain holes.
- If the kitchen expectations are not matching with the available kitchen area. For an example, if the kitchen is small then there will be some restrictions on available counter top space, movement space and/or storage space.
To conclude, focus on the end results more than the shiny outward looks of the kitchen. Functional kitchen is more important than the beauty of the kitchen. Quality is more important than the initial price for a better, for a better kitchen experience.
The kitchen designer doesn’t know many things about your kitchen which are essential components of the functionality of the kitchen. It is your kitchen and no one can know better than you on your kitchen needs. The kitchen functional requirements vary from family to family depending on their need and kitchen utility. Hence, be involved in kitchen layout designing to understand the functional aspect of the kitchen.
The designer plans a standard kitchen as per the available space with standard counter space and storage space. The more you discuss and share your concerns with him, the better planning he can do optimizing your budget and kitchen space utilization with better kitchen functionality.
