The Importance of Choosing the Right Kitchen

Kitchens have evolved more than any other room in the house during the last century. In the inter-war years, they were the heart of many Victorian and Edwardian properties, with range cookers and bathtubs alongside sinks and tables. By the 1970s, galley kitchens had come to resemble an unavoidable necessity, as lounges and separate dining rooms took precedence in new homes.

Today, we’ve come full circle. Cookery shows and celebrity chefs have introduced new generations to the joys of home cooking, while environmental and ethical concerns have brought plant-based diets into the mainstream. Cooking isn’t something you do in isolation any more – it’s a social activity. As a result, housebuilders are designing family kitchens with plenty of space to cook, dine and socialise. And that means choosing the right kitchen is more important than ever for new home buyers.

It’ll be all right on the night

Of course, choosing ‘the right kitchen’ depends on personal tastes and circumstances. If you’re a keen amateur baker, you might need a double oven with lots of worktop space for kneading and rolling. A big fridge freezer will support batch cooking for large families, while young professionals might want to gather round breakfasting bars and central islands during social get-togethers.

As one of Scotland’s leading housebuilders, Cruden Homes understands the importance of giving buyers scope to tailor their dream kitchen off-plan. We know the owner of a one-bedroom apartment is less likely to need extensive wall unit storage than the occupants of a four-bedroom detached villa, but we believe everyone should have the choice. We recognise the value of worktop space, which is why our kitchens blend full-height units with separate countertop and wall cabinets.

Build your own

Most of all, we appreciate that kitchens let buyers express their personalities, from hidden handles to LED under-unit lighting. Although there are many decisions to be made about personalising a new home, kitchens tend to offer the widest choice of alternatives. Our customers can take their time designing and specifying a kitchen to suit their unique preferences. To ensure it feels completely theirs, Cruden offers a variety of cabinet finishes and colours, appliance combinations and materials.

Our award winning Meadowside development in Aberlady provides an example of this philosophy. Buyers at early stages of the build process can upgrade their splashbacks to 6mm toughened glass panels in one of eight colours, or specify solid surface worktops with integral draining grooves. A three-in-one tap eliminates the need for a kettle, and the space saved by upgrading to a washer dryer could be filled with a trio of pull-out storage bins.

As consumers become more aware of issues like food waste, sugar content and veganism, the pendulum is likely to continue swinging away from processed ready meals towards healthy home cooking. Future generations will be grateful we turned our backs on isolated galley kitchens, in favour of bringing the kitchen into the heart of today’s homes. How we use that space, however, depends very much on the tastes and preferences of modern home buyers.

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