I love a white kitchen, it’s ruining my life, UNTIL ...

1162

Modern Farmhouse
HDB (Maisonette)
≥1,500 sqft
3 br
Couple Living with Kids

Living with children meant many home cooked meals if we can. It saves us costs and feels healthier, meal proportions can be adjusted and no worries about dirty seats. So our kitchen is a big part of our life. The design and function of this area is very important to us.
Mister does all the cooking (lucky missus) so this was his domain. Our previous home had very little counter space for food prep. So ensuring that we have ample of it in this home was crucial. As the previous home was the first home, we were still in very early stages of identifying our needs as our own family unit. So a word of advice to all couples who are looking to start a family and building your first home, do give yourself the time and space to figure this out if you’re going to spend a hefty sum on your homes!
We decided to opt with open shelvings for the top. That meant purging and only keeping “items that spark joy”. We were deciding between a dark cabinetry look or a light one. We were torn between going a little bolder with dark colours like green or a very deep blue. Our light coloured scandi home had a white counter that changed colour over time. We ended up still trying for this because we felt that the colour is more evergreen. Furthermore, as the kitchen is segregated from the window by our entryway, we considered how it may not get as much natural light. Thus, going for a light colour look to not make it a dull place. (Pssst! A little bird told us that a dishwasher saves marriages. We’re passing this wisdom on to all of you.)
We decided to go with a range cooker and have no regrets. It completed a farmhouse look and the five burners are so extremely useful for the amount of cooking mister does. Mister makes the decision on what goes where in the kitchen. If you are doing a farmhouse theme, always always ALWAYS go for shaker profile cabinets and drawers, and get a double profile countertop. It makes a lot of difference!
Our kitchen leads into the laundry area through an archway. We dreamt of a barndoor that opened midway but you’ll soon see how our laundry space cannot allow for that 😅. We had a custom peninsular countertop built to house mister’s coffee equipment and ikea pendant lights to illuminate the bar. We actually had another kind of pendant light design in mind but our fate with Taobao was not meant to be.
This view ends with showing you the last of our storage space in the kitchen. In total we had this amount of functioning closed up storage space: 1) sink area -one cavity below sink (2 door cabinet) 2) hob area -2 cavity (2 door cabinet) -3 drawers 3) above fridge -1 cavity (2 door cabinet) 4) bar area -1 cavity below mini sink (1 door cabinet) -3 functioning drawers -3 pantry drawers (2 door cabinet) Is it enough? It’s a miracle, but yes.
This bar has three drawers, one of it to house coffee apparatus and equipment accessories. it required a little bit of planning to pull a water point for a functioning little sink to clean up coffee and milk but it has saved a lot of hassle. Missus just say yes to everything mister ask for to be able to enjoy the perks that come after. Raising the bar for the coffee machine meant customising it to mister’s height. We also see that this is just a clear demarcation of “DO NOT TOUCH” area for all😂. We used the other two drawers to house all “takeaways” Luke different containers and tupperwares and Starbucks bottles and cups. Learning to leave within our means meant only getting new cups if space allows 😢 (mister’s rules).
This is how our id had helped us to do our pantry drawers to stuff whatever breakfast item and snack item!
We have really purged most of our crockery and kept only the ones we use. It has been sufficient for our lifestyle! We just find that it may become a problem when we host but our parties have been small. You may have noticed that we do not have any dish rack as well. We wash and dry our plates and bowls immediately after, otherwise we just leave them in the dishwasher if we had used it. We were recommended sintered stone for our counter and backsplash. However, we didn’t like how the matte one looked, even though it was highly recommended for its durability and scratch resistance. We went ahead with the gloss finish. Jasmine from Nuovo was extremely helpful with our selection as we were shown many options from so many places. Their price point and service is highly recommended!
When you have identified your needs, you will also be able to narrow down on keeping the things that you really want and will use. We kept what we needed and used this space to keep appliances and bigger crockery. There is a hidden PowerPoint for also plugging in the range cooker. Just a tip: if you’re using countertop slabs for backsplash, ALWAYS ALWAYS remember to check on cutouts for power points planned for your walls. Our drawers on this side of the wall is used to keep our utensils and equipments that can fit. Decorative items all go into the cabinet space above the fridge.
We have been enjoying using the kitchen and the space it has. Navigating around it has felt seamless. Contrary to our previous experience, this white kitchen has made us happy. And making food happy results in happy food for happy people.