The kitchen is the most cozy and important place in the house.
Here you have breakfast, lunch, dinner, here you meet your family after a hard day and on a sunny Sunday morning, spend quiet evenings or prepare treats for a festive dinner in a large company. A modern kitchen is very important. If you have the opportunity to create it "from scratch" — think about every smallest detail. A properly planned kitchen, which was created using high-quality materials, will live at least 10-15 years and will be an endless source of joy, inspiration and comfort for you.
How does the kitchen in Cyprus differ from kitchens in other countries? As we know, it is quite hot in Cyprus, and the hot season lasts at least six months. And if in April - May and in September - October it is a pleasant warmth, then in the summer months an incorrectly located kitchen can become a branch of hell on earth. And it's not about feng shui.
Do you know that the kitchen simply needs air conditioning, which, as you know, is not a luxury in Cyprus, but the harsh necessity of summer weekdays?
The basic rules of a comfortable kitchen in Cyprusare insulation, air conditioning and coatings that withstand humidity and high temperatures, as well as the usual rules of kitchen layout: ergonomics, convenience, thoughtfulness of design.
Proper insulation of your kitchen (as well as the entire apartment/house) is extremely important in the context of energy conservation. A new apartment with good insulation keeps the temperature even a few hours after the cooling/heating systems are turned off.
When planning a kitchen, be sure to consult with the foreman regarding the best, wear-resistant materials for cabinets, countertops, work surfaces and floors. These should be materials that will be resistant to heat and humidity (especially if your property is located by the sea), and which will be easy to care for.
The "working triangle" — the sink, stove and refrigerator — are three symbolic legs on which any kitchen "stands". They should be in close proximity to each other, but not end-to-end. In a large kitchen, there is a great temptation to build everything along one wall, as in pictures from magazines. It's beautiful, but impractical. You will have to run around the kitchen too much between the refrigerator, stove, sink and work surfaces. Much more convenient are the layout options with an island, or in the shape of the Greek letter "Γ". This way you will have more useful space for creativity in the dining area. It may even turn out to be a small additional living room with a cozy sofa and a coffee table.
1. Large kitchen appliances and built-in electrical appliances
Try to place the oven, refrigerator and dishwasher further apart. If the refrigerator is standing close to the stove, it will constantly work in overload mode and will fail faster. The same applies to dishwashers /washing machines located close to the oven: overheating of electrical appliances leads to problems and breakdowns.
2. Open-plan kitchen: how to get along with excessive openness?
In small apartments, the kitchen is often combined with the living room. The main disadvantage of this layout is kitchen smells and noise throughout the apartment. There is a simple and effective way to solve the problem: a glass partition on the long side of the kitchen. You can create masterpieces of culinary art that the whole apartment will not smell of. In addition, even in the heat, you can put the pie in the oven and leave the bridge, closing the glass door behind you. Hot air from a working oven will not get into the living room. A nice bonus can be a stained glass window, which will make a glass partition a home work of art (and, in addition, it will be clearly visible and thereby reduce the risk of hurriedly flying your forehead into a closed glass).
3. Lights
Proper lighting in the kitchen is very important: it is about design and functionality. Ideally, the "right" kitchen should have at least two levels of lighting: an overhead light aimed at the work area, a lamp with a "warm" light above the dining table, a light on the hood directly above the stove. The basic rule is that the light should fall on the table. It is quite acceptable to lower the lamp below the usual. Try to fix it at a height of 80 cm from the table, if the light will dazzle those sitting at the table — adjust the length of the wire.
4. Air vent
The stove should be located as close as possible to the ventilation box. The shorter the exhaust pipe, the higher its efficiency, and vice versa. Due to bends, the efficiency of the hood is significantly reduced. In addition, fat and dust settles on the folds, and traction decreases due to this. If it is not possible to place the stove directly under the ventilation box, a recirculating hood can be installed. It does not need an air outlet, because it is equipped with a carbon filter that needs to be changed a couple of times a year.
5. Don't forget about sockets
It would seem a trifle, but there are no unimportant things when planning a kitchen. You will need outlets for small kitchen appliances (kettle, toaster, coffee machine), and a few more "in reserve" - you will like to turn on the mixer or blender without turning off the kettle, put the phone on charge, connect the vacuum cleaner — later you will thank yourself for your foresight!
6. Built-in appliances
Microwave ovens, coffee machines and other appliances are best placed at a height of 70-140 cm from the floor level, ideally in the waist area. High—standing built-in appliances can be a source of danger - pulling something hot out of an incorrectly positioned oven or microwave oven can not keep it hot.
7. Shelves and cabinets
Expensive wine glasses and exquisite designer plates standing on open shelves, as well as kitchen utensils (all these spatulas, beaters, ladles hanging on a special rod) look great on the pages of glossy magazines. In an English or Swedish climate, perhaps this is a good find of the designer. In Cyprus, in a couple of days, all this beauty will be covered with a layer of dust and you will have to constantly wash it all. Hence the rule: minimalism and everything in cabinets, on shelves, or, at worst, under glass — if you really want to admire Chinese porcelain or family silver.
Another feature of the Cypriot cuisine is the abundance of various fauna, especially in the hot months. Weevil beetles, fruit flies, moths that feed on your carbohydrate products — all this and much more from time to time gets started in cabinets. The problem is that moth larvae, for example, are even in vacuum packages with cereals, and sometimes a new pack of rice or oatmeal lying in the closet has to be thrown away without even opening it.
Pre-freezing of packages with carbohydrate products in the freezer does not help. The moth can move into the cereal from another product: crackers, cookies. There is only one way out: in the summer to buy a little bit of everything, once a month to view cereals and wash cabinets with vinegar, and most importantly — to make sliding chrome mesh shelves on closers in kitchen cabinets, not drawers. Then you will not forget about the products and dishes lying in the depths, it will be easier for you to wash the cabinets. They will have good air circulation and less chance to contemplate the multifaceted Cypriot fauna in their kitchen.
8. Floors and work surfaces
Choose granite or artificial (pressed) stone — these are ideal materials for a kitchen in a subtropical climate. For winter, you can provide a "warm floor", and laminate flooring in the dining area (and even a low—pile carpet in winter).
Marble looks exquisite and expensive, but this material is not suitable for the kitchen because of its porous structure (yes, you have not seen marble under a microscope!). Do not be misled by the ideal shiny surface of marble slabs — this is polishing, which will eventually go away, and spots will remain on your marble countertop, which only a professional can cope with.
And what mistakes have you encountered when planning a kitchen? What did you like or dislike about the kitchens of those apartments or houses where you happened to live? Share your experience in the comments — let our publications bring even more benefits!
Interested in buying a property in Cyprus? Welcome to the DOM website! Here you will find options for houses and apartments in Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca and Famagusta, as well as get the help of experienced specialists.
See also:
- 10 ways to reduce electricity costs in Cyprus
- Two floors, a terrace and a gorgeous sea view: new buildings in Cyprus with exclusive apartments
- Paphos or Limassol: all the pros and cons
- 10 reasons to move to live in Cyprus with children
- The path of Plus Properties in Cyprus
- TOP 10 elements of Mediterranean style for an apartment in Cyprus
