Making Your Kitchen Sizzle with Style and Efficiency

To create a kitchen that really meets your changing needs, plan your space for efficiency, choose the right appliances and pay attention to storage needs.

What you need

If our kitchen tends to be the heart of our home, the stove is the heart of the kitchen, especially during holidays and special family occasions. More cooking appliances – including microwave ovens as well as ranges – are shipped out to retailers than any other major home appliance. In 2003, for example, manufacturers shipped more than 23 million cooking appliances compared to 9.7 million refrigerators.

If you’ve been thinking it’s time for a new stove, you’ll be amazed at the number of options available. There are stoves that actually keep food cold and then turn themselves on and cook the food. There are stoves that include a microwave drawer as well as a standard oven. Many new stoves offer a warming drawer, a feature most cooks wonder how they ever got along without once they’ve used it. Features that used to be considered premium are now standard on many ranges, including smoothtops, sealed burners on gas cooktops and self-cleaning ovens. Even stainless steel finishes, still in high demand, have dropped in price.

If your schedule is always on the frantic side, you might want to consider a combination thermal/convection oven, which cooks with a fan circulating hot air so items cook more quickly and brown more easily. Some ranges now offer a slow cook feature so your stew can simmer all day while you’re at work. If stir-frying is your passion, you’ll want to look for a stove with a wok ring and if you simmer lots of sauces, you can select a stove with a “simmer burner,” which cooks at a low temperature.

Whatever your style preferences, the options for upgrading kitchen features are delightfully innovative. Ergonomically designed sinks are now being offered that streamline food preparation and cleanup with built-in cutting boards, measuring bowls, colanders and even stainless-steel grids.

Whether your changes are major or just some upgrading, improving the efficiency and style of the kitchen can enhance the whole family’s lifestyle.