The kitchen has long had a reputation as 'the hub of the home', but never has this been truer than in this age of ‘blended living spaces’, where an ability to adapt to a range of scenarios, has become almost as important as functionality and aesthetics.
Off the back of this trend, many home-owners are now reassessing their living spaces, with these changing needs in mind.
For those looking to sell in the near future, this has led to the expense of any necessary kitchen upgrades (eg. cabinets and countertops) now being weighed against the competitive edge and value that these improvements will lend on the open market.
For buyers, this heavy sway that kitchen credentials has on the decision-making process, can frequently be the making or breaking of a property deal.
This pre-occupation with features and functionality can, for the most part, be explained away by the under-listed points.
Social value
The tendency for family and friends to congregate in the kitchen is by no means a new concept, but it's a phenomenon that has inevitably been magnified since the pandemic, when the number of meal occasions being cooked in the home has increased from 60% to 72%. For this reason, space and spec are all-important, in a standard that can be summed up by the impressive kitchen/family/dining room of this new-to-the-market listing (main image) in Littlewick Green.
Healthy eating
With interest in healthy eating at an all-time high, enthusiasm for from-scratch cooking has come full circle in a trend that is rooted, in part, in the desire for greater control over ingredients, met with the increasing uptake of plant-based diets.
Lifestyle
When it comes to achieving that much coveted ‘balanced lifestyle’, the design trend of 'zoning' (otherwise known as 'broken' plan') is rapidly replacing open-plan as a way of making homes more conducive to work, cooking, and entertaining. The technique relies on using glazed partitions, cabinetry and freestanding furniture, for example, to separate the kitchen from the soundrack of the house, and without compromising on togetherness. The priority, as well, seems to be shifting away from the clean lines and high-gloss of not so long ago, and towards warmer, natural finishes (eg. the above property listed with Braxton, in Littlewick Green) in a palpable move away from typically ‘kitchen-y’ cooking spaces.
Work
With the number of people regularly working from home having increased from 27% to 47% since 2019, a kitchen now needs to provide not just the means to cook and entertain, but enough table/desk space to support hybrid working, as well (eg. the below listing in Laburnham Road, Maidenhead).
In summary…
Although the transition 'back to normal' continues afoot, the ‘perfect home’ prerequisites that our lifestyles and priorities define, are not necessarily following suit.
Today’s ideal kitchens, especially, are looking increasing multi-functional by nature, with even small-scale living accommodations, conforming to the trend.
As a result, those looking to buy or sell in today’s market, might find the kitchen is an increasingly common crux, with the likes of coffee stations, islands and entertainment amenities just a few examples of the 2022 tweaks, that are helping the ‘hub of the home’, move with the times.
For more details on any of the featured properties, or for a current valuation, please contact Braxton on 01628 674 234.