The kitchen is the epicenter of the home, where you prep, cook, eat, congregate, and of course, clean. Savvy remodelers know that designing an easy-to-clean kitchen will save precious hours, effort, and expensive cleaning supplies. With a little planning, you can spend less time scrubbing and more time enjoying your beautiful new space.
Creating a design plan for a low-maintenance kitchen revolves around two main considerations: durable hygienic surfaces and hands-free elements. Food safe surfaces and hands-free solutions naturally resist dirt, fingerprints and bacteria, making it effortless to keep a hygienic kitchen without reliance on harsh chemical solvents.
SINKS AND FAUCETS
Kitchen sinks and faucets are on the front lines of keeping a home clean and safe – used continuously for food preparation, hand and dish washing. Often overlooked, these fundamental fixtures have an important role to play, delivering thoughtful options that enhance wellness in the kitchen while still looking contemporary and beautiful.
SINK SPOTLIGHT
SILGRANIT - A hygiene-friendly sink material
The material and style of the sink or faucet can impact how easy it will be to maintain. Undermount and farmhouse designs let you wipe countertop crumbs directly into the sink without getting stuck in the drop-in sink edge. One material, BLANCO’s SILGRANIT, is engineered to be both hygienic and easy-to-clean.
/silgranit-spotlight-image-450w-253h.jpg "SILGRANIT kitchen sinks do not scratch, stain or fade. A great family-friendly sink choice!")
BLANCO’s patented SILGRANIT kitchen sink material has benefited from over 35 years of manufacturing and continuous development. Made in Germany and Canada – the nonporous surface offers a smooth stone-like finish but is resistant to stains, scratches, chips, acid and heat.
SILGRANIT doesn’t require harsh chemicals to keep clean – just soap and water or baking soda, since the hydrophobic surface pushes away dirt and water so it easily drains away.
FAUCET SPOTLIGHT
SOLENTA - Sensor Technology Redefined
It's important to look for quality features on faucets such as brass or stainless fittings and ceramic disk cartridges since they can extend the life of a faucet and prevent costly leaks. Closed coils or pull downs are easier to wipe clean and hands-free faucets mean less touch points and fingerprints to wipe up.
/solenta-spotlight-image-450w-253h.jpg "The SOLENTA SENSO touchless faucet is a great way to reduce the spread of germs around the house")
The SOLENTA Senso semi-pro faucet offers superb quality with innovative design elements. Engineered with a solid brass body and a flexible, high-quality hose encased in stainless steel, this faucet is both durable and easy to clean. The SOLENTA Senso provides the ultimate hands-free experience by combining reliable materials with a sophisticated start-stop technology.
BACKSPLASH AND COUNTERTOPS
Countertop and backsplash surfaces need to be non-porous, which means liquids cannot seep into the material to cause stains and damage. While Silgranit granite, marble and butcher block wood are very popular materials for kitchen islands and counters, they are porous and require ongoing maintenance to seal the surface.
/nonporous-image-450w-253h.jpg "Non-porous surfaces are ideal for high-traffic kitchen areas as they do not absorb stains easily")
USE NON-POROUS MATERIALS
Non-porous materials that are ideal in a low maintenance kitchen include: quartz, porcelain and glass. Laminate, while non-porous and affordable, is not as durable or easy to clean as quartz. These non-porous materials also work well for backsplashes behind sinks and cooking appliances where food splatters can easily be wiped clean. Painted drywall will stain and sustain water damage over time. If you use glass or porcelain tiles, you want to seal the grout to prevent it from wearing out.
KITCHEN CABINETRY
If you want to maintain a more hygienic kitchen, choose flat door cabinetry with few embellishments on the door and hardware. Molding and raised panels can collect grease and dirt that is hard to remove. Luxury cabinet companies offer soft close doors which help reduce touch points that need to be cleaned later. Some cabinets will have hands-free open features which are great on drawers you use frequently. High-gloss laminate and painted doors are the easiest to clean.
/armina-interiors-glass-fronts-image-450w-253h.jpg "Glass shelving allows you to display your collections while keeping them dust-free")
OPT FOR GLASS DOORS
Open shelving is very trendy in today’s modern kitchens since the style allows for personalization and breaks up the minimalist look. Glass doors can help reduce the amount of dusting while still displaying cookbooks and other eye-catching collections. When selecting cabinet hardware, choose a sealed finish so the bottom pulls that are used more frequently will be the same color as the less used top pulls. Pulls can change color over time as oils and dirt patina the finish.
Photo courtesy of Armina Interiors
FLOORING
The right flooring and a well thought out floor plan can reduce the likelihood of messes. Before you remodel, consider the work triangle between your sink, refrigerator, and cooking appliances. Creating an ergonomic flow will make movement in the kitchen easier, thus reducing the number of spills.
/hardwood-floor-image-450w-253h.jpg "The flooring you choose can make a big difference in the look and feel of the kitchen.")
LARGE TILE OR HARDWOOD FLOOR
Low maintenance materials such as engineered hardwood and porcelain offer smooth surfaces that are easy to mop, sweep or vacuum. Selecting large format tiles will help reduce the amount of grout which has to be cleaned and sealed over time. Avoid textured linoleum or any flooring with wide seams and gaps. Color can make a difference as well. Very light and very dark floors show more dirt and may need more than the ideal daily sweep or weekly mop to look clean.
APPLIANCES
Stainless steel is one of the most enduring and beautiful finishes for appliances, but they show a lot of fingerprints. Fortunately, many appliance companies now offer fingerprint-resistant stainless finishes for high-touch appliances like refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers. You can also incorporate stainless steel into small appliances like mixers, toasters and blenders.
Appliances can also be integrated behind cabinetry. This not only makes appliances easier to clean, but they’re also out-of-sight and creates a streamlined look.
/induction-cooktops-image-450w-253h.jpg "The right cooktop can create a sense of seamlessness in the kitchen.")
INDUCTION STOVE TOPS
Cooktops and ranges offer many features to make cleaning easier. Sealed burners on gas cooktops, flat glass electric, and induction tops make it far easier to wipe up spills. Don’t forget a strong ventilation hood with dishwasher safe filters to move dust and grease away from your kitchen so it doesn’t settle on surfaces. A self-cleaning oven reduces bubbled over messes to ash so that you can effortlessly wipe them away.
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/vision-hero-image-canada-image-400w-217h.jpg "Canadian kitchen design trends from the past 30 years")
/ergon-hero-image-image-400w-217h.jpg "BLANCOCULINA Kitchen Faucet - Pull Down Semi Professional Style")