3Kitchens

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

If your kitchen is looking a little faded and sad, or it just doesn’t have all the functions and features your family needs, it might be time to start thinking about a new one.

However, fitting a new kitchen can be incredibly expensive, especially if you want it designed to your specifications and equipped with all the latest gadgets and appliances. You shouldn’t have to compromise on your dream kitchen, so you’ll need to dig deep and find some extra cash in order to get everything you want.

This is where online bingo can help, believe it or not. It’s a fun and very social way to earn some extra cash, and fast!

If you’re planning to try online bingo as a way of raising some funds for your new kitchen, we can recommend the cheeky bingo site as a great place to start. The site has loads of games, promotions and importantly, cash prizes on right now, including a £5,000 jackpot up for grabs every Friday at 8pm!

If cheeky bingo isn’t the site for you, take some inspiration from ohmybingo.com and find another site to join. Just think – your dream kitchen could be just a few bingo balls away!

Personally, the kitchen is one of my favourite rooms in the house.
It is a space which is very social and you will often find the kitchen is the hub of most peoples homes. Taking this into consideration, often people have to make the decision either have an open plan kitchen/dinner or to have to separate spaces.

If I had the space in my kitchen I would definitely opt for open plan. Simply because I enjoy cooking and often hold dinner parties for friends and family members, as a result having an open plan kitchen would mean that when I was in the middle of preparing food etc, I would still be able to be involved with the conversation and they could also see what I was doing.

When designing and planning your own kitchen, a particular area which people appear to spend a lot of money on is their choice of fridge. I have been amazed when looking around  high street stores for kitchen appliances how big some of the fridges/fridge-freezers are!
Of course, people should consider the amount of space within their kitchen prior to purchasing a large fridge, although if you have the capacity for a big fridge there appears to be a large variety available.
I can definitely see the advantages of having all the new accessories, ice dispenser etc.

However in my mind, one fridge is very similar to another and as long as it keeps your food cold, that is all that matters!

I have previously written about storage within a kitchen and how it important to get the balance right. This is particularly relevant within my kitchen as it is the smallest room in the house, yet I spend a lot of time in it, therefore we have had to be pretty cleaver using the space we have to store the necessary items needed.
We live in a small terest house, therefore the kitchen is long and narrow. We have very little floor space and as a result the majority of our appliances have been discreetly tucked within the kitchen units themselves. I know this is not an option for everyone, particularly if the kitchen is pretty dated. I just wanted to stress it is important to consider the space you have and how to get the most from it.

Recently we gave some of the rooms within our house a facelift. Due to the current economic climate we were very careful with regards to setting our budget and understood what we wanted to achieve, prior to going ahead with anything.
As most people know, decorating and DIY can be very expensive especially when it comes to the kitchen. However we were pleasantly surprised at how simply changing the colour of the cupboard doors, the colour on the wall and the tiles made it feel like we had bought a whole new kitchen….it was great! I would definitely encourage others to change even small things within a room, to give it a new lease of life.

I often find that peoples kitchens can be quite plain and boring. Often people simply consider the worktops, cupboard and cooker as the most important aspects of a kitchen. In part I agree, although I think the colour scheme plays a significant part as well.
The colour scheme should be a priority as it is essential it should offer a contrast to the colour and materials used within the rest of the space. Getting the colour right, can not only bringl the whole space together, it can alter the atmosphere of the room.
Think about how you want the space to feel and consider all your options prior to making your final decision.

I have discovered a nifty little gadget for the kitchen. I really struggle with boiled eggs and never seem to get them right. I can’t ever decide on the correct technique, do you boil the water then add egg or start from cold.  This gadget could be my saviour.  Introducing the Beepegg. Whatever your technique you put the Beepegg in the at the same time as your eggs and whether you want hard boiled or a soft centre the Beepegg will let you know when your egg is ready. At £14.99 it is a pretty reasonable buy. It does have to live with your eggs though so be careful when you throw out the out of date ones!!!

I often use discount vouchers for meals out or clothing shops but I have never thought about using a code for kitchen appliances! But after needing to look for new work tops I found some great vouchers for well known kitchen makers. I think these are great. It is very hard to buy a house at the moment and after all that thinking about shelling out more money for a good looking kitchen can be brutal but these vouchers would definitely help. So I suggest you do your research and nab a bargain where you can. You can get money off washing machines, fridges, small appliances, cookers, ranges – allsorts!

If you are a new home owner and you are currently in the process of renovating your house/flat into something that resembles yours then the kitchen can be one of your biggest costs out goings. Therefore this time of year is best for you. Getting a kitchen designed and installed can be very expensive and most people opt for changing a few things at a time, for example, changing the flooring, then the work tops and cupboards. Often this way can work out cheaper. However Christmas and New Year sales are starting earlier and earlier every year – this is when you should strike.  You can get a whole new kitchen at a fraction of the price that it would usually be, I suggest you go out now and ear mark a couple of versions you would be happy with and then you know where and what to target come the sales.

The Slow cooker is a great invention. When you are seriously struggling for something to cook or you are stuck for time when you have finished work the slow cooker is your saviour. You can prepare everything the night before, stick it all in the slow cooker then set the timer to turn on the next day. By the time you get home a delicious meal is waiting. I usually combo my meal with a jacket potato wizzed in the microwave with some melted butter on.
You can buy whole cook books now for the slow cooker – one of my favourites is pork and apple with cider or beef with shallots, carrots and thick gravy. My  mum makes some great soups in her slow cooker.