Modular kitchens are popular among the middle and upper classes. As compared to traditional kitchens, modular kitchens are popular as they provide efficient space utilization. There are various types of modular kitchens like the European Design having no clutter coming with sober colors while in India there is lighting, soft closing doors, dustproof, and waterproof cabinets. There are also companies who go in for tie-ups with other companies. Local companies attain skills while collaborating with international players.
 |
| Kitchen Renovations |
Types of Renovations: Most of the people are interested in kitchen renovations to address the issue of wear and tear or even giving a new look to their kitchen. Nowadays paper composite tops are used for slabs and cabinet covering. Never heard of it, right? Well, paper with some added ingredients if heated and compressed at the right temperatures, are environment-friendly and offer an excellent option
Considerations While Renovating: Kitchen renovations involve a lot of requirements taken into consideration. There should be proper planning to place the fridge, gas, chimney, cabinets, taps, wash basin, dustbin and so on. This holds good for a home. But in the case of hotels, kitchens have multiple regions for cooking, space to make several dishes and renovation plans change accordingly. Kitchen renovations should give utmost importance to the cleaning aspect, as ease of clearing the mess is very important Choice of wallpapers must be wisely done.
An ideal situation is to create an atmosphere which has ample space for the fridge, microwave, sandwich maker, gas, dishwasher, mixer, juicer, chimney, cabinets for grocery items, spices, utensils, knives, cutting planks, wash basin with soap, dust bin inside the lower cabinet, etc. All the cabinets should be termite-proof and easy to clean. Some of the kitchens may also require a place for hosting the guests instead of in a separate room.
There is a growing trend to have kitchen combined with dining room in some countries and appropriate area wise planning has to be done. Rodent and insect proof arrangements have to be taken care of. The proactive action of coming up with natural disasters like earthquake, floods, hurricane have to be addressed while carrying out kitchen renovations. Proper lighting arrangements are required with water heating facility by placing geyser or solar water heater at the right places. Conservation of energy is also considered in smart kitchens. This involves minimum usage of electricity with automatic cut off that takes place when not a room is not in use. Like if a person enters a room, it is lit in the night and in anybody’s absence, it is dimmed.
Time and Cost Estimates: The estimation of time duration with the list of activities involved in kitchen renovations need to be made with some buffer. There is a famous saying that “Planning is essential even though plans are useless”. Based on the activities some buffer needs to be added in the overall estimated time duration as slippages do happen in the real world. Cost estimates also are required to be done based on the activity list and extra cost added to it as actual expenses exceed planned ones. If the timeline exceeds, it automatically reflects on the cost.
 |
| Kitchen Renovations |
Use of Technology: Smart homes are becoming popular and are continuously implemented in various countries like United States, Australia, Europe and so on. Asian countries like India are yet to move towards it. Kitchen renovations may also include robots and assistants to recognize voice commands and do some tasks. They may take out items from the fridge, switch on the microwave after placing the bowl, operate the dishwasher and several other things. Usage of technology in the kitchen will require appropriate planning for placing the robot and using it for various purposes.
The contract document signed with the contractor should have the remodeling plan, intermediate milestones, activity list, time estimates, cost estimates, provision to include changes as the kitchen renovations progress over a period. It should be signed by the contractor as well as the customer which may be an individual, organization or a group of users. It must include provision for partial payments instead of lump sum payment at the end. Clauses like if overruns take place in terms of budget and delivery dates need to be incorporated well. Also if the kitchen renovations are left midway, the actions that can be taken by the consumer, as well as the service provider, have to be agreed upon and mentioned clearly to avoid disputes and lawsuits.