3 Styles of Bar Stools That Could Work in Your Island Kitchen!

People all around the country, their picturesque modular kitchens in Kochi, Ahmedabad, and other cities, especially the ones with island kitchens are opting for bar stools instead of regular chairs. If you’re a little confused as to what would a chair do in a kitchen, you should know you can easily make a breakfast table out of the island countertop in your kitchen. And for that table, a chic bar stool does do wonders!

We have here 3 materials that you can make these kitchen stools out of, and help give your kitchen space a brand new look!

Bistro, or Riviera

Here’s a way to give your kitchen a beautifully chic and rustic look. Having bistro-like stools for your breakfast table, waiting for your food everyday will probably feel like sitting in one of those mod French cafes, waiting for your coffee and croissant to arrive! Not only will a bistro-style give a rustic feel to the space, but in an otherwise neutral space, these bar stools will definitely provide for a creative respite.

Wicker

Many consider this to be a vintage material, but wicker makes for a great value addition even when it comes to a modern themed house or kitchen. It adds a casual tone to any theme, while blending easily with its surroundings. As for a breakfast table, you can have your wicker bar stool have a low back on it; this will allow one to have a direct view from the breakfast table to the stove, without a high backed chair or stool hindering their way. Also, a stool without a back could get a little uncomfortable to sit while having food.

You can choose to have your breakfast table installed outside, and the wicker stools will still look and feel great, especially the ones exhibiting whitewashed grey or subtle caramel hues would lend a farmhouse charm to the place. One of the best things about wicker is the way it makes its surroundings look and feel more warm than would without it; and that proves to be a great quality for new kitchen accessory.

Mixed Material, or Industrial 

Industrial bar stool is made from material that you get on combining metal and wood, or when you pair metal with upholstery. This is definitely the way to go to bring quite the warmth in the kitchen. A really interesting way to add just the right amount of drama to the space would be, having black lighting on the top, coupled with these bar stools - all of this in a kitchen space done fully in white!

You will find no problem sliding these stools under the waterfall edge of the island, therefore not taking up much of extra space in the kitchen too. Also, these stools will have industrial finishes that are already a bit distressed; so, you’ll find them easily blending with heavily used kitchen scene.

These are a few of the many style trends that you can follow without worrying about the place you’re in. They would work as good in rustic themed modular kitchens in Kochi, as they would in say, contemporary kitchens of Delhi, and so on.

Refrigerators: How to Make Them a Bit More Environment Friendly?

Modular kitchens in Kochi, and other places have owners who have started thinking in terms of environment friendliness now. They are either opting for more eco-friendly options, or looking for ways to make an eco-friendly option out of what they already have.

One of the most commonly found appliances, which also happens to be an energy hog in itself, is the refrigerator at your home. They account for at least 9 percent and can go upto 15% of the total electricity use at a place. So, how do you make your refrigerator a more energy efficient one?

One, you can look at the Stars!

Not the stars above, but the Energy Stars put on a label on the fridge. These Stars are the government’s way of advising you for or against a fridge, based on the energy standard. While this is an essential step in buying a refrigerator, you should know that not all of the appliance models with same Energy Stars have the exact same efficiency. One is always better than the other, and so on. And so we come to point number…

Two, size plays a role too.

You know how we Indians love to introduce the concept of ‘jugaad’ in everything we do; well, in the case of refrigerator, there are so many people who buy a small one and hog it up with every bit of food they can find. They are pleased at their jugaad which allows them to not let any piece of food go bad, while also not spend on a bigger fridge. But what they don’t realize is, they’re making the fridge work harder than it’s intended to, forcing it to use more energy than needed. Size of the refrigerator, therefore, matters - but it solely depends upon how you’re going to use your fridge. So choose carefully.

Three, you can’t overlook the configuration.

There are a number of refrigerator models available in the market today. Some have the freezer on the top, some have a bottom freezer, and then there are some with side-by-side freezer units. As far as the usable space is concerned in a fridge, the top freezer models give about 80%, the bottom ones 67%, and the third kind 63%. On the top of it, the side-by-side fridge models also consume about 20% more electricity than its counterparts. And again, if your refrigerator is of an even advanced configured model, chances are it will consume more energy. For example, if it has a water and ice dispenser, and the ice maker, and such other features, you will find your fridge using up around 10 to 15% more energy than it normally would.

Other things that you could do to save energy, and therefore some money as well:

➔      Do not place your refrigerator too close to any source of heat; so basically, keep it placed away from the stove or oven.  Otherwise, your fridge will have to work extra hard for no reason at all.

➔      Don’t put any food item that is too hot, directly in the fridge. Let it cool first, and get itself to the room temperature, and then proceed to put it in the fridge.

So, modularkitchens in Kochi, or wherever they might be, we can still make them all a little more conducive to a healthy environment!

How Would a High Tech Solid Surface Make a Low Maintenance Kitchen Countertop?

Everywhere you go, owners of modular kitchens kochi, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and so on, are trying to keep up with the ongoing kitchen trends. And one of the hot trends that has grabbed everyone’s attention is, getting a high tech solid surface countertop for the kitchens.

Now, why would that be? What is this synthetic material being deemed as one of the cutting-edge countertop materials?

To answer these questions, let’s begin with the basics.

How Is It Made?

It is a perfect team up of acrylic or polyester resins, pigments, and powdered fillers that when further heated at 60°C  or more, then cured, and finally cast into various shapes while being sanded on either one or both the sides, makes a solid surface kitchen countertop. To make a countertop worthy of a beautiful modular kitchen though, it would need to be more than just robust. It would have to be design worthy as well. And therefore, an acrylic-modified polyester solid surface can be given different effects, appearances, and be molded into various design figures to embody the perfect look before getting installed in a kitchen.

What Makes It So Special?

Did we tell you how they can be easily injected into a mold of your choice, to give you the design of your choice? The unique shapes and configurations that you can get with this material make it one of a kind amongst the crowd of countertop materials available in the market today.

But of course, the primary reason for choosing this synthetically made countertop is, the durability of the material, and its being non-porous. The latter quality especially helps in the surface being easily maintained; the reason for that is, it doesn’t let any bacteria or mildew in, as well as doesn’t get stained very easily.

Solid surface manufacturers are always quite keen on getting their GreenGuard approval; for that would mean, in an officially certified manner, that their countertops are a healthy and indoor-friendly choice, owing to their non porous nature and emitting chemicals at a lower level. That again makes it a very sustainable choice for any modular kitchen.

Where Could It Go Wrong?

Heat sensitivity is the weak spot for this countertop material. Unless you have the mixture for making the solid surface get heated at about 160°C and immediately cooled thereafter, the heat sensitivity of the material is nowhere better than its counterparts. Also, it is not scratch free. Working in a kitchen, knives and cutting board become your buddies for life; but you would need to keep a check on your buddies, knowing that they could do some irreversible damage to your high tech solid surface countertop.

Also, while there is a way to make solid surfaces more eco-friendly, right now the majority of these are being made from materials that we get from non-renewable resources, such as petroleum, aluminium trihydrate, and so on. The negative impact that it has on the environment is a bit worrisome; but not too much, as it can be taken care of.

Last, But Not the Least: How Easy Is It To Maintain It?

Very easy. You would not need anything more than soap and water to clean the surface on a daily basis. The only thing to take care of, is to dry the surface properly, every time you clean it. Otherwise you would be left with a countertop demonstrating a dull finish. Also, if you have used a darker color for your countertop, you won’t have too many easily seen fingerprints to clean as well.

Modular kitchens Kochi, Ahmedabad, and every other city today is moving towards a more stylish and easily maintainable future. We spend so much time in our kitchens on an everyday basis, that we need it look good and that too, always. That is why we want our kitchens to be as low maintenance as possible.

That’s the reason, with a solid surface countertop, you won’t be disappointed!