AAA Awnings Inc Blog

The home kitchen used to be the least enjoyed rooms in the house. It was enclosed in a small space away from the rest of the house and only used for cooking. Today, the kitchen is often the center of attention, thanks to all the improvements that have been made in them over the years.

The first big improvement was when they started knocking down the walls around the kitchen. As if by magic, the kitchen was opened up to the world.

The lack of walls did create a storage problem, however. Kitchen designers came up with clever solutions to storage problems. They started with the remaining walls, leaving the sink under the window and making the adjacent wall the cooking area.

Where another wall once separated the kitchen from the dining area or the living room, kitchen designers added a peninsula. On the inside of the kitchen, the counter top was the standard working height. They stepped it up on the other side, though, and the breakfast bar was invented. Breakfast bars have changed the habits of millions. Now they sit down there for breakfast, snacks or just for a chat. There’s plenty of discreet storage space on the other side for appliances like a Sanyo rice cooker, a toaster, etc.

Then they went to work on the cupboards, drawers and cabinets. One very handy change was the inclusion of more drawers in the kitchen. Instead of just a few, many kitchens now had banks of extra deep drawers for storing pots, pans and small appliance like the kitchen hand mixer.

The corner cupboard has always been a problem in the kitchen. Things always get lost in the back of the cupboard. It’s so deep, even a homelite chainsaw could disappear back there. Kitchen designers and hardware designers put their heads together and came up with the lazy susan. With a lazy susan, all you need to do is spin her around and whatever you want is at your fingertips. There’s no need to get down on your hands and knees and rummage around anymore.

The materials that are used to make the kitchen are much better now, too. Melamine shelves and cabinets are so easy to keep clean and are long wearing, too. Melamine door and drawer fronts are inexpensive, come in a wide range of designer colors and so easy to maintain.

Then there are the larger appliances. Refrigerators, ovens, microwaves and stoves are almost like functional works of art today. When you add it all up, it really is no wonder why the kitchen is the centerpiece of the modern home. Perhaps more than any other room, kitchens have changed the way we live, thanks to all the changes and improvements that have been made to them.