If you’re planning to do a kitchen renovation, make sure you also check our past article about what tiles to choose for the floor.
In the meantime, if you have any inquiries about kitchen renovation, tiling, and design, feel free to contact us!
In this age of quarantine and social distancing, your kitchen has probably seen more traffic than ever. No more daily Indomee goreng and teh tarik at the mamak (for now). Instead, you can enjoy healthy food at home, with your homegrown herbs and vegetables too!
If you have been thinking of renovating your kitchen for a while, this new normal is another reason to do so.
One area that you need to pay a lot of attention to is your kitchen countertop. This is where you are going to prepare your food, spill the ketchup, and splash the cooking oil. This is your battle station. As such, you need to pick the right material!
In this article, we will go over three types of high-quality kitchen countertop for Malaysian homes, starting with…
Nothing makes you feel like you’re checking in a 5-star hotel like a marble surface. Of course, this classy look comes with a price, literally and figuratively.
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When it comes to cooking, we Malaysians are not known for our delicateness. Vegetables need to be chopped, plates need to be stacked and dragged, utensils need to be accidentally dropped.
If durability is your priority, you will do well with a granite countertop.
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Lastly, here’s the most commonly found kitchen countertop in Malaysia, ceramic tiles!
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The post Three quality options for kitchen countertops in Malaysia appeared first on Lorenza Ceramica.
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Next to the bathroom, the kitchen is one area in the house that receives the most heavy-duty use.
There are oil spills, water drips, and food crumbs. It is also a place where you cook together with your spouse, your toddlers waddle in taking a peek, and your pets run around in.
As such, when choosing kitchen floor tiles, it is important to consider their characteristics as much as the looks.
In this article, we will go through three types of high-quality kitchen tiles that are cheap and durable for your Malaysian homes.
Due to its traditional look, hardwood flooring has been making a comeback in Malaysia, reminiscent of kampung-styled homes made of jati (teak) and nyatuh tree.
However, where it shines in appearance, hardwood flooring comes with a steep price. Due to the intricate nature of the installation, you might also have to hire professionals rather than doing it by yourself.
So, if you like the look of hardwood flooring, but the cost makes you floored, tiles with wooden tones are always the perfect and affordable alternative.
Plus, you don’t have to deal with water problems that can easily damage hardwood flooring. Not to mention, cleaning it up is much easier!
The classic and elegant wooden design can fit nicely into any kind of kitchen style, such as modern, contemporary, or country.
Tiles with wooden effect come in various designs to mimic the grain patterns of real wood. You can view some examples here. Lay and arrange them out strategically to achieve your ideal Pinterest aesthetic.
Image: Pinterest
If you want to go bold, you can go gold with Moroccan-style tiles. These Arabic designs typically feature bright colours and geometric designs, making your kitchen a brighter and more fun place to cook.
You can also reinforce the floor design with your kitchen backsplash, adding a strong character to the space. The rest of the kitchen (walls, kitchen cabinet) can feature a soft, muted colour with a clean design to complement the dramatic look of your Moroccan tiles.
Like most tiles, Moroccan tiles are relatively easy to maintain. Most stains and spills can be cleaned with water and regular clothes, while the tougher stains can be removed with bicarbonate soda.
Tiles come in different categories, mainly their style, design, and colour. However, there is another grouping of tiles that you should consider – especially when renovating your kitchen – which is gloss vs matt finishing.
Gloss tiles are reflective which allow lights to bounce, making the space lighter and appear bigger.
However, this type of finishing can be slippery. Since we Malaysians love our deep-fried nuggets and keropok lekor, oil splotches and spills can cause the floor to be sticky.
Image: Pinterest
Tiles with matt finishing, on the other hand, have more practical benefits for your kitchen.
To start, the surface has a better grip, making it safer. Stains are not as noticeable on matt surfaces, but if there is, it can be harder to remove.
As for the look, matt tiles have that industrial feel, akin to your typical artisan cafés in Klang Valley. Now, all you need to complete the rustic aesthetics are some low-fi Spotify list, and a bicycle hanging on a wall for some reason.
If you’re planning to do a kitchen renovation, the flooring is certainly a big part of the look and feel. Other areas include the kitchen countertop and backsplash, which we will go into in the future.
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For most Malaysian homes, the kitchen might not be the largest space in the house, but it definitely is the busiest.
It’s like a battlefield. You have to strategize where you store supplies and equipment. You have to make the most out of a small space. Not to mention, you have to clean it rigorously after use.
In this article, we are going to share with you some ideas on how to improve your kitchen without spending too much.
Whether you’re living the bujang life eating Maggi as a staple, or you’re the assigned chef of a family of five each with their own preference and allergies, we hope you find something useful!
The kitchen countertop is your warzone. This is where you do the chopping, the weighing, and the screaming to anyone who even dares to encroach your territory.
As such, you need to choose a kitchen countertop material that won’t easily be scratched or marred in the long run.
The most popular type of kitchen countertops out there is solid surface, due to its affordability. However, if you feel like giving a more distinct look to your kitchen, you can also consider other materials such as stone, quartz and granite.
Image: Pinterest
Kitchen backsplashes can serve many functions.
First and foremost, they protect the wall from oil, food, water, and all your cooking shenanigans. Secondly, it also serves as the key design element for the kitchen. With thoughtful planning and the right kitchen backsplash tiles, you can even take it as a relatively low-cost DIY project.
You can also go a step further by adding practical decorations on your backsplashes, such as a chalkboard for your grocery list or a pegboard to hang your tools and utensils.
Image: Spices rack from IKEA
We Malaysians swear by our spices. Even though we only use a handful of them regularly, we still have to keep the other 20 bottles. Maybe, maybe one day that garam masala will actually be needed.
There’s a lot of ways to keep your spices organised while also keeping aesthetics in check. For the neat freaks, a life hack would be to transfer all of your spices from their individual bottles or packets to standardised containers. These containers can be test tubes, glass jars, or even Tic Tac containers.
Another common practice to organise your spices is to have them in a pull-out drawer. Quick tip, make sure you label them so you can easily find what you’re looking for.
It’s really easy for your drawers to get out of hand. Cutleries, plates, bottle openers, takeaway containers and not to mention your mom’s Tupperware collection that you should never, ever touch (she knows). To avoid them getting into a mess, simply section your drawers using dividers.
Image: Pinterest
Avoid stacking your plates or mugs too high. Not only will it be harder for you to access the ones that you want, but it is also more accident-prone. To fix this, you can create extra storage space using shelf inserts or cabinet risers.
Another useful tip to utilise vertical space is to hang your mugs, pots and pans by adding hooks to the bottom of open shelving or kitchen cabinets. And speaking of mugs…
Choosing the right tiles for your kitchen flooring will save you a lot of money in the upcoming years.
A good material should be able to handle spills, moisture, frequent cleaning, and heavy traffic, among other things.
The most common choices for Malaysian homes are ceramic and vinyl, but you can also consider alternatives such as hardwood and concrete. Just make sure you take into account the ease of installation should you decided to make it as a DIY project.
Image: Snappy Goat
How many mugs have you received from birthdays, Christmas gatherings, and your child’s Hari Sukan? While you can repurpose some of the extras as storage containers (e.g., toothbrush holders), the others are just taking up precious kitchen real estate and gathering dust.
Save yourself time and space by giving them away to people whom you know, or you can just list them on local groups such as the Buy Nothing Project on Facebook.
This also goes for your unused kitchen appliances. That mini rice cooker you’ve not used since your college days might be better off in the hands of a new friend.
The post 7 Inexpensive Ideas to Renovate Your Malaysian kitchen appeared first on Lorenza Ceramica.
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