5 Things Every Family Kitchen Needs + A Video Tour of Our Kitchen

We've lived in our kitchen for almost two years now, and I still really love its design. We designed our family kitchen ourselves using Ikea cabinets and a whole lot of DIY. If you've been reading my blog for a little while, you'll know that our kitchen has been through a few changes as we've gone along - I added more colour to the space last year with drapes and accessories, and just a couple of weeks ago we installed a marble panel backsplash. Today I wanted to give you a video tour of our kitchen, and I wanted to share with you what I think are 5 things that every family kitchen design needs. These are things we have in our kitchen that I absolutely adore and I'm so happy we put them in!

Here are 5 things I think every family kitchen design needs:

Space for a large table

I don't regret the big breakfast nook we included in our home's design that fits this 6' long hand-me-down farmhouse table. We spend a LOT of time on this thing, and we don't just eat on it. It's a hub for crafts, chats and more. (It's also my secret blog photo-taking spot because of the white paint and huge window!) We can have quite a few people over for dinner, and we can even pop another little table on the end if we want to host a big Christmas get-together!

Fun artwork

A family kitchen is a place to enjoy eachother and celebrate life with kids! I love our rotating gallery wall that displays my daughter's art, and I'm always rearranging the art elsewhere in the room. It's fun to have inspirational and whimsical artwork in the kitchen.

Large drawers & other pull-out storage

I wouldn't trade the big drawers we have in our kitchen for anything! They're fantastic for holding bulky items like pots and pans, and they're easy for the kids (or me with a baby on my hip) to use. Pull-out storage behind doors is also a fantastic invention! We have a pantry around our fridge with pull-out shelves on tracks, and they make reaching to the back of the pantry a breeze. We also have a pull-out cupboard to the right of our stove that makes grabbing spices and cooking essentials a cinch.

A big double sink

A massive sink is a handy tool to have in any family kitchen. I've used it for everything from washing rubber boots to newborn babies! It's deep, so it hides a lot of dirty dishes (*wink!*), and there isn't a mess that I can't clean up in it. It took some time for me to get use to the enormity of our Ikea Domsjo sink, but I wouldn't part with it... ever.

Colour

Little bursts (or big bursts) of happy colour in a kitchen can elevate moods and remind us that a kitchen is a space where joy-filled memories are created with our families! In our kitchen I've chosen to keep the main elements a neutral black & white, but I've added in turquoise and green through accessories. I can't believe how much instant style our colourful patterned DIY drapes (the tutorial to make them is here) added to this space. You can add fun colours into your own kitchen through accessories like window treatments, chairs, stools, greenery and paint.

Here's an ALL NEW video tour of Our DIY Kitchen that I just uploaded on my YouTube Channel! Come for a virtual coffee as I show you around: