We live in a world that prioritizes work, and most of us spend around 90,000 hours of our lives at the office. The fact that we give so much time to our employers certainly deserves a practical and beautiful break room. One of the best ways to make workers feel comfortable and welcome at work is to provide them with a workplace kitchen where they can enjoy meals, make delicious coffee, and grab a refreshment.
So how can you create such a space? Here are a few tips and ideas on how to design a cool kitchen area everyone from your team will love:
Location and layout
Your kitchen should be practical for all workers so make sure to consider the position of the room. On the other hand, it should be isolated enough to minimize distractions and create a coherent look of the office, and boost productivity.
Photo by Petr Magera on Unsplash
Minimize smells
No matter how much you try to prevent it, kitchens can be sources of all sorts of smells. No matter if the smell is pleasant (brewing coffee) or bad (a reheated tuna casserole), all scents can distract workers who are not on a break. Make sure to provide your workplace kitchen with a great ventilation system and proper devices that will prevent smells from leaving the kitchen area.
Provide the space with necessities
There are a few necessities your kitchen definitely needs. Firstly, let’s start with a fridge—this is a must for all the beverages, lunches, and snacks people bring for their lunch breaks. Next, make sure to provide users with a microwave for heating up lunch. And finally, your kitchen must have a dishwasher. A dishwasher will make the process of cleaning up much easier for everyone, no matter if you have cleaners coming in to clean your kitchen or you have a designated staff member handling this task.
A modern office kitchen is a place of peace and relaxation, so ensure plenty of outlets for people to charge their devices while they eat their lunch. Good Wi-Fi is a must as well.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov: pexels.com
Make it comfy with the seating
Naturally, people that use the kitchen might want to sit there and enjoy their lunch, coffee, or smoothie. In some places, like Australia, office kitchens double as break rooms. For that reason, provide your workplace kitchen with plenty of comfortable seating. Your safest choice is Bentwood chairs in Adelaide which are light and affordable and fit into any kitchen style. A few circular tables with Bentwood chairs and your employees will not want to leave their new and improved kitchen.
Consider storage
Your space must have plenty of cabinets and shelves if you want to prevent clutter. If your space does not have an abundance of storage, there are always durable wall shelves mixed in with countertop organizers. If you have the opportunity to add an island to your space (this strongly depends on the kitchen layout and size) do so, because your workers will get to enjoy more counter space as well as extra cabinets for storage.
Office kitchens of enviable size might even contain private cabinets for all the users where they can safely store their mugs, plates, utensils, snacks, and cereal without worrying about food thieves and contamination.
Image by Steve Cliff from Pixabay
Don’t forget the beverage station
Coffee is one of the most important work tools that keep your employees motivated so make sure to provide them with a practical beverage station with a coffee machine and plenty of pod options. These usually don’t take too much space, yet they look very attractive. For that bold and trendy look, opt for matte colors and matching cup sets.
And coffee is definitely not the only beverage you can have at the office. If your workers are health-oriented and care about their fitness and wellness, make sure to place a juicer or blender in the workplace kitchen. You’ll have to invest in something high-quality because better products usually have a quieter motor yet plenty of power. Provide your employees with a basket of fresh fruit to juice or turn into a smoothie and the juicer will get plenty of use throughout the day.
Wrapping up
In any working space, the kitchen is an essential element beneficial to employee morale and productivity. When people have a comfortable and trendy place to enjoy their lunch and relax with their colleagues, they will feel effectively refreshed and refueled, and ready to finish their workday on the right note.
