Smoky, cramped and greasy kitchens are images of the past. No modern house today is complete without a modular kitchen. Whether you are a harried homemaker or the working professional struggling to strike the right balance, modular kitchen is just the answer to your kitchen woes. The idea is to make use of the limited space in the most functional and efficient manner. Today, one has a range of pre-fabricated options and colours to choose from. She can chose from a range of materials for the shutters and shelves such as MDF, water-proof plywood, laminated finish, rubber wood and stainless steel.

Mix and match with granite or marble countertops, and you have a sexy and sleek kitchen that will make jaws drop. Get a stylish Italian kitchen, bring home German efficacy, or design your own creative cauldron. It can all happen with the modern modular wonder. Special units for chimney and hood, microwave oven, refrigerator and mixer-grinder can also be tailored to suit one’s needs.

With a neat array of shelves and inbuilt racks, storage issues are a thing of the past. Right from the stainless steel thali-rack and cutlery draws to the spice rack and pullouts for bottles and other partition baskets, the storage solutions modular kitchens offer are mind-boggling, says Nisha Dwivedi, a homemaker in Chennai.

Kitchen corners, which are most often not used, come to life with handy carousels and pullouts.

Besides, Indian kitchens are no longer a sacred place. “We want to flaunt our kitchen to our friends and other guests,” she says.

Not just Dwivedi, many feel the same way. Hence, the very concept has become a rage these days. Given the elegance of the concept, people cutting across their socio-economic classifications go for it with all other accessories.

Depending upon the material, shape, accessories and area, these kitchen furniture would cost anywhere from Rs 50,000 to over Rs 6 lakh.

In India, over 90 per cent of the market is catered to by players in the unorganised sector. And, there are many branded players eyeing for the remaining pie.

Thanks to increasing aspiration levels and disposable incomes, the Indian consumer is prepared to invest in expensive kitchen furniture. Hence the race to get inside the Indian kitchens is getting more and more fierce. This is evident from the fact that besides home-grown brands including Godrej and Jidal, several global kitchen furniture brands such as Boffi, Hacker, Snaidero and Siematic are making inroads into the Indian market in a big way.

While some of them are ready-made to an extent, a few are 100 per cent customisable. For example, the German band Hacker is completely made to order. S. Malarvizhi, Managing Director of Adithya Agencies, Hacker’s main dealer for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, says her team will take measurements and note down the details of appliances as per the customer requirements and will design the furniture on computer and forward it to Germany. Hacker in Germany will manufacture and consign it to the agency. The company has also tied up with appliances brands such as Siemens and Miele to offer in-built appliances as a package. The basic range of kitchen furniture from Hacker would cost Rs 4 lakh for a 10X10 kitchen, she said.

According to Anil Mathur, COO, Godrej Interio, kitchens are becoming an integral part of the dining area. Till a few years ago, only the top-end category of houses used to come with modular kitchen. But, now more and more builders are offering modular kitchen as a part of the deal. He says, currently the organised market is of Rs 600 crore. “This is growing at 20 per cent year on year.”

Godrej Interio is currently the market leader with 10 per cent share of this market.

Godrej, going up the value chain, is planning to come out with premium range of kitchen furniture in the next few months.

Mathur says, there is a lot of science going into designing a kitchen, and it depends on the consumer’s food habit.

With all this, cooking seems easier and time on hand more. Elegant looks and sleek finish also make cooking a pleasurable experience. However, Dwivedi adds, “Though it makes your kitchen look more organised, it’s not entirely hassle-free. It requires regular maintenance.” says Dwivedi.

A few tips collated from Web sites:

To colour your kitchen walls, you can use attractive wall decals. They are particularly needed near the chimney as it tends to be filled with smoke and vapour, which make the walls sticky. Emulsion paint for your walls is an option, providing a mat finish to your walls. Shades such as yellow and ivory will make your kitchen seem larger; bold colours such as blue and red can make your kitchen look chic and attractive. Make sure the colours in your kitchen match thefloor’s.

ravikumar.ramanujam@thehindu.co.in

swethak@thehindu.co.in

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