The top ten home kitchen accessories

Do you want to turn your kitchen into a coffee-lover's paradise? Or stop fumbling for spices while cooking? We spoke to Leigh Hunter of Think Design, to discover the coveted 'Top 10' kitchen products.

1. Glass-fronted wine or beer fridges

Usually installed under the benchtop, these home kitchen accessories give a light and spacious look to your kitchen. But make sure you check their temperatures. "Australians generally require cooler beverages than other countries and some fridges may not have a large enough range," Leigh warns.

2. Reconstituted stone benchtops

A combination of crushed quartz and resins, engineered stones are flooding the market. Stain, heat and scratch resistant, they are durable and come in a wide range of patterns and colours. "Corian is always a popular and hardy choice," says Leigh. "Because it can be installed without joins, designers love it." 

3. Waste management systems

Benchtop bins are great home kitchen accessories - you just lift the lid and scrape in your scraps. Made from stainless steel, they also provide a heat-resistant landing space on the benchtop. Additional pull-out recycling systems for bottles can be placed under the sink unit.

4. Sink drawer by Blum

Usually the sink bowls drop into the cupboard and the pipework makes the top half of the cupboard hard to use. Blum's sink drawer actually wraps around the bowls of a sink, providing space to store sponges and detergents.

5. Corner drawers

For excellent accessibility to kitchen goodies, these are a popular home kitchen accessories that allow everything to disappear into the back corner, never to be seen again.

6. Built-in coffee machines

By building a coffee machine into the cabinets, you free up valuable bench space. Some models need to be plumbed in and some have their own water tank that can be filled manually.

7. Induction wok cooktop

This is a recessed wok induction plate that holds a round-bottom wok perfectly. These home kitchen accessories allow more instant heat than a gas cooktop and is much easier to clean.

8. Pull-out systems for spices and oils

These are high-end internal storage solutions. With stationery drawers, internal drawer dividers for large utensils, lid separators for pots and pans and dividers for vinegars and oils, we're fast running out of excuses for mess and clutter.

9. Computer screens incorporated into the kitchen

These are the latest addition in home kitchen accessories, where you can keep atop your shopping lists and recipes and even watch TV while you cook!

10. Glass splashbacks

They're overtaking tiles in leaps and bounds as the hot new 'must-have' item in the kitchen. Easy to clean, they offer endless potential in colour and can now be etched with designs and photos for a personalised design.