Modular Kitchen Accessories: What to keep in mind (Part 2)

(Updated Feb 2019)

Here’s a few other modular kitchen accessories that you might want to consider when setting up a new kitchen.

Vegetable Basket pullout
A vegetable basket pullout gives you a space to keep all your fresh produce. Things like potatoes and onions will always be kept outside even if you choose to keep the rest in the fridge. Instead of keeping your vegetables in a basket on top of the counter, this just makes your space look neater.

Note: One often has a choice between wicker baskets and stainless steel baskets. While wicker looks nicer, it can be harder to clean than stainless steel. You will also need to choose whether to put a shutter on your baskets or leave them open – a shutter can help keep the dust out and the smells inside.

Source: Howdens

Source: 3plModularKitchens

Kitchen Pantry Unit
Pantry units come in a few different variations, and generally are in the form of a tall pullout with multiple shelves. The advantage of a pantry unit is that the things lying in the back of your cabinets become easier to reach, as opposed to needing to pull out all your jars in front to access the ones behind.

Note: Given the tall nature of these cabinets, you’ll still need a stepstool or a small ladder to access the upper shelves.

Source: Hettich

Source: Hettich

Source: Hettich

Appliance Garage
Appliance garages are becoming popular in India nowadays. They can be thought of as small cabinets on your kitchen counter to keep your appliances plugged in, and pulled out whenever you want to use one. There is usually a shutter on the front of the cabinet, hence the use of the term garage.



Drawer systems
Drawers come in many shapes and sizes in your kitchen. You can use drawers for cutlery, pots and pans, grains, flour and much more. They are often referred to as tandem boxes.

Note: The larger of these tandem boxes have weight capacities, so its important to figure out what purpose you’re going to use your drawer for. Also keep in mind that the pictures your modular kitchen company will show you usually show divisions/compartments in these drawers, but those attachments need to be purchased separately.

Source: Hettich

Source: Hettich

Other Kitchen Accessories or Appliances
We hope these posts have helped you understand the various inbuilt accessories that you might want to include your kitchen. Of course there’s another whole set of external appliances/accessories that you need to think about. These include your stove top, oven, microwave, refrigerator, toaster, kettle, blender and perhaps more. Don’t forget about these and where they might go in your kitchen too.

If you missed the first post in this series click here Modular Kitchen Accessories Part 1

Modular Kitchen Accessories: What to keep in mind (Part 1)

(Updated in Jan 2019)

When redoing your kitchen you’ll be spoilt for choice on the types, numbers, and brands of modular kitchen accessories out there. However, kitchen designers and hardware sellers are not likely to tell you about some of the more practical considerations of these accessories. So in the following post, we’re going to introduce you to some of the possible accessories you could install in your kitchen, while also giving you things to keep in mind when making your choices.

Inbuilt Kitchen Cutlery Trays
If you could only choose one accessory for your kitchen it would have to be a cutlery tray. This is one of the most useful organizers to have in a kitchen, and likely you’ll want more than one.

Note: Cutlery trays come in specific sizes, ensure your drawers are built to size else they may not fit properly, or you’ll have left over space on the sides. Rectangular trays (below image) tend to be more efficient on space, than angled ones (2nd image). Cutlery trays that are made of a firm plastic or metal are sturdier than the flexible plastic ones.

Source: Hettich

Source: Kaff

Garbage pullout
While you can easily ignore having a garbage pullout in your kitchen, it ends up being a neat way to organize your kitchen trash. Given the multiple boxes, you can start to segregate your dry and wet waste easily.

Note: Its important to note that most of the garbage pullouts in the market are quite small in size, and leave you feeling like you are wasting space below your sink. However, its best to go with what’s in the market than try to have your own built. Additionally, in our experience a pullout (left image) is more stable than the one you attach to the door (right image).

Source: Hafelle

Kitchen Magic corners
Magic corners generally come recommended by kitchen manufacturers when you’re building a new modular kitchen. They make corners easier to use, and the things you store in there become a lot more accessible.

Note: However, there’s plenty you should know about magic corners before you decide how many, and what types to install in your kitchen.
• Magic corners can be frightfully expensive, especially if you go with the branded ones.
• Given the number of moving parts they have, they can get spoilt/damaged easily (be especially cautious when going for local brands).
• Do check what their max weight capacity is. The heavier they get, the more likely they are to break
• Often the storage space you get in a magic corner isn’t very much (pay close attention to the images below). You can’t stack your piles of dishes too high on there, if that’s something you were used to in the past.

Therefore, one would highly recommend taking a look at an installed magic corner in store before you give your kitchen company a go ahead.

Source: Hettich

Source: Hettich

Source: Indiamart

Bottle Pull Outs
Bottle pullouts are a convenient to put away your oils, vinegars, condiments and other jars you have.

Note: Measure the size of the largest bottles you expect to fit in there (e.g. 5L oil bottle) and make sure your pullout size is appropriate. Bottles when vertical can be a bit unsteady so you’ll need to keep the space quite packed up. Often pullouts are designed such that only one of the sides is fastened to the walls of the cabinet, making it a little shaky when pulled out.

Source: Hettich

Source: Hettich

The question of which brands of hardware one should consider often comes up so we thought we’d give our quick two cents. The hardware company that’s popular at any time keeps changing based on the push they are making amongst dealers. The ones that we typically suggest in the mid price range include Hettech, Kaff, and Ebco. Hafelle is slightly more expensive but has some good options not available in the others; Blum and Grass are also options in this segment. Godrej and Ozone are Indian companies also doing kitchen hardware, which have been known for years and have a trust in the Indian market.

Interested in more: see Modular Kitchen Accessories (Part 2)

5 Tips to a Smoother Home Renovation

Updated on 26th March, 2019

It is natural for homeowners about to embark on a remodeling project to have a lot of insecurities about the process. How will the final output turn out? Will the project stay within my budget? How long will it take before I can move into my new space? On top of that the noise and mess is extremely unpleasant and frustrating.
So here are a few things to keep in mind that will help you deal with the process that is about to unfold in your home.

Plan your Home Renovation
Have every detail of the process mapped out before starting work on site. Identify your vendors, make space for storing materials, figure out your building approvals and speak to your neighbors to let them know (including the apartment above and below). This is where BuildingBlox can add significant value to you.

For example: When planning a new floor you have to think about materials and size. Depending on the room you’ll have to choose between glossy or non skid tiles. The size of the tile will determine the amount of time it’ll take to install. Grouting between tiles will need to be budgeted for, as well as the PCC layer under the tiles. Our project plan keeps these factors in mind.

Buy your Renovation Materials/Products
Make a list of materials required on site and divide them into 3-4 lists based on when they are required on site. For example, if you are redoing your kitchen, you’ll need your floor tiles a lot earlier than your counter stone or chimney, this will help you deal with a manageable amount of decision making, and avoid rushing through selections.

Trust your Renovation Contractor
Once you have interviewed a few contractors and are ready to hire one, ask yourself this, do you trust them? It is very important that they seem trust worthy to you otherwise the project is sure to be derailed. Once you have established a certain level of trust make it a point to allow them to manage the project in their way and resist the urge to micro manage the process.

Schedule Contractor Payments alongside Milestones
Payment schedules are key, decide the project amount and make a schedule with dates for the release of payments to vendors, it is advisable to link the payments with milestones so that the contractor is pressured to stick to a work sequence, this way you don’t have to deal with sporadic requests for money.

Create a Renovation Contract
Document all change requests, include budget increase and extra time required, and treat it like a mini contract agreement so that the bill at the end of the project doesn’t surprise you. Also allow the contractor time to plan and execution these changes.

Although this might seem like lot of planning for a seemingly simple remodeling project, it will save you a lot of inconvenience as the project progresses, and it’s totally worth the effort.

Update: since we wrote this post there have been a few more that we think are useful for us to add on, so here they are:

Minimize changes during the project
We know this is hard but keep in mind every change causes disruptions even if it seems small to you

Make your decisions on time
The slightest of delays from your end throw off planning from the contractors and that ends up leading to more delays than you think. (e.g. you only delayed it by a day but then the team that’s waiting for your decision is now occupied for another 4 which leads to a 5 day delay that keeps on growing)

Get professional oversight/quality checking
You might have the best contracting team in the world for every task but an independent observer will find problems that you wouldn’t, and make suitable recommendations to fix them