Is the kitchen the most important room in the home?

Property ownership is something many Brits aspire to as having your own home comes with many freedoms that are not available to people who are renting. For instance, it is not always possible to carry out any home improvements in a rented property due to contractual restrictions, which prevent some from leaving their mark on a residence.

However, those who get on to the property ladder have the freedom to do whatever they want to their property, as long as of course it is within planning regulations. With the help of a home improvement guide, householders can undertake a wide range of projects, ranging from playing around with colour schemes to redesigning their interiors.

One of the rooms homeowners like to redesign nowadays is the kitchen, which is increasingly playing a central role in 21st-century lifestyles and is forecasted to be even more vital. In fact, by 2040 your kitchen will be your personal trainer, dietician, psychologist and lifestyle coach, according to an independent Future Kitchen report by The Future Laboratory.

Commissioned by home furnishing specialists IKEA, the report states that the future kitchen will respond to people's energy levels, nutritional requirements and mood. Despite a high use of technology, it will also be sustainable and eco-friendly. In three decades, the kitchen will be so technologically advanced that it will almost be alive, responding actively to householders' needs like only a mother could, states the report.

Meanwhile, over half of Brits (57 per cent) think that technology will boost our kitchen experience, with nearly half (44 per cent) being of the opinion that the most important feature in our future kitchen will be energy saving. There is already a technology-leaning trend in the country as more than two-thirds of UK consumers (67 per cent) try to buy energy-efficient appliances, which suggests that "green awareness" is on the rise.

"With the majority of us spending the total of nearly a month in the kitchen over one year, it is the heart of the home," explains Carole Reddish, deputy managing director of IKEA UK & Ireland. "We think that the economy, social changes, concerns for our health and especially the environment will greatly influence kitchen design in the future."

Indeed, Richard Joseph, co-director and designer for contemporary kitchenware specialists Joseph Joseph, agrees that the kitchen is an important family room. He argues that this is "the key place to have fun, entertain and cook" and states that growing interest in the rooms is a result of cookery shows on television.

"The whole celebrity chef thing has got a lot more people into cooking. Not many modern homes have separate dining rooms anymore, so the entertaining happens in the kitchen," he says. Thanks to this trend, more and more people are now spending thousands of pounds on kitchen revamps or installations.