Kitchens have long been undisputed as the heart of the family home and are often the most hardworking room of a house. Beyond cooking - and meal times for eat-in kitchens - family kitchens are host to all manner of activities and rank as the homestead’s social hotspot.

When planning a new kitchen for your home, designer kitchens are your best bet. Not just the prerogative of business entrepreneurs and socialites, designer kitchens offer a luxury, durability and style every bit as relevant for family homes as for urban pads, if not more so.

For family-friendly designer kitchens, practicality and functionality take precedence, so prioritise these with your interior designer. Your love for your stylish new kitchen will soon be tested if your work triangle has you travelling miles to make a simple supper for your brood. How your kitchen looks and feels comes in at a close second. The heart of your family home should be just that and reflect your personal style. Satisfying both of these concerns is the job of your interior designer.

When is comes to planning a kitchen design, your interior designer needs to know how your family operates on an average day and how you use your kitchen. From this, your interior designer can mould their designs around your needs. For example, if you have younger ones, consider designer kitchens with finger pull draws and cupboards -- no handles to bump small heads! Breakfast bars are great not just for the morning repast, but also for homework and school art projects. If you bake for your family, designer kitchens with island units give more countertop space and allow you to segregate tasks.

It is particularly useful for your interior designer, to list all frustrations with your current set-up. Perhaps pans fall out of the cupboard every time you open it, or your spice jars collect dust and look unsightly. Specially designed draws and cupboards for spices, glasses, pans, chopping boards etc. allow you to tailor your storage perfectly. A good interior designer will have solutions for all of your problems.

Meanwhile, glass splashbacks are easy-to-keep clean and a great way to introduce colour for funkier kitchens. Twin sinks, double ovens and American style double-door fridges equip kitchens to cater for those big family meals and celebrations. Also talk to your interior designer about durability. The average family kitchen sees a lot of wear and tear so choose materials which can stand up to a beating and still look good.

With the aid of a specialist interior design company, you’ll soon achieve that holy grail -- a beautiful yet hard-working kitchen, which facilitates precious ‘family time.’