People spend lots to get modular fittings installed in their kitchen. Initially, the beauty of this kitchen might woo you and you might be tempted to upgrade your kitchen with modular enhancements. But, the fact is with time, these kitchen may wither off, loosing their beauty if not taken care of properly. So, in my opinion rather than investing too much on the 'superficial improvement' ,spend your money on some concrete stuff that is both economic and adds to the aesthetic value of your kitchen.

Why I am saying this is because, in the busy day to day schedule it might become hectic to maintain and cater to the requirements of a modular kitchen. However, surprisingly if a few smart steps are followed, your ordinary kitchen may be completely transformed into a modular look alike and at the same time with much more durability and maintainability than you could ever imagine.

Loopholes of a modular kitchen:

Cupboards:

One common feature of a modular kitchen is 'plenty of cupboards'. These cupboards are attached on your walls, under your working slabs and every possible space available. So, when one enters he/she is captivated by the very look of the closed, sleek wooden finish of these cupboards. But this wood if mistakenly left closed for a long time may attract termites and a whole family of cockroaches. This happens mostly with kitchen cupboards at the top or near the attic as these are difficult to reach, with the result that these cupboards remain deserted for a long time. With no air circulation and continual moisture exposure from the food cooked in the kitchen, the wood falls prey to termites . Being eaten up from inside the wooden cupboards become hollow ,start shedding wood particles and sometimes may even come off the hinges.

Chimney:

Another integral feature of a modular kitchen is 'chimney'. If you have a small kitchen you might fall short of place to have this hefty product attached . Plus cleaning is a major issue. This component requires as much attention as your cupboards.

Unfit for small kitchen:

Nowadays flat culture is gaining grounds. So, in this scenario people generally own a small kitchen which lack space to get a modular make-over. Thus only a few percentage of Indian people living in bungalows can afford to have it .

Not Economic:

If you get bored of your modular kitchen you can easily detach it but trying to afford a new modular kitchen may burn a hole in your pocket.  

Tips on how to make a small ordinary kitchen a modular look alike :  

Tiles:

From what I have noticed , most modular kitchen follow a certain colour palette for contrasting their cupboards with the rest of the kitchen walls. Popular colour contrasts are those of brown-cream, black-cream, white cream etc. So, to begin with buy some cream coloured glazed kitchen tiles with tinges of yellow and light brown. Many people get confused between bathroom and kitchen tiles. These are two different varieties and accordingly come in different designs and colours. The glazed tiles are highly polished so they reflect light and make a small space vibrant and more spacious. The normal wall paints get scraped off due to moisture exposure or turn black with the soot deposited from the smoke of food being cooked.This problem is completely solved with tiles. Moreover you are relieved of the pain of getting your walls painted every three to five years if you get tiles cemented on your walls. These can be washed easily too. So in my opinion tiles are the most economic and perennial solution to the problems of a small kitchen space.

Glass and granite shelves:

Now once the walls are tiled up,we need to find a substitute for the wooden cupboards used in modular kitchen. Well the best thing one can do is get glass shelves attached to th kitchen tiles. All the small plastic cans like those containing spices, sugar , tea-leaves etc. can be clustered on them. As far as storing big vessels and utensils are concerned go for big granite shelves under your work-dice. Do not cover them with cupboards. This cuts down the problem of termites and cockroaches, plus air circulating through your containers and vessels makes their life longer. However still, if you want a wooden cupboard in your kitchen make sure you have just one or two of them and that too at such a level where you can easily reach them and clean them regularly. To beautify and increase the life of your wooden cupboard get it plastered with sun-mica. Black or white coloured sun-mica cupboards will complement the yellow tiles on the wall.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Exhausts:

If you have a small kitchen, you cannot have a chimney so its better to have a good company exhaust to drive off the smoke. It can be cleaned easily too.

Glass Windows:

A glass sliding window is a must for a small kitchen. Not only does it help in proper ventilation but also boosts up the look of your kitchen to a great extent. These were some of the ways in which a small ordinary kitchen can be transformed into a modular look alike. So, for those who have lost all hopes for improvement of their small   kitchen, the above tips are a boon.  (the photos are from my own personal collection-photo of my own kitchen space.