The kitchen is often the heart of the home. It is where the family tend to meet and depending on your lifestyle, it could be used to entertain and where you’ll spend the majority of your time. As cooking is a creative art, you want a space where you can prepare meals easily, and enjoy them.
When it comes to your kitchen design you may be feeling stressed. You may be feeling overwhelmed and worried that you’ll get the ‘design wrong.’ Fear not, as this guide will help you make the right choices for you.
Let’s do it.
1. Consider the Space
Space will be a dictator in your kitchen design and what you can achieve. Your goal should be to make the best use of the space for you and your family. So with this in mind, consider the following:
- What can be achieved in the space? – You may not be able to host a twenty person dinner party if the kitchen is too small, so rule that out. Stick with what’s achievable and ensure function as well as form.
- Materials – Materials have been developed that utilise the best of all available technology. As such, kitchen countertops by Cosentino can be sourced that add both form and function. This should be researched thoroughly.
- Colours – What kind of colours do you like? What goes with the space? If your would be kitchen is well lit you’ll have greater choice as you can use darker tones to bring a feeling of luxury to your space. If it is not that well lit you may want to stick to brighter colours to bring the space alive.
- Don’t forget the Refrigerator – Remember any design is going to have to have space for appliances.
- Kitchen triangle – If your kitchen is going to be visible from space, i.e. big you may have more than one working area so the triangle may not apply. If it is more of a humble space, many professional designers assert that the oven, sink, and fridge should form a triangle with each side six to nine feet apart to maximise efficiency. Food for thought!
It is a good idea to draw the dimensions of your kitchen or use an app so you can visualise the design and get a good idea of how it will look when finished.
2. Open Plan Design Requires a Rethink
If your kitchen design fits in with an open plan layout then you have to consider the following:
- Better light – The chances are as the kitchen and the lounge are fused together it may well have better light so colour choices are more open.
- Colour – As you are designing a room that is effectively part of another, colours have to match and there is no room for clash. If you look over at your kitchen from the lounge and your heart drops, redecorate one of the rooms.
- Social vs. Culinary creations – Open plan kitchens are great for sociability as you can have a conversation while preparing a meal with someone sitting on the sofa. As there are no walls between the two spaces, bringing in food to a dining table makes everything more integrated which is fantastic for entertaining.
Conversely, if you do love cooking the smells will waft into both rooms. If you can live with that there is no issue. If you can’t you may feel it is time to insert a wall between both rooms.
3. To Have an Island or not to Have an Island?
Islands can be a good focal point for a kitchen and they provide a good entertainment space, and you can keep an eye on your children as you prepare a meal. That said if space is limited it might make a space feel smaller.
4. Lighting Matters
Lighting should be thought about as two-stage lighting. Using natural or ambient lighting try and design your kitchen so it illuminates the whole room evenly. Then bring in task lighting so that chopping vegetables is easier. Good use of lighting can bring a space alive as well as adding function.
5. Make Sure You Have Enough Storage
Storage is another factor to consider. You need enough to store everything and a little creativity here can go a long way. You may want to display certain items on shelves or have utensils hanging from the ceiling. You may want to hide certain appliances behind doors. It all goes on your taste, space, and design.
6. Focal Points
It is good practice to have a focal point for the kitchen and work the design around it. Cookers and islands make for good focal points and you may want to shop around to get ideas. It is, at the end of the day your choice as to how your kitchen looks, but some add drama to their kitchen using quite elaborate materials such as copper where appropriate.
The kitchen is the heart of the home so make yours as good as it can be.