To think "Outside the Box" – Opening of your kitchen
Take a look at the new kitchens being built in homes today and you’ll see that they’re not built like they used to be, in a good way. Today’s kitchen is a primary, if not the primary, room in the home and as such should be designed as an invigorating area around which activity flourishes. Gone are the days when kitchens were isolated at the back of the house, designed simply as a space off the dining room, or even, gasp! – closing with doors. If you’re considering a new kitchen or kitchen remodel, plan to show it off and make the new space a key feature of your home. The activity that takes place in and around this room will be central to your home life.
Calendar
For today’s homeowners, the kitchen is not a private room where daily activities are kept separate from the rest of the house, so don’t turn it off! When planning your kitchen, try to maintain or create sight lines to adjacent areas like dining rooms, living rooms, and the outdoors. If your budget allows, consider replacing full walls with half walls or peninsulas. For a less extreme change, convert doorways or entryways into wider openings. To create a visual division between adjacent spaces rather than a physical division, pendant lighting or floor changes are just a few options. When walls are required for load-bearing or cabinet storage reasons, grommets can provide a good visual connection and prevent the kitchen from feeling blocked.
seating
The dining room is a malleable concept these days and its incorporation into the surrounding rooms is a matter of space availability and personal preference. In a small kitchen, if there’s a dining area nearby, consider ditching a breakfast area, which can take up space and expand your cabinets. On the other hand, if you’re comfortable with that, ditch an entire dining room table and opt for cheaper seating in the kitchen. A smaller breakfast area with banquette seating around a compact table is a unique alternative to the dining space. You can also choose to incorporate seating on an island or peninsula. The storage space under said bar area can be used to store rarely used items. Even if you have a large floor plan where a separate dining room is available, consider adding bar seating on an island or peninsula. This additional function area can become a great place to sit for a few minutes or a long work session, especially for children.
decorating
In addition to physically opening up the space, various details will also help make your kitchen feel airy and welcoming. If you’ve just built a gorgeous trophy kitchen, remember to provide the right lighting to showcase the new space and set the mood. Under cabinet fixtures, cove lighting over cabinets, and pendants over islands will provide visual interest. Recessed cans are great for general light – use just enough to make the space feel bright instead of dark and cramped. Light colored walls and cabinets will also make a small space feel bigger. Add personality with accent colors or a backsplash. If the abundance of cabinets makes your kitchen feel closed off, remove some of the doors to create open cabinets or replace some solid doors with glass doors for a more open feel. The inside of these shelves can also get a different paint treatment for interest.
As your kitchen comes together, remember that it will be a family gathering and entertainment space, just like other rooms in your home. Keep it integrated with its surrounding areas and provide adequate space for all the functions it will fulfill. A kitchen shouldn’t feel like a utility room: it should act as a hub, a place to show personality and, of course, a space to do household activities while interacting and enjoying time with others.
