Do you dream of an open-plan kitchen? In many modern homes, the walls between the kitchen and dining room are coming down and people are merging both rooms into one. And when you think about it, this approach makes a lot of sense. Much of the separation between rooms is just convention, not something that improves people’s lives.
Pulling off a successful open-plan kitchen-diner, however, is a massive challenge. Here are some of our tips to make it work for you.
How to Organize for an Open-Plan Kitchen:
Create Zones
While open-plan living makes it easy for you to converse with your guests (or other people in your household), you still need to break the space down into separate areas. Otherwise, it will feel like one big mess.
There are lots of ways you can do this.
The first way is to use structural elements of the build. So if you have girders or columns to support the floors above, you can use these as natural lines in the sand.
Another approach you can use is to lay rugs and carpets. So, for instance, if you have a kitchen-diner connected to a living area, you could lay a rug on the floor and then organize all the chairs around it, separating off the space.
Lastly, if that doesn’t work, you can try changing the floor material or using a step. Demarcation of the boundaries of the kitchen space helps to zone the space in a way that people find familiar.
Make Sure You Have Enough Pantry Space
Every well-thought-out kitchen-diner offers vast quantities of pantry space. The goal is to reduce clutter as much as possible so that you keep everything looking neat and tidy.
What does this mean in practice?
It could involve:
- Using tall, pull-out units for all your room-temperature food storage
- Building refrigerated drawers into your kitchen island
- Adding larder with plenty of space
- Adding prep space to the rear of the kitchen
Add Beautiful Lighting
Many renovators treat kitchen-diners as purely functional spaces. So when it comes to lighting, they choose the cheapest and most basic options, without even thinking about it.
But, remember, a kitchen-diner isn’t just somewhere for preparing food. It’s also a place for eating too. So it should be as beautiful as a regular dining room.
Many homeowners invest in Murano chandeliers. These add a touch of class to any room, particularly dining spaces, thanks to their sheer opulence.
Look For Ways To Give The Illusion Of More Space
Sometimes, even open-plan kitchen-diners can be a little short on space. But that doesn’t matter. You can get around this using several methods.
These include:
- Using open-design shelving units
- Adding mirrors to the back wall
- Increasing the size of your back door
- Using bi-folding doors that open up onto a terrace
- Painting the interior in white
Invest In Quality Extraction
Lastly, when you create a kitchen-diner in your property, always invest in quality extractors. As you cook, oil and moisture particles will go into the air, eventually making their way into your sofa fabrics and carpets. Quality extractor fans, however, stop this process in their tracks.
