Since kitchens are highly functional rooms, it is also important to ensure their livability. During the planning phase, discuss character and warmth with your kitchen designer.
How can you make your kitchen feel like home? Maybe it’s just for the sake of your favorite tableware and collectibles, in which case it’s worth designing an open pantry. Maybe it’s the color, texture, or location of the window.
To get the discussion started, take a look at the different examples of how these designers have made kitchens warm, as well as their design strategies.
Be Consistent
Good news for minimalists: this beautifully designed, clean, and crisp kitchen shows how little you need to present to give a space a habitable feel.
To achieve the same neat but welcoming result, place a strong emphasis on consistency: arrange matching storage containers on the countertop; three items on a windowsill or shelf; a few beautifully framed prints; Books are stored in a neat, dedicated space. The simple matching cushion is also a simple accent.
Choose Pastel Neutral Colors
The green-gray color is perfect for echoing the outdoor environment, especially if your kitchen overlooks the yard. But that’s not the whole story that brings tenderness to this kitchen.
The matte color is chalky and almost tactile. It is the opposite of dazzling shades or cool tones, which can be harsh and create a chilling effect.
Add a Retro Feel
Mixing the old with the new is a tried-and-true warming strategy – and this kitchen design does it perfectly. The clear glass chandelier does a good job of toning down the sleek look. At the same time, a retro-looking bright red food processor and a classic salt and pepper grinder give the island countertop the right character.
A set of vintage scales, vintage cans, and a “café” sign on the shelves on the wall are all nice touches. All of this combined, combined with the brick walls and nearby open fireplace and the mini gallery above it, creates a kitchen that you will be more than happy to linger in.
Get Outdoors
Come in This modern kitchen has plenty of things to keep the kitchen warm. Indoor plants extend the backyard indoors and place them at different heights, softening the clean lines of the design. The wooden cabinet fronts also echo the wood in the garden, which is almost always a cozy texture.
The pendant with a warm bulb is a key softening feature, and the color of the light echoes the antique-style frame and the painting on the oven, a simple idea that always adds personality.
Of course, full-wall glass isn’t the only way to connect the kitchen to the outdoors. Not every kitchen is suitable for the modernization in the previous photo, so take a moment to enjoy the views of the tree-lined trees that stand out from this kitchen.
The design of this space is unabashedly sleek and modern, yet the picture frame effect of the black-framed windows and the interesting textured wood used on the frontage of the cabinets is a powerful combination that allows nature to soften the edges of this functional space.
Incorporate Open Shelves
If you don’t need or want a traditional wall cabinet, you may find that you have room for some sort of visible storage area. This is the perfect opportunity to add character and warmth to a stylish kitchen.
Talk to your designer about how and where you can put some open shelving in your kitchen. Before going too far down the road, he or she may ask how neat you are. Honesty is important. If you’re not too tidy, then a smaller open storage section might be best for you and permanently showcase things you rarely use.
Make a Big Fuss About the Wood
The materials you choose are almost as important as shaping the layout of your new kitchen, especially if you choose to hide everything behind cabinetry.
If you want to show as little as possible, be clear with your designer and discuss the material as early as possible. Your designer may recommend employing wood to give the wide doors and drawers the right impact.
Here, natural wood is used to cover the entire wall, creating a separate wall for storage and appliances.
Highlight the Characteristics of the Times
Truly elegant design is often about knowing where not to fill a space, and this wonderful old room perfectly demonstrates this approach.
Rather than trying to install storage between or under the windows, or crowding the space, the designers of this kitchen allowed these original functions to breathe by keeping the storage wall opposite. Traditional radiators don’t have visual clutter and emit light. Something old or something that looks old is very useful for eliminating the edges of a sparkling new, angular space.
Beautiful wooden floors and glowing under-cabinet lighting provide a soft contrast to the bright white of the rest of the room.
Use Feature Tiles
A strong infusion of patterns or colors can often bring out personality in a modern kitchen. Tiles are a practical way to achieve this; You can create a resilient surface in one go as well as an eye-catching feature.
That said, tiling is a technical job, and unusual tiles can be a considerable investment, so ask your architect or designer to advise you on what might work and why. He or she will be able to suggest the right (but not always obvious) colors to connect the area with the rest of the kitchen and make your tiles a beautiful and eye-catching detail.
