Space is something we’ve covered a couple of times on this blog; namely, how it’s usually at something of a surplus in many homes. However, that isn’t always the case; a number of abodes have a bit more free space to play around with, or have room on the land around the house to allow for extensions to be built if so desired.
Even removing walls to make the room isn’t entirely out of the question- indeed, a study conducted by one of the various trusted home insurance surveys in the country found that one in five households in UK have removed a downstairs wall over the last decade. Even more opt for an extension, to give them that little bit of extra space. And where there’s space, there’s design ethics to take the fullest advantage of it. Enter the concept of the Open Plan Kitchen.
Make no mistake; designing rooms for larger spaces is as difficult as designing for smaller ones. The challenges may be different- how do you maximise efficiency in the more open space, as just one example. Thankfully, a number of options and ideas are readily available to you, whatever your fancy. Here’s a few tips and suggestions we picked up when we were researching the subject:
Firstly, if you’re intending to host get-togethers often, it’s worth weighing up whether you want to keep the middle of the kitchen free, or whether you wish to have a Kitchen Island sitting in the middle of the room. Both are reasonably conducive to social settings, but offer different advantages. Keeping the bulk of the room open allows for freer movement and a larger total room capacity, but a Kitchen Island unit allows a place for guests to actually sit, potentially.
Secondly, placement of appliances is absolutely paramount. If your room is large enough, you may want to consider placing appliances and fixtures within relative proximity to one another, depending on your preference and needs. It’s also smart to consider exactly how much of that space you want to take up with appliances, and how much of it you want to keep free for pots, pans, or places to prep food and so on and so forth.
Thirdly, and an odd point thought it may seem, don’t be afraid to use a single kind of flooring. Time was, depending on room layout and general openness, that the floor in an extended open kitchen/living room/dinning area may have split, designating where one “area” begun and another ended. A reasonable idea in theory, but it could potentially add to the overall cost, and depending on the functionality of the intersecting opening rooms, could lead to unwanted floor damage in terms of softer materials. Going with a singular material, and the one most conducive to the prime functionality- in this case, the Kitchen- is a smarter choice, and it arguably lends a more unified, cohesive look to the room overall.
Finally, lighting placement is also an incredibly important factor to consider. Obviously, you want the room to be well illuminated overall, but considering where the primary focus of the light should be directed is a smart move. In general, directing the focus onto the location of the appliances so you can clearly see what you’re doing is the best bet.
These are just a couple of the tips we found or thought up; it always pays to do a little research yourselves when considering big ideas. If you have any further questions you’d like to ask us, please feel free to contact our expertly trained design team.