How To Design An Open Plan Kitchen

Zoning the room? We know it might sound confusing, but it’s pretty straightforward. With such a big space, you’ll need to know what each part of the room is going to be used for. Generally, you’ve just got to think about where you’d like to cook, where you’d like to eat and what sort of view you want from each zone. For example, you might want to have a view of the garden from the dining table.

Zoning the room? We know it might sound confusing, but it’s pretty straightforward. With such a big space, you’ll need to know what each part of the room is going to be used for. Generally, you’ve just got to think about where you’d like to cook, where you’d like to eat and what sort of view you want from each zone. For example, you might want to have a view of the garden from the dining table.

Once you’ve decided on what each part of the room will be used for, you’ve now got to think about how they’ll connect to each other. You want each part of the room to flow into the next while still being distinct. A simple way to do this is by changing the colour of the flooring in different areas, or if you want to be a bit bolder, try using a physical object like an island or table to define an area.

You control how prominent the kitchen appears in the room. Some people like the kitchen to stand out with eye-catching finishes and colourful appliances, but the new trend is to make the kitchen ‘hidden’. Interested? Well, all you’ve got to do is find matching colours and textures that let the kitchen blend in with the rest of the room. Maybe get some push to open cupboards for an even more seamless look? There’s so much you can do.

Once the walls are gone, you’ll suddenly be aware of how noisy some appliances can be. So, you’ll want to look out for kitchen products with a low decibel (dB) rating, with your washing machine and tumble dryer, ideally, in another room. If they need to stay in the kitchen, a solution can be to integrate them behind a door to deaden the sound. Simple.

The last thing you want is the smell of last night’s curry in your kitchen. Smells like to linger if they’re not whisked away with an extractor, so make sure you pick one that’s able to cope with a large space. Each extractor will list how many cubic litres of air it can clean per hour – making it easy to find the right one for you. Also, if you can get a ducted extractor, you can rest easy knowing the air is fresh and not just recirculated.

Open-plan kitchens are quite versatile and so you need to make sure they can be adapted easily depending on what you’re doing. So, when you’re putting yours together, make sure you’ve got plenty of power points and different desk areas. This way, it’s perfect for working and hanging out as well as cooking.

You want your open-plan kitchen to be well lit, of course, but it’s good to think about types of lighting that give the room a little extra. Mood lighting below worktops and in dark areas can help to add a soft glow to the rest of the room, bringing every part of it together.

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