An open-plan kitchen that improves the everyday was what we wanted to achieve from our design. It reminds us that these moments are meaningful and that how we spend our time matters. Whether you’re making that first cuppa in the morning, feeding the family or clearing up the mess! It’s that our home matters.
The design was about forming a room that makes everyone’s daily routine in This Home Grows feel that little bit more special. If it’s something you’re using every day then there’s no excuse for it not to be beautiful right?
A kitchen is often the heart of the home and usually a hive of activity. Our ‘old’ kitchen, despite being narrow and impractical, was just that. It was still the natural hub where family and friends congregated but the worktops served as our seating area. It was a room that our lives had outgrown and its attribute as the hub needed remodeling into a space we could enjoy living in…
The inherited kitchen was narrow and felt enclosed with all round wall cupboards and units. A side door took you down a step into an adjoining hallway with access to separate pantry, a decent sized utility and the back door. It was calling out for modernisation.
To tide us over whilst saving; the kitchen got an affordable refresh to remove the green tiles and worktops until we could afford to knock down any walls. It actually had some charm about it but the dream was always an open-plan kitchen and a design to suit today’s informal lifestyle. We toyed with lots of ideas; including an extension into the garden, adding a roof lantern and even thought about a double storey build. We’re all allowed to dream, right?!
Designing your home and how you use its space is such a personal experience. The backbone to our design came from a lot of research, Pinterest boards and visits to kitchen showrooms. You also quickly learn what you’d change from living in a fifties kitchen for three years and a DIY one for two… The crux of it was our design had to make our style and savings work together with alotta bang for our buck!
Two years on and I fully expected the honeymoon phase to be over with our open-plan kitchen design but we’re still loving it! It’ll branch out I’m sure like all our rooms, but it’s been thrown it’s fair share of tests during the pandemic not to mention the arrival of a baby! So, to celebrate our achievements, I thought I’d share our takeaway tips for an open-plan kitchen design that improves our everyday.
1. Be creative:
Sometimes the best results come from working within the boundaries of what you have. Simply removing all walls from your existing floor plan can reveal its full potential. We realised what was previously a poor use of space became a relatively large area to work with. And no digging foundations when you can use the blueprint.
Once we’d decided on using the existing footprint and not go outwards into the garden, it’d been five years. Mainly because it was so pricey to grow out. Staying in is the new going out 😉 and that’s taken on a whole new meaning hasn’t it!? Anyway, once the real kitchen reno was underway, we faced a few stumbling blocks but worked through them to get the best outcome. If there’s a will, there’s a way!
Using scaled cutouts of islands, tables and sofas we started playing with their positions and size. The furniture in the open-plan kitchen design needs to feel balanced. Use software if you prefer but we’re old school and connected better on paper. For us it was about immersing ourselves into our new open-plan kitchen design and understanding how objects work together within it.
We also managed to keep a small but functional utility room and pantry in a more suitable layout. I like how we can hide our pantry and utility when they get messy, or we can open them up like we do most days to go in and out. The old door in the kitchen was even recycled and put into our design to reference the past.
An obstacle for me personally was that I love symmetry and I had to quickly accept this was not going to happen. There’s not one right-angle but I love its curves and all the edges (I just sang that like John Legend) and you know what, this room feels so much more interesting because of them.
Inspiration doesn’t always come immediately and there’s no reason why you can’t uncover the design possibilities a space holds. There’s no avoiding the trusty structural engineer and building regs I’m afraid. However, renovating and design can really stretch creative muscles you never knew you had.
Tip: You don’t need to be an expert to floor plan and ours saved us architects fees.
2. Seamless transition:
The most effective way to make the room feel seamless is with your flooring. Ours needed to extend across the whole layout to emphasize the proportions and bring it together. We’d imagined a single level floor in our design (raising up the previous utility level) and bifold doors outside. Ultimately with a seamless transition out to a deck that’s nearly finished by the way (hooray!). As a result, where the floor was adjusted the ceiling also needed raising to compensate. Cue the nightmare…
It thankfully turns into a dream and we fell in love with the problem. We made a breakthrough and saw an opportunity to completely remove the ceiling and vault it. It adds a new dimension to the whole room. Best decision ever, as it gives the entire room a bigger feel and enabled us to expose the curved roof we love.
The bi-fold doors across the width of the dining/living area create a natural extension to the outside connecting the indoor living area to the garden, so whatever the weather we feel part of it. Bringing the outside in, in all its forms, is something we really believe in.
Advice on flooring: if, like us, you choose luxury vinyl, check with the manufacturer for the product specification. For example, can the flooring be laid in a room with large amounts of glass and withstand the heat from the sunlight? Despite the appropriate expansion gaps being on the ‘click’ connecting tiles, warping and buckling from the heat, resulted in their removal. In our case, the company acknowledged the situation and allowed us to select an adhesive tile replacement.
Take two, the flooring was a definite “woah the kitchen feels bigger” moment! Definitely think about whether the flooring choice you’re looking at is right for your space and will it create that sense of flow?
Tip: Be aware of negative space and consider traffic paths when designing your open-plan room.
3. Space definition:
Our open-plan kitchen design has zones which flow into one another. Each dedicated to a different task so they work independently but also blend together. Your zones can also be achieved through the room’s colour scheme. No guesses for ours, it had to be white letting the other parts of the kitchen and our collections speak. The white walls and units are complimented by accents and touches to punctuate the room. The green and natural textures from our wood top dining table make the room feel warmer and less clinical.
Our island acts as the unifier bringing all areas of the room together. An induction hob in the island provides an alternative to the Aga in the summer, which we turn off during the warmer months. I opted for NEFF appliances within the island and ‘the slide and hide’ oven has been a good decision. As the name suggests, the door slides and hides into the cavity and allows much closer accessibility to the oven. A wonderful innovation when moving food from the opposite worktop.
I think there’s a misconception about cooking on an induction hob and for many, cooking on gas makes them feel more confident. Let me reassure you the cooking accessorises on induction are endless and both hubby and I are converts. The placement of the hob on the island has created a more sociable place for the cook to work their magic. Guests can use the informal seating on the island or living space beyond and still everyone feels involved.
Think about how you will use the other areas of the room in your open-plan kitchen and consider if your routines are suitable for the design. What’s bringing your kitchen together?
Tip: It’s really worth considering an area away from the kitchen triangle for some privacy no matter how small! Here, we have the sofa at the back of the room away from the cooking action so you can enjoy the garden views or watch tv.
4. Embrace original:
The Aga welcomed us with big open arms when we first moved in. Similar to how a loved one invites you into their home with an accompanied ‘squeeze’ hug (remember those?!). People are drawn to the Aga and it’s certainly warmed many a derrière, but it’s also improved my cooking! Trust me, that’s quite a statement coming from me. No altering the temperature or fancy digital timer – you’re reliant on your senses to understand when your food is ready. For all these reasons and because it’s so comforting, the Aga always had a place in our open-plan kitchen design.
We thought about moving it but the work and cost involved put us off. I think they’re beautiful pieces and as the oldest member in the house it was most deserving of a spotlight position in the new kitchen. We decided to make it a focal point in the layout.
Another position holder was our sink and I really had my heart set on a double bowl sink with inset taps. Finally, I got my wish despite being told it wasn’t going to be easy. This section of worktop runs right into the window giving it a more seamless look and pulls your eye-line outside. That washing up view into the garden couldn’t get any better for us so it had to stay.
Don’t be afraid to hold onto the elements that you love just because they’re not new to a design. We could easily have disregarded the Aga because it’s old or moved the sink into the island, but they’re part of our kitchen’s integrity. Transport those parts with you – maybe they’re worthy of taking centre stage? I’m getting all nostalgic again, sucker for a blinking story.
Tip: Defining the oven’s position early can be really useful in your design, as you can build out from this focal point.
5. Lighting matters:
It can create so many different atmospheres. Our open-plan kitchen design included practical task lighting with softer mood options in the glass pendants above the island. In addition we had LED strip with diffuser profiles to light the plinth and under the overhang on the island. They’re all on separate circuits so we can control the ambience and transition the room from cooking to relaxation in an instant.
I imagined a big airy space flooded with light from velux windows and big doors out into the garden. It’s pretty bang on. Natural light makes a space feel brighter as well as giving the impression of more space.
Tip: Consider all lighting forms when planning and don’t forget to utilise the free stuff by thinking windows!
6. Get a handle on it:
The hardware choice was really important as they are a tactile element to your design. One that you touch everyday and a visual element that can knit a style together. The brushed chrome was my secret weapon to improving our classic shaker-style doors to a high-end look.
While there are many ways to select your hardware I tried to mix styles from the same collection for a layered look. I personally wanted knobs on cabinets and cup handles for the drawers. Ours were purchased from The Handle Studio.
Our hardware choices are relatively oversized and I think they make the kitchen look more bespoke. All your detailed elements go a long way in making the space feel more personal.
Tip: Layering different styles together makes the cabinetry feel more custom. I’d advise keeping that to two!
7. 360o view:
The kitchen design saw a reduction in cupboards and our conscious decision against any wall cupboards. Controversial, I know! Storage was less compared to what we’d grown used to in the ‘old’ kitchen but we wanted a paired back design that retained what we used everyday. There’s still room for all of our equipment and everything now has its rightful home and can be easily accessed. This decision encouraged a good kit sort out!
What we sacrificed in some storage we gained in decorative potential. Ceramics and other accessories add character to the walk-in pantry and the more formal tableware lives within the Tikamoon black cabinet dresser.
It’s about creating a design that looks great from all angles and that includes choosing the right pieces to showcase. A slow design means personal touches can be added gradually as you grow your home.
Tip: Add items that will stand the test of time and build cohesion throughout your home. The kitchen may be the heart in many but it’s still part of a whole house that marries together.
Only a year later and blessed with our little girl Esme, the room has really come into its own. The open-plan kitchen design perfectly incorporates cooking, eating and entertaining, as well as the perfect crawling terrain for our baby! I even bring my laptop away from my office space sometimes because it’s so peaceful looking outside.
Our new kitchen barely resembles what it was, but its heart inspired us to improve its everyday use into one we can be proud of! It feels like it belongs and I think that’s testament to our design. I’m sure we’ll make tweaks as we grow – I’m already styling it seasonally but isn’t that the beauty of having a backdrop you love?
It’s a happy gathering place, a nod to its past that’s grown in form and function yet one we love using every single day.
Thanks for reading.
Hols x