For many families, the kitchen is at the very heart of the home. It is the living space in which many people both start and end their day, and the space for both social occasions and family meals. This duality is rarely found in any other room in the house, so let’s take a look at how you can combine individuality with functionality to get the very best from your kitchen.
A two-pronged approach
The best way forward can be two different areas. This may sound odd, but two can easily be housed in the one room, affording a space for both cooking and living.
Capturing character
You wouldn’t naturally fall in love with a kitchen cabinet; however, utilising something beautiful that oozes authentic charm can bring a focus to the space, which can then be enhanced with the must-haves for any kitchen. Designing a kitchen around contemporary shelves – perhaps industrial shelving in Ireland or from some exotic European location – or old wooden cabinets can add depth and ambience, which is a must for those after a touch of glamour and those ultra-sleek details.
What the experts say
The kitchen design industry is big business. According to the kitchen industry body, the Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association (KBSA), unique bespoke kitchens that marry the European trend for traditional architecture with modern design are very much a thing of the present.
The kitchen think
Using different materials can also marry the two together. Whether wood, brass, stone, marble or leather, combining pieces can assume an air of an olde-worlde lived-in room rather than one that simply produces three meals a day.
Designers on the lookout for the wow factor but with a brief to hide the kettle often employ methods that bring together the contemporary with the nostalgic. This can include bespoke general and task lighting, family art, salvage finds, comfortable chairs for reading, and a slatwall or galvanised shelving system from a supplier such as Rackzone.
Combining soul with smart is a real possibility for your kitchen. Forget ‘out with old and in with the new’; instead, think ‘in with the old and also the new’. We can guarantee that you will create a well-balanced kitchen space with a new and cool vibe and a big personality.
