Working With the Kitchen Space
Many of us are aware that the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home. It’s where meals are created and it’s often where families gather. Of course, in many homes, the kitchen is so much more than that even. The kitchen may also serve as the space where children do homework, parents pay bills, and quiet sips of tea are taken over an exciting novel.
To get the most out of the exciting space that is the kitchen, it’s important to first take a step back and really realize the various ways that your family does utilize the kitchen. If the kids tend to gather there to do their homework, a table that is suitable for them is important. If family members often gather there for food and drinks, a large enough space to accommodate family members and occasional guests is important. Observing what your family uses the space for will help you to make the right decisions by way of furniture, space, and even décor.
When considering the overall look and feel of any room, it’s a good idea to consider what the focal point of the room is. For example, in a bedroom, this is probably the bed. In a living room, it’s either the thing that the furniture is situated around – sometimes a fireplace, sometimes a television. In the kitchen, for many homeowners, the focal point is actually the entire room. The appliances and table all hold equal weight and should blend together in the look and feel of the room. To accomplish this, many homeowners pick a color scheme that makes the room feel as though it is all tied together.
Kitchen cabinets do a lot by way of making the kitchen feel like one unified space. Neutral colors are generally best for kitchen cabinets because they encourage the eye to move around the entire space fluidly. Flat cabinets that are simple in their detail have a similar effect. Smaller kitchen spaces may have open shelving in addition to or in place of cabinets. This too has a unifying effect on the room and encourages the eye to view the space as one whole rather than many small parts. Open shelving encourages the eye to continue moving across the exterior space along the wall and take in the whole room. The result is often that the room feels bigger than it actually is.
When it comes to color in a kitchen space, general rules of thumb apply – cooler hues make a space look bigger, warmer hues make a space look smaller. Using one color or color group gives the room a cohesive, unified look. One popular way to make the room feel exciting is to include an accent wall, where the room is painted in one unified color or look and then one wall is separate in its design via a color splash or wallpaper.
Attention paid to flooring and the ceiling can make your kitchen feel elongated, making the space feel larger than it actually is. A floor covering on the floor will give it color and warmth, and creative lighting on the ceiling can make ceilings feel higher than they actually are.