How to Make the Most of Your Kitchen Extension
How to Make the Most of Your Kitchen Extension
Open-plan kitchens are incredibly popular now, with many families looking to invest in a kitchen extension to open up the space for lounging, dining, and prepping food.
But while there are a huge number of benefits to open-plan living, it can take some getting used to. Areas can quickly look untidy without proper organization or partitions, and smells from cooking can travel around the house and linger for much longer.
This article will provide you with a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your kitchen extension, so you can truly enjoy the space like you deserve.
Partitions
Although installing doors and panels may seem to take away from the open space, it can help to create a little more privacy for different sections. Your kitchen extension is the perfect place to create an additional living room for the kids and their friends to hang out in after school. It’s also the perfect place for a formal seating area for dining, or while entertaining guests.
But with how rowdy kids can get, or the pressure of a million eyes staring at you while you prep food, adding partitions can help to segment the space while at the same time keeping everything together. A simple frosted glass panel, breakfast bar, or shelving cabinet can divide up the space without removing the airy and light feel.
Get creative with flooring
Just because the extension is still part of the same room, it doesn’t mean it needs to have the same flooring. Using different rugs, materials or tiles to create zones in the open-plan space is a clever and creative way to give the impression of different rooms. The dining space can have a quirky vinyl or tile that’s easy to clean after spills, while the kitchen could use hessian runners or hardwood that will last a lifetime.
Think about cooking smells
If you’re a keen chef who loves to add herbs, spices, and flavor to your meals, you probably don’t want smells lingering around your extension while you try to enjoy the space. And while this isn’t entirely avoidable, there are ways to design and plan your kitchen fixtures to ensure smells have an easy escape out of the house.
For example, placing the oven and hob close to the window will give a clear flow for steam and smells to exit. You can also add an additional extractor fan to remove odors. Fans are no longer as much of an eye-sore, with plenty of modern styles and fittings available. Speak to the experts about designing your perfect kitchen at granitetransformations.co.uk.
Consider the flow of the room
The flow of the room is another important factor for making use of your new extension: you’ll want to show off all your new extra space—not immediately make it feel dark and cramped.
To make the most of it, you should carefully consider where your furniture is placed, and where shelving works best, in order to maintain a good flow for light, air, and foot traffic. The space should be easy to get around in, while also adding brightness to the home.
By following this guide you’ll soon be able to create the perfect set up for open-plan living.
