In the UK, many modern flats and houses feature open-plan kitchens, and, in fact, an increasing number of homeowners are choosing to remodel to create an open-plan kitchen in their homes. In this article, we’ll discuss whether this type of design may be right for you and your family.
The great wide open
The open plan design is one in which the kitchen flows seamlessly into a living room or dining room and can be a good solution for a smaller home. When choosing an open-plan kitchen, it’s important that the decor complements the connected space. This can often be achieved quickly and affordably by replacing countertops, cupboard doors and other features.
Should I get an open-plan kitchen?
If your home does not currently feature an open-plan kitchen, but you feel that it would suit your home, there are a few things to think about, and in this section, we’re going to be looking at some of the pros and cons of this type of kitchen design.
The Pros
First, we’ll take a look at some of the excellent reasons for choosing an open-plan kitchen:
Space – the first frontier
If you have a small home, an enclosed kitchen can make the room seem poky and cramped. Not only can this make the room uncomfortable and challenging to work in, but it can also devalue your home, as the kitchen tends to be one of the rooms that potential buyers will pay close attention to when viewing. Redesigning your kitchen to an open-plan model can open up the space and give the illusion of more room.
The social network
If you spend a lot of time cooking, you can often find that you miss out on social interactions if your family and friends are relaxing in the living room. An open-plan design can help you stay connected by allowing you to join the conversation while working in the kitchen. This is also an excellent design that allows you to keep an eye on the kids while working in the kitchen.
Let there be light
A small and enclosed kitchen can be a little dark and gloomy, particularly if the room doesn’t have a window to let in natural light. As well as being a bit dreary, this can also lead to higher energy bills as you may need to use more lighting when working in the kitchen.
A warm heart
As well as saving energy on your lighting, an open-plan kitchen can also help to keep your home warmer. With an open-plan design, heat from your oven is distributed into the connecting room, helping you to cut costs by keeping your thermostat turned down.
The Cons
While there are some significant advantages to an open-plan kitchen, there are also a few downsides, and we’re going to take a look at some of these here:
In plain sight
The open plan design can be slightly unforgiving for those who take a casual approach to kitchen cleaning. For example, that pile of dirty dishes will be in full view to everybody sitting in the living room or dining room – which may not be the look that you’re going for.
Additionally, it’s worth bearing in mind that your kitchen will be on display for everybody to see. It may not be ideal if your kitchen decor is tired or worn or if a lack of space means your room is habitually cluttered and untidy. However, you can solve this issue by replacing your counters, doors and drawer fronts to ensure your kitchen is ready for its close-up.
Scentsational
While the smell of fresh coffee or baking bread can add a lovely homely feel to your house, lingering smells of garlic and other types of cooking can be less than desirable. It’s important to note that with an open-plan design, cooking smells are likely to permeate your living area, so you may want to review your ventilation options before taking the plunge with an open-plan kitchen, as stale and lingering smells can become unpleasant over time.
Sounds like a plan
Although an open-plan kitchen can be great for allowing you to join in the conversation, a lack of walls can mean that there’s no barrier to other noises. For example, if your family are relaxing and watching TV in the living room, they may have to put up with an additional soundtrack of chopping, sizzling and the whirring of a blender from the kitchen area.
Open all areas
With an open-plan kitchen comes a certain lack of privacy.
This means that the game may be up for those who like to pass off shop-bought items as home cooking. It also means having to keep your game face on while entertaining guests – even when that souffle is refusing to achieve its fluffy best.
If you prefer to maintain an air of privacy while working in the kitchen, you may want to think twice about switching to an open-plan design.
If you can’t stand the heat
In our list of Pros, we mentioned that an open-plan kitchen could help to keep your home warm, and while this may be a good thing during the colder months, it might be a different story during a hot summer. When the weather is hot, you may not appreciate the added heat that your oven will distribute into your home, and this might mean that you need to run extra fans to keep your home cool.
A new look for less
Redesigning or remodelling your kitchen can be a significant investment and not something that should be entered into lightly. At Kitchen Makeovers, there’s not much that we don’t know about what makes a kitchen look great. Replacing kitchen units and surfaces can be incredibly expensive, and something which is beyond the budgets of many people – particularly at the moment.
Our kitchen refacing services allow hard-working homeowners to give their kitchen a makeover or refresh without breaking the bank. Instead of ripping out your kitchens and starting again, we replace your features; including countertops, cupboard doors, drawer fronts and handles, to transform the room into your dream kitchen. With a wide range of finishes and colours to choose from, we can give your kitchen a great new look without the hassle and expense of a full refit.
If you have an open-plan kitchen, our makeover ninjas can swoop in to update your kitchen decor to complement the room it connects to – for a fresh and seamless look to your home.
Get in touch with our friendly customer support team today to find out how we can upscale your kitchen.
