The modern kitchen should serve as the heartbeat of your home.
The concept of home and interior design is a fluid one, and no single room reflects this better than the kitchen.
Once perceived as a purely functional space in which food was prepared, cooked and served, it has since evolved into a multi-purpose room in which we spend an estimated 12% of our lives. This is an incredible statistic, and one that highlights the room's evolution into a potential hotbed of entertainment and socialising.
But can the kitchen really be the heartbeat of your home? We believe so, and here are some ideas that can help you to achieve your aim.
Remove the Clutter to Create a Modern Space
If you are going to change the way in which you perceive a particular space, it is imperative that you alter its core layout. Traditional, functional kitchens were renowned for their relatively high levels of clutter and disorganisation, however, with a lack of storage also contributing to cluttered work surfaces.
If you are to create a contemporary kitchen that can also serve as an entertainment and dining space, however, you will need to do away with the clutter and optimise the amount of floor and surface space available.
Remember, modern kitchens are not supposed to have cumbersome appliances or an excess of items sitting on the worktop, as they instead rely on integrated cookers and microwaves, induction hubs and in some instances floor to ceiling tower units. This type of space also lends itself to smart and hidden storage solutions, in the form of creative units and a stylish presented kitchen island.
This will optimise the level of space at your disposal, enabling you to change your perception of the kitchen and embrace alternative purposes.
Integrate Your Kitchen as Part of an Open Dining Space
Open plan kitchen and dining spaces serve as genuinely multi-purpose rooms.
This leads us neatly the importance of an open plan layout, which also optimises the sense of space available and creates an integrated room that lends itself to a number of alternative purposes.
Depending on the age and the size of your house, this may require some structural work, as you look to remove any connecting interior walls to open up the space. You may also need to perform basic structural adjustments to the surrounding spaces such as the living room, so that you have a balanced living environment that is stylish, functional and fit multiple purposes.
In small homes, opening up your kitchen and dining space may provide challenges (particularly when you look to introduce furnishings). The key is to invest in fixtures and fittings that contribute to an agile space, including items such as extendable tables and a well-fitting corner sofa.
This creates an open and multi-purpose space that is also functional, and capable of serving as the heartbeat of any modern home.
Introduce Flexible Seating and Viable Entertainment Systems
As the old Chinese proverb states, even when you have completed 90% of a project you are still only halfway towards achieving your objectives. This highlights the challenge of taming the last 10%, particularly when finishing a design project to a high standard.
In terms of establishing your kitchen as the heartbeat of a modern home, this means introducing additional fittings and features that ensure it is fit for purpose. Additional seating may be required to host larger numbers of people, for example, with sleek and stylish bar stools capable of turning your island into a casual congregation area. If you have a corner sofa, you may also want direct this towards a wall-mounted television, which can serve as a focal point while breathing further colour and life into the space.
Another excellent idea is to ensure that your kitchen island has a source of power, that runs through the base and feeds sockets. After all, this is the ideal space on which to place an iPod or iPhone, which can be placed on a docking station and used to play music when hosting friends and loved ones.
This represents the final step when transforming your modern kitchen into a viable entertainment centre, and establishing it as the true heartbeat of your property.