As the center of your home, you want your kitchen to feel warm and inviting, not small and claustrophobic. The design of this multifunctional, multifaceted room needs to serve all of its functions and still maintain the right ambiance.
Below are a few simple steps you can take to make your kitchen feel more spacious.
- Go for light colors when choosing your paint and cabinetry. A kitchen with cream colored walls and pale cabinets will feel larger than one with walnut colored furnishings.
- Use symmetrical designs and simple patterns. Choosing furniture with clean lines will keep your space from feeling cluttered.
- Incorporate glass to lighten up the look. You can insert frosted glass panes into cabinet doors or try a glass counter or tabletop. Similarly, furniture made of acrylic or lucite seem to vanish when not in use.
- Using mirror to create an illusion of spaciousness is one of the oldest tricks in the book. A strategically placed mirror will reflect light into the room, brightening it, while virtually enlarging it. You can also use mirror in a backsplash or on cabinet doors.
- Replacing upper cabinets with open shelving will make your kitchen feel larger than it is. Alternatively, splitting your upper cabinets between two sides of a window or picture, will also reduce their visual weight.
- Focus on lighting for ambiance and atmosphere. Try to allow as much natural light into the room as possible. You may want to add incandescent lighting under top cabinets or pendulum lights in the eating area to counteract harsh fluorescent kitchen lighting.
