Hi, I think I'm at risk of our kitchen also looking clinical and not homely. we've opted for a u-shaped Cashmere full gloss kitchen with curved panels, driftwood worktop and wood effect porcelain tiles or vinyl flooring. I was thinking white for the walls but am unsure now as it could look very bland.
let us know how your project goes, could maybe take some inspiration. the layout of our kitchen is fairly similar to yours but we have French doors in centre and windows on either side

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if u want to go bold, I'd look at a nice raspberry red colour which could help add warmth, I think dulux have a nice range of reds. Good luck!

Hi Danielle, can you post one more picture of the other side of your kitchen so I have an idea how big it is and how it looks? Marcin

hi AS, thank you very much! It sounds like we have very similar taste then, I do think white walls look the best in any type of kitchen so I think it's best to stick with your original design, also with white you can luckily change it whenever you like! I would love to see some photos/similar images though?

hi Marcin, here is the other side of our kitchen diner :) any design decor advice is very appreciated!

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I really like the look. It's a great space & wont take much to make it more homely. The colours of your lilies works well; maybe pick up on that in other areas. Some pots of herbs in the window, some artwork on the walls. Are you planning on having a tv on the wall? It looks like you have fittings for one which is a bit of a pain if not. Maybe you can hide them behind some pictures. A photo gallery or maybe photo ledges would work well behind the table then you can chop and change pictures easily. You could also go for a rug under the table if that's your thing & maybe a runner on the table. A floor lamp with an interesting shade might help in the corner or perhaps a large floor standing plant.

Hi Danielle, I love you're new kitchen. Yours is very similar to ours, we've just finished the kitchen extension & like you are looking to add a touch of colour to warm the grey tones up. I've gone for Farrow & Ball Railings painted island & trying to introduce a mustard colour also. Ive added an colourful orchid on the window & try & get some fresh flowers weekly to add more colour. I don't think you can see from pics but I treated myself to some Orla Kiely stacking tins & placed them on top of the kitchen units. They are really colourful. I prob will add a lamp of long plant to the dining end. Best of luck with it, I'm sure it will look lovely when you finished, Mairead.

It sure seems like it, your kitchen does look fab, can't wait for ours to be fitted in. If you don't mind me asking what flooring have you used? I'm still deciding over Porcelain or Luxury vinyl.

Hi A.S thanks for you're lovely comments. We went for Porcelain tile in the end & are so pleased with the end product. It was more expensive but really worth it. We did look at Vinyl but loved the look of the tile. It's clean brilliantly as well. Best of luck with yours, put some finished pics on, would love to see it.

Bring in the blue shade from your chairs maybe? Change the roman blind to that colour, kittle and toaster too. Also change the kickboards to the stainless steel, that shouldn't be very expensive and would create a bit of controversy nyrast. You could bring in some colour with bits on top of the wall units. Turquoise was the first colour that popped into my head before I saw your table and chairs...

Hi Danielle,

You have the makings of a beautiful kitchen there.

I'd suggest a wooden top dining table to add warmth, one with some character, reclaimed wood is good for this. You can find inexpensive imitation Eames plastic side chairs in a variety of colours. If you have a 6-8 seater table, you could have four/three pairs in different colours (picture attached for reference).

You could have a feature wall - I don't know how much time/money you're thinking of investing but exposed brick would look nice, alternatively you could put wallpaper on one wall or even just paint one wall a different colour.

I love recessed lighting but when it's the only lighting in a fairly big room it makes it feel slightly clinical, you could add some variety to the lighting by having hanging lights over the dining table? Or a single hanging light statement piece.

And finally - lots of artwork! Some vibrant pieces to bring a dash of colour to the room, or any kind of wall art, 2D or 3D.

Just some ideas - good luck with the room!

Adding "old" wood would really stop your room looking too new! An old farmhouse table, old reclaimed wood shelves... Maybe a painted dresser by the table, or a little corner with an armchair and a wooden stool as a coffee table... Soft furnishing would help too... You have a lovely space to start with!!

Hi Danielle, thanks for the pictures. How about a small natural wood kitchen island between your kitchen and dining room? It would close the kitchen area making it more cosy and you would have more space for preparing food... I like also the suggestions of Emmanuelle. I would also put some plants here and there to add some life and nature to the space. I would also change the colour of curtain. Some good artwork and colourful accessories would also bring some warmness. About the dining room... I think nice rug under the the table and natural wood solid table with round corners would totally change this area. I would also conceder painting the wall behind the table with different colour, how about warm green? I think even soft red would also work in that area. I would also put a big plant in the right corner and change the lamp in the left corner for ikea type paper lamp...

I'd use wallpaper in the seating area. We did it in our kitchen and it made an enormous difference. I'd also put curtains up either side of your french doors.

Consider painting the walls, adding a strip of patterned fabric to the edge of the blind. Pictures on the wall.

hi tamp, thank you for your lovely comments! I love the idea of adding some potted herbs on our window cill so I will definitely give that a go. I don't think we will have a TV on the wall, we had the fittings put in place just in case but I think I'd much prefer a large landscape mirror on the dining wall or make it a photo gallery as you suggested :) I think we will go for a rug and runner next month, hopefully that will add something to the room. thanks again for your input, you have helped a lot!

Danielle, if you don't mind me asking what flooring have you got and where is it from? cheers.

Wow Mairead, your kitchen looks amazing! The island looks perfect in that space and the colour is spot on too, ideally I've love to have an island but unfortunately we don't have the right amount of space for one. I'm the same, I'm constantly buying new flowers to brighten up the space, but I'm considering changing to faux and buying a nice glass vase with faux flowers. A bunch of Calla lillies in the middle of your island would look lovely! I can't see the Orla Kiely, but I'm thinking of buying a few colourful jars to jazz the space up a little and yes, definitely! I think a large plant would suit both of our kitchens, just need to find the right one. Thank you very much, I wish you all the best with yours too, would love to see an update once your room is completely finished

Hi Karen, thank you for your suggestion! I'm going to have a play around with some other colours like blue/turquoise and see if it works, we definitely need some pop of colour on top of our cabinets and your suggestions may just solve that

thank you very much Isadora! I love your ideas, the reclaimed wood looks lovely. I don't think I'd be brave enough to have exposed brick, but I'm considering a nice feature wall in the dining space.

With regards to the lighting, I 100% agree! The recessed lighting is a great thing to have but I would love to have either 1-3 pendants above the diner, so I will have a look on here for some lighting inspiration. Thank you for your recommendations, hopefully the bare walls will be hidden soon

Hi Emmanuelle, thank you! I love the 3rd and 4th photos! The wood looks lovely in all all of those room settings, I will have look into the old reclaimed wood shelves, maybe something as small as that is all I need to make it look more homely

Thank you Marcin for taking your time coming back to the post with your suggestions. I do love both of yours and Emmanuelle's suggestions with the natural/reclaimed wood, but I have a feeling our room is too small for an island, maybe a butchers block or something would work...

I also love your suggestion of the natural solid wood table with round corners with a rug underneath, with a large house plant in the corner somewhere. I'll have a look into these lights later on tonight and see what I can find, hopefully I can eventually make it all tie in together and have a nice cosy setting! Thanks again

hi hgstef, thank you for your suggestion! I'm trying to steer away from wallpaper as I have a feeling I will get bored of the same pattern/style after a while, but I love your idea of having curtains over the french doors. This is something I am now considering, so hopefully it will work, thank you! :)

Hi A.S, sorry for not responding to your previous post!

Unfortunately we moved in after the developer had chosen our flooring and I had no say, but I am in love with it. It's a solid grey wood effect tile, when we first moved in we thought it was just vinyl, but then we realised how solid it actually was. As it's a new build I have a feeling it could have been a large supplier like Porcelenosa etc, but I've just had a look online and Topps Tiles have a similar tile see link below

http://www.toppstiles.co.uk/tprod45478/tabula-fog-tile.html 

If you want, you can send me a blank message on here just incase I ever did find out the name from our developer and it will be a constant reminder for me :) I hope this helps a little!

Hi Danielle, it's a beautiful kitchen space! I create original abstract artworks and I think some art would really help create warmth and an identity to the kitchen. Here are a few suggestions that would work well.

Please visit my website for more artworks: www.corinnenatel.co.uk

Feel free to email me for more information: design@corinnenatel.co.uk

Thanks Danielle for your kind words, I can't wait to see you're pics. Just thought I'd show you my stacking tins & my John Lewis clock seems to be a great talking point when we have visitors.

Dear OP, I really like this kitchen! It's modern and new, don't change it with wacky colours.
You could add accessories and that will make it feel less like a show home. A bowl of fruit and some jolly cook books will go a long way. Additionally, you may want to change the lighting for a warmer bulb as I think the harsh LED is throwing off your perceptions.

Thank you ever so much Danielle. the floor does look great and complements your kitchen greatly.