Despite a new kitchen this room feels unfinished...
Hannah Watts
6 years ago
Need some ideas. This is our kithen/dining/living room. Want to paint wall a light stone colour, do something with the furniture and need more storage. Don't want to feel cluttered though? Any design ideas please? Apologies for the Mess!
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New open plan kitchen/TV room
Comments (11)Just a few ideas.. If you were to swap the sink and the hob, you would have more worktop space. If you shaved a little off the end of the peninsula, it would make the overall space larger. Are you planning the peninsula to also be a breakfast bar? If not, you could make it narrower (looks like 90cm at the moment?) so the sofa area would have more space. You could recess the TV into the long opposite wall to the sofa, (meaning you could also see it from the kitchen). You could paint that part of the wall dark so the TV doesn't dominate the room too much - it would define the area/break up a long empty wall....See MoreAdvice needed on new kitchen/family room extension
Comments (27)Check list for kitchen planning may help. Planning a Fitted Kitchens Step 1: Getting Started Designing the most important room in your home requires careful planning. So, before you do anything else there are some key questions to ask yourself. As you do so keep a record of your ideas so you can refer back to them as your project progresses. Step 2: How and when you want to use the space What do you and don’t like about your existing kitchen. What really works for you in the current kitchen layout and what frustrates you? The negatives are just as important as the positives as they can help you form a clear idea of what you do or don’t need in your new fitted kitchen. Step 3: Key areas of the kitchen There are four vital zones that will create a natural and efficient flow to your kitchen design; cooking, food preparation, sink and storage. However, increasingly kitchens are used for all types of activity. Do you need a room that can cope with the rigours of a busy family? Are you going to dine in your kitchen? If so, plan enough room for a dining table, breakfast bar or island is a great place to congregate. You may be a keen cook and if your cooking for a large family a range cooker may figure in your plans along with plenty of worktop space. You may want turn your kitchen into a open-plan design in which case a area to relax, and room for a sofa and TV may be important. Ultimately, it’s your kitchen, and the most important thing is how you and your family are going to use the space. Design the space and features (must have items) around the activities that will take place in your kitchen, and most of all ensure you match your kitchen to your lifestyle. Step 4: Finer details As you become clear on the demands you will be placing on your new kitchen make a wish-list of your preferred products and materials. From a practical perspective consider what you will require from you appliances, worktops, storage solutions and sink and tap. You may already have a look in mind of the kitchen in terms of colour, style and finish, but it’s a great idea to gather ideas from magazines or websites. Enjoy creating a scrap-book with cuttings of furniture, flooring, taps, even paint finishes, crockery or vases- anything that inspires you. Even just images with right ‘feel’. Step 5: Budget With a kitchen the cost of key elements such as appliances, units and worktops can vary dramatically. For instance, appliances may account for a considerable percentage of the total cost of the kitchen, however if branded top-end ovens, hobs and extractors are specified this percentage can escalate dramatically to become the most expensive element of the project. Similarly the choice of worktops materials and door material may increase the budget substantially. There may be areas of the project where you may have to be prepared to consider a compromise to stay within your budget. Step 6: Layout As a rule of thumb this will be dictated by the existing dimensions of you room, or you may be lucky enough to be planning to extend. If you are extending you amy wish to consider an open-plan kitchen to seamlessly link through to the living area. Whatever the shape there are clever design options that will ensure you can make the most of the space available to you. Even in a tight space a clever designer can still work miracles....See MoreAppreciate advice new Kitchen/Dining Room - same FLOORING or zoned?
Comments (9)Good morning Georgie and thanks for posting your dilemma. You're not the first renovator to have asked this question and won't be the last. You want the warmth and homeliness and texture of wood in the dining room but the practicality of tile in the kitchen - hard when the two spaces are one! I recommend that you go for a porcelain tile that is wood-identical. It fools everybody and is eminently practical. I would suggest that you consider a rug in the dining room (if you have tinies buy a hosable one from Dash & Albert ) to add texture and softness and then everybody is happy. Look at this one from Mandarin Stone, (Baltic Fir) but plenty of others are available. If you need any other help, just ask. I am an interior designer specialising in total house renovations and new builds for private clients and developers. Kind regards, Sarah https://www.mandarinstone.com/media/9314/7203-aspen-fir-porcelain-plank-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=800&height=800...See MoreHelp me decorate my living room! Feeling overwhelmed...
Comments (14)I think the Pinterest Instagram thing is a factor. It's easy to miss other options and there are so many of them, not to mention that in a year the dark blue thing will have passed and have been taken over by something else, possibly green. I think the most important thing is what colour sofas you get as you will probably have them for a long time. I like Minnie's idea of purple browns, and or browny pinks. So versatile and they would go with lots of things. Orange and violet (or burnt orange, cognacs etc and almost browny warm violets) are beautiful together and if they are muted look great with flashes of more saturated smaller items....See MoreHannah Watts
6 years agoHannah Watts
6 years ago
rachelmidlands
6 years agoLooks like you could do with some toy storage. How about floor to ceiling cabinets behind the dining table. You could have a joiner make them to your spec and individual storage needs. I was thinking of some large wicker baskets on wheels that can be slotted into place in a cabinet frame with small storage over the top. You could even have a go yourself. Ikea has lots of storage options you can play about with. Depending on depth you could even repurpose some Pax wardrobes. Here’s some ideas:
Hannah Watts thanked rachelmidlandsHannah Watts
6 years agoHannah Watts
6 years ago
Chris
6 years agobrilliant stuff I'm still adding to my kitchen 4 months down the road I don't like the purple wall I'm thinking yellow brick slips to give me that industrial look that the pendants give off.
Hannah Watts thanked Chris
Carolina
6 years agoHow about something like this? You can place some fairly cheap and simple storage cabinets behind a couple of sliding doors on the wall behind the dining table.
Or do the middle part as a sideboard type without doors, but have the rail for the sliding doors from wall to wall. So if you need access to the storage that's beside the sideboard, you can slide the doors in front of that. I feel that it will keep the room more open and spacious if you don't have floor to ceiling storage all over that wall.
Of course you can also just have a wall to wall sideboard, created out of (Ikea) cabinets with simple white doors. Hang a couple of pictures over that, put something nice and decorative on top...
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PRONordikka - Bespoke Furniture & Steel Doors
6 years agoHannah Watts thanked Nordikka - Bespoke Furniture & Steel Doors
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