Getting ready for a kitchen renovation is no easy task. Anyone who’s ever taken on such a project and managed to see it through to completion will tell you that. However, it’s not always the lack of funds or time that makes this process so incredibly challenging, as some believe. Of course, budgeting and planning weigh heavily in the balance as critical factors for the project’s success. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of cheap kitchen units, budget-friendly ideas and planning solutions to help you give your space the makeover it deserves.
But sometimes homeowners stumble on an obstacle that’s less talked about: a lack of vision that can come from a creative block or, on the contrary, from idea overload. Some people struggle with finding inspiration for their kitchen renovation while others have so many ideas that they simply feel overwhelmed by all the options they have to go through, so neither get anything started.
If you find yourself in any of these situations or somewhere in between, here’s a carefully curated list of fabulous kitchen design ideas that can help you put your thoughts in order and find inspiration or focus, as needed.
Open shelving
Open kitchen shelving can be quite a polarizing topic, as people either love or hate this design trend. There are certainly plenty of arguments on both sides, but there’s no need to take an extreme stance. You can always take the middle ground and keep part of your kitchen units covered and have only a few open shelves installed, so you can enjoy the benefits of open shelving while also minimising the downsides.
You may have heard people praise the look of open shelving but complain about how difficult it is to maintain it in real life. Well, if you don’t go overboard with it and strike a balance between open and covered cabinetry, you won’t have to deal with the hassle of always having to clean your kitchen or struggle to keep everything in perfect order so you don’t ruin the visual appeal of the space.
Glass doors
If you’re not exactly comfortable with tearing down kitchen cabinet doors and leaving your kitchen utensils and paraphernalia on display, but you don’t enjoy the look of wall cabinets either, glass doors can provide a great alternative. This is just as good as having open shelving, but without all the maintenance work it involves. While solid doors can provide a sleek design and give your kitchen a unified look, they can also load the space and look rather dull, especially if you have a small size kitchen.
Fortunately, glazed cabinet doors and matching internal glazed oak doors can provide a quick fix, helping you break up the monotony of repetitive cabinet fronts and make the space look a lot brighter and much more inviting. And if you want to add a bit of character to your cabinets, you might want to opt for reeded glass. Besides looking extremely stylish, the reeded glass effect can also be achieved by applying window film directly to your existing windows, so you don’t have to replace them.
Green cabinetry
Colour-wise, there are plenty of beautiful hues that can help you enhance the look of your kitchen, from classic bright white to breezy blue or shades of ivory and beige. However, green kitchens seem to be particularly popular these days, and for good reason. Green is a colour that conjures images of nature and is associated with positive feelings of relaxation, calmness and renewal, so it makes perfect sense that so many homeowners and designers choose to integrate green tones into their kitchens.
This doesn’t mean you should paint your kitchen green just because everyone else seems to be doing it. But if you’re thinking about choosing a new hue for your kitchen units, you might as well give green a try. Besides, a fresh coat of paint is always a good idea when your cabinets are in good condition but look a bit lacklustre, as it can bring them back to life in no time.
Bold sinks
There’s a lot of talk about statement taps as a simple and effective way to enhance the overall look of your kitchen while also providing much-needed functionality. Well, if you want to make your stylish tap stand out, you’ll also need an equally stylish sink to go with it.
Kitchen sinks are often overlooked during renovation projects since they’re mostly regarded as strictly functional pieces that don’t hold much aesthetic value. But since sinks play such an important role in the kitchen, homeowners have started giving them the attention they deserve. That’s how statement sinks have become a major trend in kitchen design. So, replacing your old worn-out sink with an edgy copper sink or a massive concrete sink might be exactly what your kitchen needs.
The right rugs
We know rugs are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about kitchen design. Most people frown at the very idea of bringing rugs into the kitchen space, as this sounds like a surefire way to ensure you’ll always have something to clean.
But even if rugs are not traditionally used in the kitchen as a design element, they can provide great aesthetic appeal when chosen right. This means you shouldn’t cover your entire kitchen floor with soft rugs as you’d do with other rooms in the house. When it comes to kitchen design, rugs serve as an accent that can separate different areas of activity and add a cosy and warm ambience to the space. Also, if you want to avoid the hassle of always having to clean your rugs because of the inevitable spills that happen in the kitchen, rugs and runners made of easy-to-clean fabrics or hardwearing natural materials are the best options.
In the end, designing the perfect kitchen is a very personal experience, so there is no right or wrong way to do it. As long as you enjoy the outcome, you can draw inspiration from various trends and experiment with as many ideas as you want.
