Kitchenettes are open-plan kitchens that share space with the living room. Since they are visible from the entire living room, their suitable integration is very important. And that’s what we’re going to look at in this new article.
Perhaps the most important reason for integrating the kitchen and living room is to create a single space in which you’ll spend most of your home life. These rooms tend to become the favorite space for long chats around the table after meals, doing homework or simply spending time.
Why should kitchenettes be integrated with the living room?
If you’re reading this, it’s because you’ve decided (or are still deciding) to convert your kitchen into a kitchenette or because you want to improve your current kitchen. There are several reasons why we may decide to undertake this remodeling.
Lack of space
If you have a small living room and/or kitchen, why not gain space by creating an open floor plan? In addition to gaining size, you’ll be creating a much more comfortable and pleasant room.
Improving the layout
Sometimes the problem is not the space itself, but how it’s organized. Opening the kitchen up to the living room can remove inconvenient corners, transform rooms that are too rectangular or square and create more storage space.
Taking advantage of light
If you don’t have much natural light in one (or both) of these rooms, opening them up so that they share windows and balconies can be a great idea.
Design
You may simply just want to give your house a new look and feel and kitchenettes are a trend that are here to stay. There are so many and such attractive integration options that it’s no surprise that you’re thinking about this remodeling idea.
This is how to integrate your kitchenette and living room
There are as many formulas as there are homes, resources and needs. We’re going to give you a few tips here so that you can find the one that is closest to what you’re looking for.
Divide the spaces with furniture
Using basic furniture to separate both rooms is the easiest and – above all – the most economical way. Place a table or buffet between the two areas. In addition to defining them, you’ll gain extra space for dining or storage.
Add an island or peninsula
The most popular solution, which blends aesthetics and utility perfectly. Installing an island or peninsula is a great idea, providing that you’ve got enough space (about 80 cm on each side).
Integrating a breakfast bar
This is the perfect alternative if you don’t have the space for an island, but you like the idea of creating a shared space that will be the hub for your home life. It doesn’t occupy as much space, but it does add another extra area both for cooking and for meals.
Gain depth with glass panels
You may not want noises and smells to waft into the living room, or maybe you just want to enlarge the space without giving up privacy. The solution: the glass panels that are so trendy right now.
Play with combining floors and walls
Here you have two options: unify or divide. If you’re integrating the kitchen and living room due to a lack of space, it’s better to use the same flooring and keep the same color range on the walls.
But, if that’s not your situation and you want your kitchen to reflect its own personality, think about using different floors and different colors on the walls.
Hide the kitchen
Even though you want to integrate the kitchenette and living room, there’s no reason why you need to highlight it. Hide the kitchen by distributing it along a single wall, by using a single color of furniture without handles and cover the appliances with panels so they aren’t visible.
Gain privacy with a dividing wall
You can also maintain the privacy of both rooms with a dividing wall. You could also take advantage of this wall for running the plumbing through it and, moreover, add a bench you can use as seating for the dining room table.
Pick the right appliances
Electrical appliances should be discrete (although you could also cover them), but, especially, silent. Remember that the living room is a place for relaxing and you don’t want to change that by having loud noises issuing forth from the extractor or dishwasher.
In our catalog, you’ll find examples of these kitchen styles in all of our lines. If you would like further information for your project, please contact us and start enjoying more life in your kitchen.