How to tie rooms together and create a cohesive scheme

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I was asked recently to give some advice on how to go about tying rooms together and for some tips on creating a coherent scheme across two or more rooms, so this was my response. You might even see parts of this in print sometime soon...

 

With the continuing trend of open plan living, Kitchen design has become so much more than planning cupboard doors and worktop finishes. 

 

In the past, the trend was to have a separate ‘formal’ dining room, away from the kitchen and food prep area but, as tastes have changed and open plan spaces have become more popular, our dining spaces are increasingly becoming connected to (and often integrated within) our kitchen areas. The whole design now needs to be considered holistically to create a single space that can provide defined areas / zones for different purposes but where all those parts link together seamlessly through unifying design cues.

 

With so many different elements to consider within a kitchen and dining space it can be very overwhelming and probably puts a lot of people off from giving their space an update, but the best way to make headway is to break the process down into more manageable steps;

 

Stage 1 - Space Planning:

 

The key ingredient to a good kitchen design is the space planning. 

 

Think carefully about how you use the space and layout you currently have and list out any frustrations you have with it and any elements you love about it as this will give you a good guide for what you’re trying to achieve. 

 

Can’t see the kids while you’re preparing their dinner? Constantly tripping over each other when you’re cooking with your partner? Love the way you can get from the fridge to the cooker to the sink in two steps? Understanding how you use the space now and how you want to use the space in future will inform what space you need to create. 

 

It’s really worth going into detail here, even down to things like; do you want a low level oven or one up higher? Do you want built-in appliances or things out on show? How many small appliances do you have and how many plug sockets do you need, and where?

 

The more time you spend on this, the better your final design will be.

 

This also includes thinking about the structural elements of the room (i.e. walls, ceiling beams and support piers) and deciding whether they can stay where they are, need to be removed to open things out or whether they can be retained and incorporated into a feature; in Ben’s design for example we managed to hide a support pier as part of a clever fake mantel above the cooker.

 

Once you’ve created the layout that’s going to work for you then the fun part begins and you can start thinking about fixtures, fittings and finishes.

 

Stage 2 - Find your style

 

I recommend exploring lots of ideas to find your unique style. Have you got a favourite piece of furniture that you really want to incorporate and can use to base your style around? Visit showrooms to see things in situ. Most suppliers will send you small samples if you ask (and pay postage). Flick through magazines and use the internet to get inspiration. A simple web or image search can be an easy place to start. Pinterest is a goldmine and Instagram can lead you down countless rabbit holes if you’ve got the time. Online shops often have their products shown as part of a ’show’ room. Think outside the box too - maybe have a look at Rightmove and do a bit of fantasy home shopping to see what other people have done?

 

Collect all your ideas together and save them somewhere - take photos and screenshots whenever you see inspiration, rip pages out of magazines (only if you’ve bought them though, obviously!) and jot ideas down whenever they come to you.

 

Keep reviewing things as you go and you’ll soon start to get a feel for what look you’re gravitating towards and you can develop from there. The one piece of advice here though is be true to yourself and be honest with yourself. Even if you love the look of that sleek, pure white, minimalist kitchen in the magazine, you’ve got to be sure that it’ll work for you. 

 

And do you know what? If you really love that Swarovski jewel encrusted rose gold tap and it brings you joy every time you see it (and you can afford it) then go with it. It’s your space, it’s your money, it’s your tap. You do you.

 

Stage 3 - Bring it all together

 

Once you know what kind of space you’re looking to create and what kind of style you’re looking to achieve then it’s time to start making some decisions. 

 

A mood board is a great way to then bring all those ideas together in one place and this also allows you to see how colour, texture and finish all work together, which forms your final design.

 

You might need to think about a lot of different elements here; flooring options, lighting schemes, dining furniture, kitchen fixtures, taps, tiles, appliances and so on … and yes, cupboard doors and worktops too.

 

If it’s a major renovation then it’s worth getting advice from a designer who can help you bring all these bits together into a coherent scheme but if it’s a simpler redesign then i’d probably highlight three key bits of advice;

 

First, keep the palate relatively simple. Choose a plain base colour and just use one or two material finishes and one or two highlight / accent colours that you can use to tie the spaces together.

 

Second, if you approach it as a single space with two parts it’ll turn out as a single space with two parts. If you approach it as two rooms and try to find a way to fuse those two rooms together into a single space then you’ll struggle.

 

And last, be bold and be true to your own style. It’s much better to have a space that you feel at home in than a space that feels bit cold because it doesn’t feel like it’s yours.

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