Modern kitchen styles can face some common misconceptions, including that their minimal aesthetic makes them cold and featureless, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Your kitchen is the heart and soul of your home and it’s essential that, whether you opt for a traditional or contemporary style, your kitchen communicates your own character and personality. With kitchens often providing the focal point for social occasions, creating a kitchen that’s sleek and stylish but also inviting and homely is a wonderful way to get the most out of your space.
For some fantastic inspiration on achieving the perfect welcoming atmosphere for your new interior, we’ve put together some expert tips.
A Beautiful Vibrant Colour Scheme
Delve a little deeper and you will find that the contemporary kitchen style is much more complex and diverse than just rows of stark white handleless cabinetry. A modern interior can incorporate both classic and more sleek cabinet styles, the kitchen below pairs shaker units with a gorgeous modern island and brass touches for a stylish transitional design. Often what sets the tone of a modern kitchen apart is the intricacies of its styling. Colour choice can have a huge impact on the atmosphere of your space and introducing colour to your design is a fantastic way to add warmth and personality. The bright blue hue below incorporates warming undertones bringing energy and positivity to this space whilst also being dark and subtle enough to add a sophisticated edge. Soft neutral greys and earthy tones will also help to establish a timeless and homely ambience.
Warming Wood Textures
Exposed wood finishes have long been associated with the more traditional country kitchen design. This classic kitchen style is of course synonymous with a welcoming and homely atmosphere, thus introducing natural wood textures to a modern space will reference this connection adding a contrasting softness to a clean and contemporary environment. An exquisitely detailed and warming wood grain effect can be a wonderful way to add depth and character to a modern space, offsetting the sleek and minimal style. Oak accents feature throughout the kitchen below to balance the design as well as creating a welcoming feel.
Charmingly Characterful Display Shelving
To break up the rigid linear forms and clean lines of a modern kitchen consider including integrated display shelving in your design. Not only does this type of shelving provide a luxurious bespoke feature, but it also allows you to showcase some of your favourite possessions bringing a charming personal touch to your interior. You can choose to arrange cookbooks, crockery, ornaments or houseplants to create a completely individual display. Eclectically paired organic shapes and contrasting colours create a laidback atmosphere communicating that your kitchen is used and enjoyed and making it feel much more relaxed and inviting.
An Inviting Island
The dramatic presence of a kitchen island creates a focal point to the room which will inherently draw guests towards it. Placing seating around your island or breakfast bar reinforces the feature as a social gathering zone, inviting visitors to relax and enjoy the space. As well as contributing to the atmosphere or your kitchen, islands have wonderful practical benefits when it comes to spending time with friends and family. Positioning appliances such as wine coolers or cooking hobs on an island will improve hosting and will also ensure guests don’t interrupt the busiest areas of the space. Kitchen islands are a wonderfully versatile solution to enhance a contemporary design.
Gorgeous Mood Lighting
So much of creating the perfect atmosphere comes down to intangible characteristics that play on our emotions like colour, texture and form. Lighting is no different and is a crucial aspect in defining the tone of your space. Generous natural light and strong downlighting will create the bright and energetic illumination needed to make your space feel fresh and open during the day. As the natural light fades, stylish accent lighting should bring a warm and inviting glow ideal for an evening entertaining or a cosy meal for two. Accent lighting can be introduced in the form of beautiful pendant lights or integrated strip lighting set into shelves or plinths. Combining a range of lighting will transform your kitchen allowing you to achieve just the right mood for every occasion.
With so many colours, finishes and styles to choose from a contemporary design can be a beautiful option for a charming yet sophisticated kitchen. Hopefully, the insight we’ve shared with you in this guide has inspired you to think twice when choosing your kitchen style. If you would like to speak to our designers to find out how we can create the perfect kitchen for you, please get in touch with our Cambridge showroom by calling 01223 904150 or email info@cambridgekitchens.co.uk.
