Home Kitchen Minimalis

All post

Kitchen Planning: Smart Ways to Keep the Heart of Your Home Organised

Kitchen Planning: Smart Ways to Keep the Heart of Your Home Organised- A place for everything and everything in its place is a familiar mantra, but, as we all know, it’s easier said than done, particularly in the busiest room in the house. Food, crockery and utensils, not to mention bitty extras such as shopping lists and phone chargers, all need to be stored somewhere and, while most of us accept there will always be ‘that drawer’ full of random objects, there’s no reason most things shouldn’t assume some order. Take a little time to organise your kitchen and you’ll have a calmer, more efficient space. Let these enviably neat rooms inspire you…

Brayer Design

Create easy access
Make it simple to organise breakfast on weekday mornings by storing everything you’ll need in one place. And if you don’t have time to tidy up before your race out of the door, a cupboard like this with bifolding doors will allow mess to be hidden away in minutes.

Find more kitchen pantries and cupboards to help you get organised.

Decant and conquer
Escape the tyranny of those half-opened packets spilling out onto your lovely clean shelves. A matching set of storage jars creates an instant sense of order and (provided you’ve labelled them) can make it easier for you to lay your hands on the right ingredients.

David Vogt - Case Design/Remodeling Inc.

Hang it all
If your cupboards are full and your shelves are straining, you may assume you’ve maxed out your storage options. Not so. A well-placed hanging rack keeps things up and away, giving easy access when you need it. It adds a lovely French farmhouse feel as a bonus, too.

Glenvale Kitchens

Use every inch
The key to excellent organisation in the kitchen is to make use of every scrap of space. Take advantage of specially designed storage units made by most of the kitchen companies and enjoy easy access to all those bits and pieces that used to get lost at the back of the cupboard.

Explore ways to get the most from your kitchen storage

APD Interiors

Overestimate your needs
Buying a new fridge? Make it a large one. You might not think you need a particularly big model, but we all know you can never have too much storage. And it needn’t be intrusive: as this integrated design proves, a fridge can look like just another cupboard from the outside. Just think, no more squashed salad or upturned bottles of milk. Hoorah!

Sigmar

Lose the clutter
There’s one foolproof way to reduce the number of pots, pans and plates covering every surface in your kitchen – pare down your kit. From ironic fondue sets to that third wok, most of us have cooking paraphernalia we simply don’t use. Pack it up and banish it to the attic (or charity shop). You’ll free up storage space and keep worktops blissfully clutter-free.

Holme Design

Subdivide and rule
Capacious cupboards are a wonderful thing, but they can easily become muddled. Plenty of shelving, along with racks on the backs of the doors, help keep everything in order. Baskets make great vegetable storage, too, so no more potato avalanches when you open the door.

Be inspired by stylish pantries

Beau-Port Kitchens

Embrace an island
An invaluable addition to the kitchen as a breakfast bar or additional work station, the island unit is also a great way to impose order. Multifunctional storage can take the form of open shelving, deep drawers or classic cupboards, so you can tailor yours depending on what you need to stash.

Discover thousands of kitchen islands by browsing our kitchen photos section.

MN Builders

Make a date
Help everyone keep on top of their day while they’re grabbing breakfast with a bespoke family diary. Magnetic blackboard paint lets you add shopping lists and post up important bills or school letters all in one place. You’ll never forget a PE kit again!

Check out ways to incorporate a chalkboard into a kitchen

Increation

Stick ’em up
Use storage that’s designed for something specific. Magnetic knife strips are the perfect way to keep all your chopping tools handy, but safely out of reach of little fingers.

Liked this? Share your ideas for staying organised in the comments below.

http://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/kitchen

Kitchen of the Week: A Calming Cornish Kitchen With Echoes of the Sea

Admin 20.51 kitchen Add Comment

Unknown

Kitchen of the Week: A Calming Cornish Kitchen With Echoes of the Sea- Proximity to the sea and miles of rugged headland for walking attracted Hugh and Ruth Pittman to buy a ramshackle house in Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall. The original structure had to go, but the new, timber-framed house provided the couple with a relaxing home from home, as well as a robust rental property brimming with character.

Anticipating the kitchen would be the spiritual heart of their new holiday home, the couple enlisted the help of designer Stephen Graver, who consulted with the architect to create a relaxing scheme that works in perfect harmony with the rest of the house. ‘Working with the architect allowed me to make the best possible use of space in the kitchen,’ recalls Stephen. ‘We were able to redesign the windows to emphasise the symmetry of the room.’

Stephen opted for a relaxed beach-house feel in keeping with the style of the property. ‘The finished kitchen is certainly robust enough for rental purposes, but it’s also a very calming and charming room that’s perfectly in tune with its surroundings.’

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here Hugh and Ruth Pittman
Location Trebarwith Strand, Cornwall
Designer Stephen Graver
Size 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

Stephen Graver Ltd

The kitchen perfectly captures the relaxed beach house vibe. The soft lines of the country-style accessories enhance the Shaker units, while the neutral palette peppered with soft blues references the property’s coastal surroundings. Stephen used Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray on the underside of the kitchen island, capturing the watery hues of the sea just moments away from the house.

Stephen Graver Ltd

The glorious double-width island is the spiritual heart of the kitchen, but is a practical as well as a beautiful feature, says Stephen. ‘Hugh and Ruth wanted a design that could withstand lots of use, so the island had to be robust,’ he explains. The glinting white quartz worktop is more hard-wearing than marble and reflects the abundant natural light streaming in from the generous windows. Storage cupboards and a dishwasher are concealed underneath the island, which also serves as a laid-back dining area. A double Belfast sink with a Perrin & Rowe tap keeps the pretty look grounded.

Stephen Graver Ltd

‘The windows were much smaller in the original plans,’ explains Stephen. ‘We turned the process on its head and planned the fixtures and fittings first before redesigning the windows around the kitchen to ensure the room has a sense of symmetry.’ Built-in floor-to-ceiling cabinets between the windows conceal a fridge-freezer, as well as storage to ensure clutter is kept out of sight. The burnt-oak flooring – used throughout the house – is another practical solution and conceals cosy underfloor heating for when the temperature dips.

Check out ways to incorporate an island into your kitchen

Stephen Graver Ltd

Painted cabinetry, in Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White, continues the relaxed Hamptons feel. Stephen decided an Aga wouldn’t be suitable for the rental market and opted for an electric Everhot range cooker with a three-ring induction hob instead. ‘Aesthetically, they’re quite similar, but this is far more practical,’ he explains. Hugh and Ruth sourced the eye-catching pendant lights from Restoration Hardware.

Read tips on choosing the right pendant light for your scheme

Stephen Graver Ltd

‘I wanted to introduce a subtle nautical theme in the kitchen and the cooker hood was a natural fit,’ explains Stephen. The bowed canopy echoes the lines of a boat hull and is made using a traditional ‘ribbing’ technique used in shipbuilding. A stainless steel lining is both durable and practical. The extensive tongue and groove panelling throughout the kitchen is a further nod to the nautical theme, but also serves to pull the look effortlessly back to its beach house heritage.

Stephen Graver Ltd

Stephen’s meticulous attention to detail is demonstrated in this close-up of the cooker hood, where rivets have been punched into a thin sliver of exposed stainless steel to mimic those traditionally found on a ship’s hull.

Stephen Graver Ltd

The kitchen is a masterclass in blending aesthetic beauty and practicality, but there are some notable exceptions. Keen to utilise local materials in the construction, Stephen suggested using natural Cornish slate for the worktops. ‘It’s not the most hard-wearing material,’ he admits. ‘It will mark and scratch, but that’s part of its charm. Things don’t always have to be pristine to look good.’

Be inspired by more coastal kitchens.

Liked this? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.

http://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/kitchen

9 Easy Upgrades for a More Sophisticated Kitchen

Admin 19.50 kitchen Add Comment

Unknown

9 Easy Upgrades for a More Sophisticated Kitchen- ‘Elegant,’ ‘sophisticated,’ ‘simply beautiful’ — are these words you would use to describe your dream kitchen? Even just adding a coat of paint, new lighting and carefully chosen decorative details can bring your current kitchen a bit closer to that dream. Here are 10 upgrades to consider.

MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc.

Roman shades
Covering the window with a classic Roman shade gives the kitchen a finished look. Go with a colour and a pattern that coordinate with your cabinet and wall colour, or stick with natural linen, which goes with everything.

Rikki Snyder

Topiary
A pair of topiaries flanking the sink is an elegant finishing touch. Use a vintage champagne bucket as a cachepot, or wrap a simple pot in burlap and tie on a velvet bow. If your kitchen gets a good amount of natural light, by all means get real plants — but if not, there’s no shame in picking up a couple of high-quality fakes.

Sheila bridges design, inc

Pendant lighting
Swapping out a plain ceiling light fixture for something with more style can be done quickly — and your new pendant light can become the focal point of the room. Don’t be afraid to go big; even in a small kitchen like the one shown here, a sizeable pendant looks striking, not overpowering.

Browse a selection of pendant lights

A rich cabinet colour
Whether you paint your cabinets or stain them a natural wood tone, a rich colour is a high-impact, low cost way to change the look of your kitchen. Try a saturated hue like the blue-green shown here, or a chic grey or slate on just the lower cabinets.

Pendant, Alison Spear for Stephanie Odegard.

Hartley and Hill Design

Wall paint
If you don’t want to repaint or restain your cabinets, another way to bring in colour is by painting the walls. With all of the appliances and cabinetry, kitchen wall space is often fairly limited — which means not only is it quicker to paint, but the colour is less likely to overwhelm than in, say, the living room. Try a smoky blue, rich ‘greige’ or warm mocha.

Blue paint, Mount Saint Anne by Benjamin Moore.

Terracotta Design Build

Upscale bar stools
There are so many options when it comes to kitchen island seating that there’s no reason to stick with plain bar stools, unless you want to. Try classic bistro stools (like the ones shown here), sculptural wooden stools or sleek Lucite ones.

Also notice the pendant lights in this kitchen — if you have a long counter, placing a row of three large-scale pendant lights above is a great way to bring focus to the space. Glass pendants like the ones shown here are elegant and maximize light.

Stools, Riviera by Serena & Lily.

Kenzer Furniture

Glass cabinet fronts
Update old cabinets by having several of the doors replaced with glass fronts. This costs far less than replacing full cabinets and can completely change the look and feel of your kitchen. Remember, whatever is in the new glass-front cabinets will be visible at all times, so choose just a few cabinet fronts to replace and commit to keeping the interiors orderly.

Cabinet paint, October Mist. Wall paint, Cameo White, both by Benjamin Moore.

Transitional Kitchen Transitional Kitchen

A chic rug
If you’ve shied away from using a rug in the kitchen for fear of spills and stains, try a chic indoor-outdoor version. These rugs come in beautiful colours and patterns now, and no one has to know about the stain-fighting powers.

Sarah Greenman

If you’re not frightened of spills, lay down a beautiful (but not priceless) Oriental carpet. Rugs made from wool and other natural materials are quite forgiving when it comes to stain removal, as long as you act promptly.

Discover 10 tips for finding the perfect rug

Venegas and Company

Branches in a tall vase
Branches last far longer than cut flowers — but more than that, they exude elegance. An armful of seasonal branches plunked in a tall vessel is an easy way to instantly boost the ambience in your kitchen.

Clark Collins - Collins Design & Development

Decorative details
Framed artwork on the wall — and not just ‘kitchen’ art but art you could just as easily hang in another room — can add polish to any kitchen.

Vintage seaweed prints, Winter Works on Paper.

Logan Killen Interiors

Mirrors are unexpected in the kitchen, and just like in other spaces, they can be a wonderful way to boost light. A small table lamp tucked onto the counter brings a warm glow that makes a kitchen feel more welcoming.

Feldman Architecture, Inc.

TELL US…
What kitchen details provide a touch of elegance for you? Please share your thoughts in the Comments below.

http://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/kitchen

10 Ways to Recreate the Great British Bake Off Kitchen Look

Admin 18.49 kitchen Add Comment

Unknown

10 Ways to Recreate the Great British Bake Off Kitchen Look- Every week, people all over the UK hunker down in front of their TVs to see the spectacular fails and successes of 12 amateur bakers in the Great British Bake Off. While the sugary-sweet creations of each contestant are certainly enticing, there’s another part of the show that will have you craving more – namely, the beautiful kitchen décor.

The show’s kitchen, housed in a gigantic garden tent, captures just the right amount of country charm and whimsicality without losing any of its crucial functionality. In honour of the show’s great style, here’s a roundup of some beautiful kitchens that will have you itching to whip out the muscovado and cream in no time.

British Standard by Plain English

Invest in blue
One of the first things you’ll notice about the show’s setup is that many contestants are working on baby-blue kitchen sets. The colour is both cheerful and soothing, and positively invites you to put on your smartest apron and get your hands working into some flour.

This kitchen pairs baby-blue cupboards with a textured wooden floor and charcoal range cooker for an edgier take on the soft pastel schemes featured on the show.

If you’re keen to recreate the look, a simple repainting of kitchen cupboard doors is a fairly inexpensive job, or try painting a wall in a duck egg blue shade for a quick update.

Torie Jayne

Apply pastels liberally
The show’s famous KitchenAids, refrigerators and crockery all sport varying pastel shades. Not only are these incredibly pleasing to the eye, they evoke the delicious pastries, biscuits and cakes that are sure to be created in such inviting spaces.

Pastel accents, such as this delicious mint, can easily be applied via kitchen appliances, stools, tea towels and other accessories.

rigby & mac

Display your crockery with pride
While the contestants on the show whip up elaborate lattice pies and éclairs, the shelves behind them are stacked with colourful and vintage crockery.

Take pride in your baking equipment and display it prominently in a vintage cabinet for easy access. Bonus points if the cabinet is painted blue.

Browse 9 ways to stash bulky kitchen kit

deVOL Kitchens

Stick to soft tones
Although events on the show may get quite dramatic, the background décor balances out the calamity of a collapsed soufflé through the use of soft colours.

This kitchen is painted a muted putty shade, giving it a glowing and inviting look. The tongue and groove and cute peg rail add to the country charm.

Read more about country style

Beach Vintage

Mix and match
The show’s aesthetic partly gets its cheery look from mixing and matching pastel and floral patterns throughout the set, particularly when it comes to the displayed crockery.

Incorporate the look in your own kitchen by picking up vintage crockery and accessories from flea markets and second-hand shops and mixing them together to your heart’s content.

Torie Jayne

Keep supplies organised
A frazzled baker is not a happy baker. Save yourself the stress and make sure all of your baking supplies are neatly organised and labelled in a designated cupboard.

Maintain a soft pastel vibe with coloured jar lids, cute labels and colour-organised ingredients.

Colin Cadle Photography

Embrace old-fashioned
The show’s English country vibe is charming and cosy, two qualities that are very desirable in a kitchen.

Channel the country vibe by investing in classic kitchen appliances, like this cream Aga. If you want to keep your investment on the smaller side, an antique steel or copper stove-top kettle will also do the trick.

Ryland Peters & Small | CICO Books

Decorate with bunting
The set designers at the Great British Bake Off love bunting, and the little triangle chains are prominently displayed all over the show.

Replicate the village fair feeling by hanging bunting in your kitchen, your living room, or even your garden to prepare for tea time. They’re also an easy DIY project you can do with kids.

Holly Marder

Put your kitchen island to good use
If you’re lucky enough to have an island in your kitchen, emulate the show’s contestants and conduct all of your prep work there.

Conserve the country style by ensuring you keep your work space tidy and clean. If your island is open, source old-fashioned baskets to stash vegetables neatly and to hand.

Roundhouse

Keep your work station ready
Make sure your work station is always ready to go, whether it be a kitchen island or a basic countertop.

Keep essentials, such as chopping knives, mixers, and measuring spoons, within reach. This particular bespoke kitchen island incorporates a handy hidden shelf for storing (and quickly accessing) cookbooks, bowls and plates.

A vase with freshly cut flowers will enhance the softness of the space, and the flower’s scent will mingle pleasantly with the delicious smell of dough rising in the oven. Happy baking!

TELL US…
Are you a fan of the Great British Bake Off? How do you channel the set’s style into your own kitchen? Share your tips and photos in the Comments below.

MORE
See more kitchen ideas

http://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/kitchen

Kitchen Planning: Which Wood Should I Choose for my Kitchen Cabinets?

Admin 17.48 kitchen Add Comment

Unknown

Kitchen Planning: Which Wood Should I Choose for my Kitchen Cabinets?- Whether solid or veneered, wood is still the most popular material for our kitchen cabinets. And with good reason. Timber naturally grows in a range of colours and can be washed or stained, too, to produce a variety of finishes. There may be visible grain or the wood might appear wonderfully smooth, and different woods have different properties. Tulipwood, for example, is a tough hardwood much used for cabinet construction, but it’s not a looker, so it needs to be painted. Other woods, such as rich walnut or pale washed oak, look gorgeous just as they are. So whether you want a dark, sleek kitchen or a Scandi-influenced design in soft tones, there’s a wood to suit. These nine beautiful kitchens serve up a smorgasbord of timber options and appearances.

bulthaup by Kitchen Architecture

Go beyond the pale
The tall unit in this kitchen is Bulthaup’s b3 design in white structured oak. Its pale appearance helps the tall bank of units to blend into the wall and feel unobtrusive, while still bringing lots of lovely woody character to the space.

Blakes London

Choose something rustic
The base cabinets in this industrial-inspired kitchen are made from flooring timber and have an uneven, varied tone. The wood is treated and sawn, so it has lots of rich texture and, for further detail, the grain runs vertically.

MDSX Contractors Ltd

Pick honey tones
Kitchens made from pine used to be all the rage, but today’s designs often use woods such as birch or ash instead. They have the same soft brown colour, but none of the sauna associations! The built-in cabinets here are made from ash and tone in with the exposed brickwork behind, for a subtle and warm look.

Teddy Edwards

Mix finishes
Mixing solid wood with painted wooden cabinets is a nice way to create variety of tone in a kitchen. The cabinetry in this room is made from solid bleached oak, with the Shaker-style tall cupboards painted in a warm pale grey.

Mowlem & Co

Darken for drama
Classic and dramatic, dark wood brings a sophisticated feel to any kitchen. This super-stylish design is made from oak-veneered cabinets with a wenge wood stain. Many kitchen companies offer stains in a range of timber colours to be applied to veneered cabinets.

Roundhouse

Add wooden accents
Dark wood makes quite a bold statement when used throughout a kitchen, so if you love its deep tones but don’t want it to dominate your room, try using it as an accent. This kitchen in matt lacquer in a soft grey colour has a breakfast bar and worktop made from whole-stave American black walnut to bring some definition.

See more ways to work a grey kitchen scheme

Wellborn + Wright

Make it reclaimed
This worktop looks fantastically chunky and robust, and it’s combined with a timber-clad wall, too, for extra rustic points. All the materials in this kitchen are reclaimed, to give this property, constructed in 2012, a sense of age and authenticity.

Read more about choosing the perfect kitchen worktop

Designer Kitchen by Morgan

Create a contrast
This striking kitchen has doors made from a mixture of solid walnut and solid tulipwood, with the tulipwood doors hand-finished in ivory-coloured paint. To complement the contrast between the walnut and ivory doors, two handle types were used, with simple chrome T-bar handles on the walnut and designer handles wrapped in bridle leather for the ivory doors.

Check out what to consider when choosing handles

Green Goods

Bag some bamboo
Although technically a grass, bamboo is wonderfully woody in appearance and makes a good alternative to timber. The units in this kitchen are made from strand-woven bamboo plywood teamed with painted cabinets.

TELL US…
Share your thoughts on the right wood for a kitchen in the Comments below.

http://www.houzz.co.uk/photos/kitchen