A contemporary kitchen is great – it’s slick, usually minimalist, and totally functional. The downside is it can often lack character.
It’s nice to have a bit of your personality in a new kitchen. Not too much, though – we don’t want your fab new contemporary kitchen to look too cluttered. We do, however, want it to be family-friendly and not look like it could be any kitchen on the pages of a glossy homes and interiors magazine.
And that means adding some of your favourite crockery on open shelving, for instance. Or regularly, have a few of your favourite pot plants dotted around surfaces.
Choose textures you love
But without being too obvious, even just the colours or the textures used in your new kitchen can make it feel more like yours. If you love wood, then get your kitchen cabinets made from your favourite shade and type. Check out a few kitchen magazines, and you’ll notice that Scandi-style and country farmhouse kitchens use a lot of wood in their designs. There is also Shaker kitchen units, of course.
Add some vintage period pieces
Maybe you’re more of a 50s or 70s style vintage lover? A lot of us are. Today, you can still buy retro appliances, light fittings, and fabrics to give your kitchen that decades-old feel. Old fashioned scales, retro salt and pepper grinders, or cute vintage branded biscuit tins can add that special touch to make your feel more at home in a brand-new spanking kitchen.
Retain period features in contemporary kitchens
And talking of touches of yesteryear, if you have lovely period pieces such as an ancient but loveable old aga, a large brick fireplace, or fabulous old floorboards, then keep them. Incorporate them into your contemporary kitchen by highlighting these great features and even making them a focal point of the room.
Add some feature tiles
Tiles aren’t just for splashbacks or floors. They can also be used to great effect to produce a feature wall. Use bold, modern tiles to zone off open shelving in a relatively neutral kitchen, for instance. It might be for a large nook or above a breakfast bar.
Bring the outdoors in
Designers often add the feeling of space to contemporary kitchens by fitting a wall of glass sliding doors. It won’t just make your kitchen feel bigger and brighter; it will also add extra interest and colour. During the summer months, there’ll be texture too when you slide back those doors and feel the sun on your face or cool grass on your feet. Nature too has a softening effect, it will curb those angular cabinet and worktop surfaces.
Opt for matt finishes
Matt paint has a softening effect whereas glossy cabinet surfaces can be very sleek and efficient looking. In other words, the latter doesn’t exactly make you feel at home – more as if you’re in a showroom kitchen. So, for your kitchen cabinets, you might want to opt for a matt in a soft grey shade or a warm and light forest green.
Get some great lighting
Introduce some ambient lighting to warm up dark corners and add a cosy touch. Or, fit dramatic, low-hanging pendants over the dining table or kitchen island and add some task lighting in the form of wall lights to enhance other areas of the kitchen.
Introduce dramatic blinds to your contemporary kitchen
If the rest of your contemporary kitchen gives off a minimalist vibe or is quite simply neutral and glossy, then add colour and texture with your dramatic window blinds or curtains. When pulled all the way down, they can appear like a feature wall that you can introduce at will.
Get a riotous rug
A colourful rug is a great way to introduce colour and texture into a rather plain room. It can reflect your favourite colours and be a pattern you admire. And it won’t break the bank either.
Get in touch for contemporary kitchen inspiration today
Here at Kitchenwarehouse Ltd we have a huge range of kitchen cabinets and kitchen unit replacement doors. The latter is far less expensive than building your kitchen cabinets from scratch. But if it’s a refurb that you’re embarking on then you will want to go for the entire unit. And we have plenty of design styles to choose from. Just take a look at our kitchen units page on our website to see exactly what we mean.
We also stock a range of kitchen accessories, such as door handles, drawer dividers, soft closing hinges, and even waste bins. For advice, or to order, call us on 01765 640 000 or email us via contact@kitchenwarehouseltd.com.
