The kitchen is a tricky area to create a minimalistic look whilst maintaining a useful space. A minimal home is about clean bright spaces and no nonsense or clutter, but in reality this can be tricky to get right. Professional kitchens might be able to master this, however they have one thing that most of us at home don't- space. Endless storage solutions to hide everything away at the end of a shift. Many homes will have much smaller kitchens and so keeping everything stored away is tough. We also have appliances which offer us much more convenience, such as toaster and coffee machines, kettles and juicers.
When building a modern kitchen it's important to work out the items which can be integrated and the ones which can’t. For example your fridge can be integrated into your work surfaces, or you can have a great big american style fridge freezer that also has a water boiling system built in. Meaning you can ditch the kettle and get boiled, filtered water straight from a unit. Cooker hoods are a little different. They perform a vital role in keeping grease and smoke away from the rest of your home. You also need easy access to them to ensure they are regularly cleaned. So sadly, trying to hide yours could create you more trouble than it’s worth. Instead consider making a feature out of it. A bold stainless steel extractor hood would give you a real nod to the catering kitchen design and, providing you keep it nice and clean, will help give off the feel of a super hygienic space. Companies such as IKEA have been helping us improve storage for years. With some clever designs it is now possible to fit far more into our cupboards and with unique swinging shelving we can make use of the empty corner spaces. If you can’t upgrade your kitchen storage and need to work with what you have then it could be time for an overhaul. Empty out your cupboards one by one. Get back to the bare basic shell. Then start to consider all the tech, gadgets and tools you have. Do you really need them? The more space you have in your cupboards the less stuff you need on your worktops and that is what a minimalist look is all about. Clean, uncluttered surfaces. Same goes with your cutlery drawers. Do you really need 4 wooden spoons and 8 different types of knife? Probably not. Do you really need a toaster? Or could you strip back and use your grill to toast bread in the morning.
Creating a kitchen that is stunning to look at whilst remaining functional doesn’t have to be hard work. You just need to ensure everything works with the way you naturally live. Try not to clutter up the walls or the ceiling with hanging pots as this will distract the eye from the clean lines of your design. Keep it simple and keep it clean. That is the way to have form and function in perfect balance.
