The kitchen is the heart of the home. It is an area where people can practice their favourite hobbies and where the homeowner can spend time and catch up with their friends and family. If you have a large open-plan kitchen space, it is common for almost all of the best gatherings to occur in them. Spending quality time with people and hosting dinner parties and celebrations is important for those who love to spend time with their loved ones and share unforgettable moments with one another. Making your kitchen into a sociable area is something that many modern households hope to achieve. In order to make your kitchen space into more than an area to cook and dine, here are some great ideas to make the heart of your home more sociable and welcoming for your friends and family.
Make the Space Cosy
Most people can feel intimidated by large rooms. If you have a large family or friendship group and could do with the space, then you should do what you can to make your kitchen and living area cosy. In order to make a big kitchen space cosier, you should create a large seating area and not be afraid of using big furniture. Adding a TV and filling the walls will make the room look smaller. If your space is large enough, you cancreate zones that suit different functions, such as a dining area, seating area, a cooking/bar area, an activity area and/or an area to watch TV.
Combine Your Areas
If your home has a kitchen and separate dining area, you might want to try and rearrange your space and combine both areas into one room. Having your dining area in your kitchen will allow you to socialise with your family or guests while you prepare your food and will make the space more sociable. It also maximises the potential of your home by making it the focal point. This idea will work best with those who enjoy entertaining their guests and are confident in the kitchen. You will be surprised at the number of people can be accommodated, regardless of the space you have available.
Install a Breakfast Bar
Breakfast bars are a fantastic feature to add into your kitchen space. As well as creating more storage, you will add an extra seating area in your kitchen, which is a great place for people to sit and chat with you while you prepare beverages and meals. In order to make the most out of your breakfast bar, you will need to find some comfortable, good quality bar stools for your guests to sit on. If you need this kind of seating for your breakfast bar, then you should consider these bar stools from Lakeland Furniture. They have many beautifully designed options, for an affordable price.
Open It Up
Bringing the outdoors, indoors is a great way to make your kitchen more sociable, especially if you have a smaller room to work with. Opening the area up and adding larger windows will welcome natural light into your room and will give you extra space to enjoy during the warmer months. Installing bi-fold doors will make it easier to open up the room to the garden, and adding some kind of covered area close to these doors will give you a chance to enjoy the outdoors when the weather isn’t great. Adding some outdoor heating, like a fire pit or heaters, will make it even more hospitable.
Add a Casual Zone
Creating a casual seating area in your kitchen will make the space more inviting and comfortable when you have guests over. This can be in the form of a comfortable sofa or some relaxing chairs. People find this kind of furniture welcoming and it will make it easier for guests to settle. It will also stop them from wandering away from the kitchen and will allow the room to accommodate more people. If you plan out your space correctly, you won’t require much space to fit a casual zone in. You just need to make sure you buy the right kind of comfortable furniture and arrange it all in the correct way.
Add Some Technology
As mentioned previously, adding a television into your kitchen is a great way to make the room feel cosy. It will create an area where your household can relax after a long day and communicate with you while you prepare your evening meal. There is other technology that will make the kitchen a more sociable place. This can consist of different kinds of lighting, a drinks station, kitchen appliances to make food preparation more efficient, good-quality Bluetooth home speakers and a games table, just to name a few.
Making your kitchen space more sociable will make you fall in love with your home all over again. The qualities and features of your home will determine what is best for your kitchen, so you need to spend time planning your renovation to suit you and your home’s needs.