Traditionally, a British house would have separate spaces for the living room, dining room and kitchen. This cleanly separates the house up but reduces space. Now people are seeing the advantages of an open plan house and remodelling by having walls knocked through to create kitchen/dining rooms or just larger kitchens. As large kitchens have become more popular, the idea of a separate dining room seems unfashionably formal. People wanted to be together and easily flow between kitchen and dining room without any obstacles. As a result of more relaxed dining and open planned design kitchen was born.
Kitchens are now the place to cook and eat without any divide whatsoever, not even the archway of a knocked through wall if possible. With a less informal style of both cooking and dining developing thanks to Jamie and Nigella, the focus of the party is now in the kitchen. With all the buzz it’s the place people want to be.
Single-room, open-planned kitchens are the heart of the house and often have a snug area, with a TV and sofa, making them even more appealing. However these buzzy, cosy rooms do have their weak points. For example, if you were to have a large dinner party doing the actual cooking could become hindered with the amount of people in the room. Or the smells given off during certain parts of the cooking process, the end result may smell fantastic but frying fish or fatty ingredients can permeate the space and whole house.
Many people like a place to relax in the evening and put their feet up. It’s important that your home has an area to do this, keeping the reception room is one of the most popular options. Another option is to extend. This means that you won’t lose your living space. Extending only a few meters makes a huge difference when improving your kitchen. Making your kitchen the entrance to your garden puts you in the perfect position to install Multifold Doors bi folding doors. Having these will let you extend your kitchen even further and open up the possibility of a relaxed dinner outside on a patio if the temperature is right, if it isn’t add a fire basket or two. Bi fold doors also give you the opportunity to let people wander outside and give more space around the kitchen. Large, open-planned kitchens and bi fold doors go hand in hand, not just in the practical areas but also design. Having doors with such a large glass area will let huge amounts of natural light into the kitchen and give a beautiful panoramic view. Bi folding doors can also create a relaxed, open Mediterranean feel if the right colours are chosen, this makes eating outside a true pleasure. Our experts are able to help you choose the right colour to suit your house, design and use.
To have an open-plan kitchen or not is entirely up to you. It has many advantages and is a very fashionable feature to have in a modern house. However, depending on your way of life you may not want to give up segregated living or garden space. Whatever your decision is Multifold Doors are always on hand to give advice and help.
