The Kitchen: More Than a Place to Cook

We’d love to congratulate whoever came up with the living kitchen trend. While we’ve long been drawing living kitchens in the basic sense that open floor plans have been a feature for many, many years, we think that a completely open floor plan is just one way to think of living kitchen design. Our homes, no matter how large, do not benefit from feeling like a hotel lobby (cavernous and not well-considered living/kitchen spaces) or a cooking school (multiple islands with hard, cold surfaces).

A Hub for Living, Not Just Cooking

The kitchen is ultimately the hub of the home, has been for many years, and will continue to be so into the future. The kitchen has not just been for cooking for a hundred years; it’s for hanging out, doing homework, talking, relaxing, and entertaining. Every single person who lives in or visits a home interacts with the kitchen.

Let’s Rethink the Living Kitchen Trend

If you want to really embrace home and hearth, aim for a more creative and cozy approach to the living kitchen trend. In fact, let’s improve it so it’s not a trend but simply a sensible way to think about the heart of the home—the kitchen.

While what is often meant by living kitchens amounts to having an open floor plan that connects the kitchen and living room, we feel that there are so many more opportunities to take advantage of the fact that the kitchen is the most useful and essential gathering area of the home.

Ideas for a More Thoughtful Living Kitchen

A fresh way to consider how to have a living kitchen design is to think about relaxing, cozy spaces within the kitchen area.

• Banquettes are in the right direction, creating cozy areas to eat and write that are proximal to those cooking.
• For those who can spare the space, a couch or a nook with cozy lounge chairs for a cuppa and conversation are fantastic and practical amenities.
• Some people go so far as to create coffee nooks, complete with a coffee preparation area plus cozy seating.
• An island with comfortable stools is great.
• A farm table with stools is even warmer, softer, and more inviting.
• For the ultimate comfort, the addition of a fireplace is a very welcome feature.

Designing for a Post-COVID Lifestyle

In our post-COVID world where increasingly people are seeking rejuvenation and a mindful, curated lifestyle, the living kitchen deserves serious consideration for those designing homes. At C3 Studio, our hearts are in our homes, and we love nothing more than to design beautiful yet welcoming homes for our clients, no matter what their style.

Please reach out to us if you are considering a home design project.