How To Create A Magical Garden Kitchen
For many people, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s a room where we cook, eat, drink and socialise, from family dinners to parties with friends. In lots of homes, the kitchen also leads directly out on to the garden, and this close proximity to the outdoors is something that often isn’t utilised to its full potential. With a few interior design tweaks though, you can turn your kitchen into a room that offers the best of both worlds – a room where you can bring all of the charm of the great outdoors in.
Bi-folding Doors
Opening up your kitchen to your garden is made easy with bi-folding doors. Creating a seamless space between the two areas of your home, they’re easy to have installed and blend in well with most design schemes. In the summer, simply throw the doors open to let your kitchen and garden become one. If your kitchen has always been dark they’re a great option too, with the large expanse of glass letting you make the most of any daylight that comes flooding in.
Growing your Own Produce
Kitchen gardens are a concept many of us are familiar with: growing our own fruits, herbs and vegetables instead of buying them. If you’ve got one, why not let it into your kitchen with some herbs growing in pots on your windowsill? Not only will they bring a little colour and interest to your kitchen, but you’ll have a supply of fresh herbs to enjoy all year round! Go for the same coloured pots inside and out to link your garden and kitchen together.
Interior Design Tips
Continuing with the colour continuity idea, you’ll need to think carefully about how to emulate your garden indoors. Obviously covering the floor with artificial grass is a bit of a no-no; but there are some things you can do to make your kitchen feel more vibrant and organic. Go for soft, muted greens for your walls and tiles, with wooden worktops and units. Colours are extremely important and affect how we feel, so choose natural colurs that promote a feeling of nurture and peacefulness..
For your furniture, wicker is a good choice as it looks just as at home outside as it does in. Remember what we said about pot plants? Well, you can never have too many in a garden kitchen. Simple, white pots or a statement metal watering can will look great filled with vibrant blooms. For a real showstopper, try filling your fireplace with flowers. For the floor, keep it plain and interesting with bare floorboards – this will look even better leading out to a decked patio.
Come Summer, it’ll be your Favourite Room
Of course, a garden kitchen is only so much with the doors closed. Whenever you can, open them to let some fresh air and sunlight in. During the summer months, bring some of your furniture outside to let the two rooms truly become one. With a barbecue lit and people wandering from kitchen to garden, there’s no better place to spend the summer than at home. If it starts raining, just bring the food inside and pop it in the oven – your kitchen will be as bright and inviting as the garden. Actually, with the British weather as unpredictable as it is, we could all do with bringing a little bit of the great outdoors in!
William Durrant is the managing director of Herringbone Kitchens, a Canterbury based kitchen designer and installer. For kitchen inspiration visit one of their kitchen showrooms in Kent.