Thinking of redesigning your kitchen? Why not use one of these internationally inspired ideas to totally revamp your kitchen’s look.
1. Scandinavian Simplicity
The Scandinavians are known for being trailblazers in the interior design world. Household name, IKEA, has made its fame bringing affordable Scandi design to the masses. This style is defined by its simplicity and minimalist elegance.
In Scandinavian design, efficiency and functionality take priority. From a design point of view, design complements functionality, with everything designed in the cleanest, most simple and most efficient way possible. For that reason, it is fuss-free and minimalist.
When choosing colour scheme and materials, experts suggest opting for all white units and neutral colour palettes. Materials such as rough or washed wood, paired with light stone or other natural elements, will help create an overall Scandinavian look.
For final touches, designers suggest adding bright furniture, feature lighting and contemporary art.
2. French Country Kitchens
French country kitchens are able to seamlessly blend a cosy and homey feeling with French elegance. They combine rustic details with more ornate touches such as detailed cabinetry or intricate moulding.
In order to create the rustic look, experts recommend using heavy mahogany, stone walls, exposed brick or distressed wood. These kitchens tend to combine different materials for a layered feel and give character. Antique details such as cabinet and drawer handles will help create the feeling of elegance.
Colour schemes tend to use the materials and cabinetry as a base, but incorporate light hues such as blue or a light sage. Adding knick-knacks, displayed ornaments, hand-painted features in bright colours and a colourful floor can all add an element of Kitsch, helping to give the feel of a French countryside kitchen.
Most importantly, when creating a French style kitchen, choosing the oven hood will act as the centrepiece of the entire look. Choose a feature oven hood or an antique-style hood to really pull your kitchen together.
3. Mediterranean Inspired Kitchen
If you want to add a touch of sunshine to your kitchen, we recommend a Mediterranean-inspired kitchen. Mediterranean style is typically defined by warm and rich colours, inspired by nature. Touches of yellows, blues and greens will help bring a sense of sea, sunshine and nature to your kitchen.
When choosing your materials, mediterranean style is often defined by a feeling of indoor-outdoor living, which means that natural materials such as woods and stones can help add to that effect.
Mediterranean culture is known for its love of food and sharing with friends and family. For that reason, kitchens tend to have a lived-in feel and often use an open-plan layout to encourage people coming together and using the kitchen as a social hub.
Warm woods and bright walls will help give the kitchen a feeling of warmth and richness. This can extend to the floors; hardwood floors in lighter shades can help create a light and bright feeling giving your kitchen that mediterranean hospitality.
For a final touch, brightly coloured and patterned ceramic kitchens, for the backsplash or the floors, will help your kitchen feel straight out of a Spanish villa.
4. British Farmhouse Kitchen
A classic farmhouse or countryside kitchen is a style which is aspired to worldwide. The quintessentially British kitchen is synonymous with long walks in the countryside, a warm fire and a roast dinner cooking in the oven.
In order to create this look, the materials are an important base. Wooden beams and stone flags will help create a neutral base from which to build your British-style kitchen. Wooden countertops, natural textures and two-tone cabinetry will all help to add to the look.
A large stove area or AGA will act as a key feature of your British-style kitchen. Another must-have inclusion is a large farmhouse sink, either in the countertop or occupying its own space in a kitchen island.
Additional features such as antique accessories, open shelving to display any crockery or appliances and any countryside decor such as scenes of dogs, horses or nature, will all help to create the finished product of your British country style kitchen.
