While it may not be possible to quickly change a kitchen's size, by increasing its lightness rather than its dimensions, you can make it feel more spacious. To do this, you need to, firstly, allow plenty of daylight to flow inside and, secondly, to then capture and make the most of that daylight.
Bringing In Daylight
Of course, everyone knows about windows. But what are some other ways to allow more light inside? Tubular daylighting devices, or sun tunnels, are one possibility. More versatile than traditional skylights, these devices convey light through a tunnel that connects a roof dome capturing the sunlight, to a porthole in the kitchen ceiling. The tube can be constructed to bend and turn corners. So if the roof area above your kitchen doesn't catch much light, the tunnel can travel through the ceiling to another roof area that does.
Glass-panelled doors are another way to bring more daylight inside. External doors to a garden area will open up the kitchen to outside light. Internal doors, too, between the kitchen and adjoining rooms, will allow that extra light to travel throughout the house. To protect privacy, the glass panels can be decoratively frosted or etched; they will then filter through a diffused, non-glary light.
Reflecting Light Around A Room
Both sun tunnels and glass doors allow extra light inside, which in turn creates an airier, more spacious-feeling kitchen. Once inside, to multiply the effect, this light needs to be captured and redistributed. To do this, make sure the kitchen surfaces are as light reflective as possible, ensuring the light will bounce and reflect around the kitchen, rather than simply being absorbed and so dissipating.
Light colours reflect light while dark colours absorb light. Thus white and light-coloured cabinetry, walls and ceilings will brighten up a kitchen. If, on the other hand, all surfaces were dark coloured, even with sunlight streaming in, the room would probably be dim. You need to reach a balance between light and dark shades if you want to introduce contrast in the kitchen so that some areas remain lighter coloured.
It is not only the colour that affects the reflectiveness of a surface but also its shine. Matte surfaces reflect less light than shiny surfaces. Glossy or satin cabinet doors, and a gleaming glass splashback, for instance, will reflect more light around a kitchen increasing its brightness and making it seem larger.
To make the room seem larger, two things to focus on when undergoing kitchen renovations are how to allow more daylight in and also how to capture and make the most of that light. Of course, you need to balance this with other design aims and preferences, such as that natural timber countertop that perfectly matches the country style look you want. In the long run, a brighter kitchen will not only look more spacious, but it will also deliver cheaper lighting bills.
Share28 November 2018
Hello! If you are looking to remodel your property, you have come to the right place. This blog contains important and useful information which will help you to understand the different options you have when working on your home. I developed this knowledge when I called in a team of contractors to remodel my home. Watching the contractors at work and talking with them allowed me to develop a deep understanding of this topic. I knew that I needed to share this information with the rest of the world. I hope you really enjoy reading the articles on this blog.
