If you’ve got space for your family to dine and relax in your kitchen but its underused then you’re missing out on creating a great area that all your brood can enjoy together and make the best possible use of. Whether you’ve got a modern or traditional kitchen, a small space or plenty of room to play with, you can employ the same clever tricks to transform your kitchen into the heart of your home.

Avola Grey Traditional Kitchen Doors

Cost Effective Conversion

Kitchens can often look tired and dated after a few years, but that doesn’t mean you have to rip your units out and start again. If you’re happy with the way your cupboards are laid out and the carcasses are in good condition, then you can make the space look completely different simply by changing your kitchen cupboard doors. The doors you choose can create all sorts of different effects in your room.

For example kitchen cupboard doors with a high gloss finish will reflect light and make dark kitchens seem brighter. Warm wooden kitchen doors make a much more welcoming alternative to harsh metal and will help make a cold room cosier. If you want to create a different atmosphere in your kitchen for evening entertaining then choose transparent doors made from frosted glass or Perspex and light them from within so your cupboards give off an attractive glow in the evenings. Or if you want an even simpler alternative you can simply change the handles on your cupboard doors for something more high end and give the room an instant lift.

Super Seating
The key to getting your family to use your kitchen more is comfort, so make sure that you’ve got good quality seating. A dining set is great for eating but it’s often not the best place for sitting and unwinding at the end of the day or relaxing with friends. However, you can give your kitchen a 1950s twist, save space and make your seating area the most popular place in your home by incorporating a booth with padded bench seats. Booth style seating is easier to incorporate into an awkward space and padded seats are much kinder on bottoms than wood, metal or plastic.

Lovely Lights
Lighting can really make or break a room but all too often we still insist on having a harsh and unflattering strip light in  our kitchen with few other light sources provided.  In order for your kitchen to be used round the clock incorporate lots of different light sources to add warmth, interest and character to the room at different times of day. You can swap harsh overhead lights for spotlights with dimmer switches, place floor lamps or table lamps in darker corners and even give your kitchen cupboards an ethereal glow by fixing LED strip lights to the underside. You can spend a little or a lot on lighting and still achieve a fantastic effect. Floor lamps and LED strip lighting can be picked up for just a few pounds and both can be used with a plug so there’s no need for any expensive electrical work.