This turns the kitchen into a feel-good space
Alone or with friends or with the whole family, be really creative in the kitchen – followed by a great meal: Cooking fans go into raptures, reporting on cozy evenings in the kitchen with sophisticated dishes. However, a cooking session is only really fun if the surroundings are right. It doesn’t take much to turn a functional room into an inviting and homely kitchen.
A mix of styles creates cosiness
High-gloss fronts, chrome, lacquer: today, many kitchens are well thought-out and highly functional, but they are often minimalist, appear cool and not very homely. A mix of styles generally helps to create a feel-good atmosphere: wooden table tops, antique shelves or cupboards, which are optimally staged, create a homely flair. Unlike older kitchens – these are best spiced up with modern furniture or with a modern worktop that replaces the old one. It doesn’t matter whether the kitchen is new or old – the trend has long been towards seeing kitchens not just as functional rooms in which food is cooked and eaten. On the contrary, kitchens have increasingly become places of well-being for families and guests and are equipped accordingly. On long evenings, people cook and serve together in many places.
Colours have an effect on the appetite
Coziness starts with the wall design: This is of course a matter of taste, but colors have been shown to have . They have a calming or invigorating effect, radiate cheerfulness, coolness or warmth. Colors are said to have an effect on eating habits. Gray, purple and blue are considered to suppress appetite, while brown, red and orange are considered to be appetite-enhancing. How colors work:
- Green: Stands for nature, balance and revitalization, the eye finds peace. Green is neither too cold nor too warm
- Red: Represents fire, vitality and energy. Expressive accents can be set with red. The color should only be used sparingly, on a wall
- Yellow: Yellow is cheerful, happy, calming, stimulating and puts you in a good mood. Yellow is particularly suitable for kitchens with little daylight
- Blue: Blue looks classy, elegant and gives the kitchen a cool and clean touch
- Brown: Appears warm and earthy and creates cosiness. Deep brown tones should be used sparingly, ideally only on one wall
- Grey: Gray gives the kitchen a clear and cool atmosphere
white kitchenette with gray walls is certainly chic and modern – but according to the rules of color psychology, this combination is not really suitable for perceiving the room as cozy and cosy. A black wall is different (a trend that is becoming more and more popular), which – contrary to what you might think – can definitely help a kitchen to feel more comfortable, especially in combination with warm metallic tones such as bronze or copper. Warm pastel tones or soft natural tones are also very popular. Basically, if you decide to do it, you can’t do much wrong. If the paint seems a little bland, accents can be set with small shelves, type cases or wall tattoos.
Even small things can make kitchens look uncomfortable
When furnishing the kitchen, mistakes are often made that affect the comfort. This doesn’t just apply to the furniture; it can also be supposed little things that lead to the feel-good factor shrinking considerably. An example is open shelves, which can be decorative eye-catchers and appear more inviting than closed fronts, but over time have to serve as storage and collection points for all sorts of things. Most of the time, the hodgepodge of cookbooks, bottles, glasses or magazines stored there gathers dust, which makes it uncomfortable. Anyone planning open shelves should make it a rule of thumb to use them uncompromisingly only for decorative purposes or for everyday objects. Even high-gloss fronts in combination with lots of stainless steel and tiles give the room hardly any coziness.
Therefore, such kitchens should also be equipped with other materials such as fabrics, leather, wicker and cushions. When choosing accessories, less is more when it comes to color, otherwise the kitchen will quickly look restless. It is good, for example, to decide on a maximum of three matching colors. And one more thing: there is no feel-good atmosphere even when the worktop is full of electrical appliances. Appliances and everyday items such as a coffee maker, knife block, toaster and kettle are fine. If the bread maker, food processor or waffle maker is also on the worktop and fills up the space, cooking and enjoying is not much fun. Therefore, only things that are used daily should be on the work surface. Everything else is stowed in cupboards and taken out when needed.
It all depends on the lighting
In order to make a kitchen cosy, you need light above all. In addition to the right basic lighting, which should above all be practical and functional, indirect light is essential for a cozy atmosphere. This can basically be attached almost anywhere – for example in the case that is attached under the kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinet lighting is another alternative for more comfort, as are illuminated display cases. Even (not too bright) small lamps on open shelves or on the windowsill have proven to be light sources that conjure up a feel-good atmosphere.
The lighting of the dining table also plays an important role. Warm white light and a dimmable lamp are an advantage here, it is even better if the dining table lamp is height-adjustable, because nobody wants to look at a lamp when eating or having a cozy get-together. In general, three different light sources are required for the kitchen: Bright light that illuminates the room well, such as spotlights and spotlights or a pendant lamp, selective light sources for the work surfaces and mood lighting for a homely flair.
Wood creates comfort
The kitchen becomes warm and homely through the use of wood or wooden elements. The natural material is not only beautiful, but also sustainable and durable. Walnut and oak are classics, but basically any type of wood is suitable for giving the kitchen a homely flair. If you don’t want a solid wood kitchen and prefer high-gloss fronts instead, you can also achieve the desired eat-in kitchen character with a solid wood kitchen worktop. Choosing a wooden kitchen table also takes away the coolness and austerity of modern kitchen fronts. However, the character of wood can also be achieved with other furniture, for example a display case. In general, the popularity of wooden kitchens has been increasing for some time. This is also due to the realization that kitchens are not just work spaces, but also living spaces. At the same time, more and more consumers are becoming aware of the issue of sustainability and are not only buying a wooden kitchen because of the pleasant properties of wood, but also rely on the purchase.
Plants bring vibrancy
Attractive plants provide additional life and even more cosiness in the kitchen. Herb pots full of basil, tarragon, chives, parsley or mint are particularly nice. They give the room a Mediterranean flair. Plants without great demands are suitable as houseplants. Because the temperatures in the kitchen fluctuate due to the cooking process, the room is often ventilated and the heating is on in winter.
Succulents such as cacti and aloe vera are also well suited. In addition to the attractive shape of the fleshy leaves, these plants are extremely frugal and can cope with temperature fluctuations. The following applies to both herbs and succulents: They love sunny spots. The green lily or water lily is also easy to care for – a hanging plant that also looks good on the shelf or on the kitchen cupboard. If you prefer flowering plants, you are well advised to use different types of jasmine. The cobbler’s palm and the bow hemp also feel at home in a kitchen. But the same applies to kitchen plants: less is more. If the entire window sill is full of plants and hanging baskets are hung up, kitchen cupboards and shelves are stocked with greenery, the room quickly looks overloaded and restless. It is best to limit yourself to a few copies. Leaves of large plants should also be cleaned regularly because fat is deposited here. Thomas Wolff Thomas discovered the joys of cooking at an early age. Even today he often travels with his family through many exciting regions in Germany and Europe and from there he always brings new culinary experiences to the local kitchen.
