Open kitchen designs – How to accommodate all your wishes

When thinking of renovating a home, we usually start looking around for inspiration. Some may have a clear idea about what they’re looking for and search for references to illustrate that, whereas others look elsewhere to decide what works for them—flipping through magazines, brochures, favourite websites and blogs, mood boards on Pinterest… The list of options to choose from are endless. And, very often, what we discover online are decor styles from the West – also when we’re looking for an open kitchen designs in India.

Open kitchen designs from around the world

From Scandinavian minimalism to Japanese wabi-sabi – there’s always a new style we’d like to adopt for a change or a different look in our homes. But our experimentations come to a halt the moment we look at kitchens overseas. Most of the time, while the aesthetic may be visually appealing, the design centres around an open kitchen designs.

What is an open kitchen design?

Contrary to being a hidden space relegated to one end of the home, an open kitchen blends with the interior design of the living area (usually the living or dining room).It is meant to showcase the same elements of style and design, similar to the rest of the house. Sometimes an open kitchen can even be designed in sync with the outdoor areas of a home to allow for entertaining and alfresco dining.

Overall, the idea behind an open kitchen is to invite openness—to proudly display the design or modern engineering of your kitchen, to include the family or guests in food preparation. Also, it serves to create more space by eliminating as many structural divides under one roof.

Does an open kitchen design work in an Indian home?

The first thought that comes to mind for most when asked about an indian open kitchen design is the availability of space. Or, usually, the lack of. We fear that our homes aren’t large enough to accommodate any of the open kitchen designs we’ve seen or liked, even though there are options of small open kitchen designs as well. However, the important thing to consider before anything else is your personal preferences and lifestyle. And, if you live with a family, every member’s tastes and habits as well.

The best of both ‘open kitchen design’ worlds

The way your home functions and how you use your kitchen, will determine the best kitchen design for you. If you enjoy entertaining, cooking and including friends and family in the entire process, there’s a strong case for an open kitchen interior design. However, if most of the kitchen work is left to the help, and the space ends up looking like a war zone after cooking, perhaps an open kitchen idea isn’t the best for you.

You could always have the best of both worlds though. Solutions such as partially open walls, adjustable room dividers or pass-through windows with a counter allow for openness and accessibility, while also leaving room for privacy.

The advantages of open kitchen designs

Creates an idea of openness

With lesser walls, a kitchen that opens into the living room also adds its additional space to the surface area. That paired with the added ventilation, benefits both the rooms.

Brings everyone together

An open kitchen idea works to bring the whole family together. With the living room paired with an open kitchen design, everyone in the family can go about with whatever they’re doing independently while also being together in the open kitchen living room.

Puts your style on display

If you’ve invested in a swank redo with the best appliances, neat cabinetry and innovative fittings, there’s no reason to hide it away in a corner of the house. Similar to how your living spaces reflect your personal style, an open kitchen design will complement this further.

Helps you multitask

Whether you’re a parent taking care of the household chores or a newlywed couple living together independently: working in an open kitchen design with a living room will help you stay connected with the rest of the home. A parent can cook while supervising their child’s homework or a couple can enjoy watching the latest Netflix show from their small open kitchen designed to oversee the living room TV.

Opens the room for entertaining

All open kitchen designs in India make room for entertaining. Informal guests can help with meal prep or the kitchen counter can double as a bar or food station, leaving the living room clutter-free and mess-free.

The disadvantages of open kitchen designs

Openness reveals the temporary mess

Your kitchen isn’t as organised as you’d like the world to see? Or it’s not a space that looks visually appealing after cooking? Then maybe you should reconsider any open kitchen designs. In a large Indian family, the number of utensils and ingredients that are used to prepare each meal can lead to a temporary mess, which isn’t something you want to add to your home decor.

Spread of odours and noise

Pressure cooker whistles, the mixing of a grinder, the cycle of the dishwasher—all this could be an acoustic trauma in the living room. That paired with tadka fumes and oil splatters is something no one wants to share.

You don’t use the kitchen area yourself?

The biggest concern for an open kitchen design in India is that most of us barely enter the kitchen, with the cooking assigned to the house help. For this reason, the kitchen isn’t a space many invest in good design or decor because they hardly use the area themselves.

Doesn’t work with existing layouts

Even if you’re remodelling your house from scratch, making as many structural changes as you can, the concern with setting up small open kitchen designs is that you require it to be assigned to a wet area designated in the blueprint of the home. Sometimes, that area may not exist anywhere close or adjacent to the living or dining room.

Open kitchen designs and ideas that can work in any home