A contemporary kitchen extension is defined by the use of neutral colours, clean lines, and an abundance of natural light. It’s a space that exudes tranquility whilst providing the functionality required of a busy home. Despite the semblance of simplicity, however, it comprises many different elements. If you’re thinking of renovating your house with an extension, here’s a rundown of our favourite features (all from previous Plus Rooms projects) to serve as inspiration for your contemporary kitchen design.
Clean lines
Contemporary design is synonymous with sleek, uncluttered lines. This can be achieved in a number of different ways; the contouring of the space, crown mouldings, skirting boards, furniture, materials, and patterns all play a role in creating smooth, modern lines. Another particularly important factor is your choice of kitchen units. If you’re looking to achieve a minimal feel to your extension, we’d recommend using handless units. As you’ll see from our previous project on Friern Road, these units consist of a flat slab with an integrated handle. This gives them a clean linear look without compromising on functionality.
Kitchen doors
Apart from providing access to outside space, kitchen doors determine how much natural light comes into your extension. In contemporary design, kitchen doors are made to maximise the amount of natural light inside, helping to create an uplifting atmosphere. The feeling of the space is also influenced by the frame type and material; sliding and bi-folding doors, for instance, help to create the impression of a seamless flow between inside and outside. Crittall doors, on the other hand, can be used to complement the style of an extension’s roof, as can be seen with the below example from Griffiths Road.
Lighting
Lighting is fundamental for a room’s function and ambience. As a rule, there are three types of lighting: general, task, and accent. General lighting is the first layer of lighting in a space, illuminating the main areas of a room.
In contemporary kitchen design, recessed ceiling lights and tracking lights are commonly used for this purpose. Task lighting, on the other hand, refers to a more specific type of lighting; one that’s required to perform certain tasks, such as reading or cooking. There are many options for task lighting in the modern kitchen style; think about using feature pendant lights or discreet under-counter lights.
The last type of lighting is accent lighting which is used to bring attention to focal points in a room such as painting, sculptures, or structural features. Again, there are multiple lighting options for this purpose; niche lighting, wall sconces, inner cabinet lights can all be used to emphasise a modern feel. A great example of this can be seen below with our work on Bradley Road. Here, accent lighting is used to subtly emphasise the clean, sleek lines – a hallmark feature of modern kitchen extensions.
Neutral colours
Modern kitchen designs often rely on neutral tones in order to provide a clean backdrop to occasional bursts of colour. There are many ways to introduce more vibrancy into a contemporary style. For instance, consider a measured use of artwork that reflects the atmosphere of the space, or experiment with different colours of lampshades and statement furniture. On one previous project, our client injected colour into their minimalist kitchen extension through a well-placed bookshop and a choice selection of plants.
Contemporary kitchen extensions
We hope the examples above have given you some inspiration for your own contemporary kitchen designs. If you’re looking for more ideas, we have plenty of other previous projects for you to browse through. And if you’d like to talk about any particular project, feel free to get in contact.
