Bring the Outside In with Clever Kitchen Design

As a consequence of coronavirus, the way we live our lives has changed, maybe forever, and this is having a significant impact on both the interior and exterior design of our homes. Take a look at our special design guide to make the most of your client’s outdoor space.

To see the full ‘Bringing the outside in’ guide, click the button below, or keep reading for the key highlights to create dining and entertaining space that will wow your clients.

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Lighting

While sliding and bifold doors are both popular options for connecting indoor and outdoor spaces, minimally framed sliding doors are the most popular glazing solution, particularly for connecting kitchen and dining areas with the external living spaces as they let in more light. Don’t forget to consider the weather. In the UK, choosing a frameless sliding door design to give the illusion of a frameless glass façade is a great option where exterior doors will be closed more often than fully open. 

Sky lights, light tunnels and light pipes are also a great way to flood the interior space with natural light. Careful positioning on a south-westerly aspect will ensure that the homeowner enjoys the maximum amount of light, without turning the room into a greenhouse. 

In terms of electric lighting, task lighting and pendants over the island or dining area can be used to create a statement, as long as they are positioned to ensure that they are not intrusive and don’t interrupt the kitchen’s flow.

Inside to Out

Consider how you can link the indoors to outdoors as seamlessly as possible. This can be achieved through installing floor tiles which run from the interior through to the exterior. There are plenty of aesthetically pleasing,  non-slip, weather-proof and UV resistant tiles available. Whilst large format tiles can mimic natural materials, smaller tiles with busier patterns may show up less dirt that comes from outside. Take a look at more tile design tips in our Kitchen Design blog here.

If your client often entertains outside, having a weather-resistant, hardwearing island that runs from the inside to outside and adding an outdoor pizza oven or BBQ grill hob in the warmer months can create excellent entertaining space. 

For the finishing touches, introducing arboreal greens such as Copse and Sage as well as styling large foliage houseplants and herb troughs can be used to add colour, texture and link the indoors with the out.

Al Fresco Living

Outdoor or barbeque kitchens are becoming increasingly popular, as homeowners are taking inspiration from the U.S, Australia and the Mediterranean where al-fresco dining is much more common. As the U.K. doesn’t enjoy the same kind of weather as those places, outdoor kitchens must be hard wearing, ideally with a cover or shutter option for the Autumn and Winter months. 

As people are spending more time eating at home as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, outdoor kitchens have seen a general increase in demand, with people spending lots more time in their gardens and spending money to utilise outdoor spaces that would have usually been spent on summer holidays. 

Granite worktops with ceramic or stainless steel door and drawer fronts are recommended for outdoor kitchens to ensure they are completely waterproof. Choosing cast iron outdoor products ensures that they can be left outdoors and withstand all weathers whilst ensuring proper maintenance of appliances ensures durability and top operating conditions.

Bringing the Kitchen to Life

Whilst creating realistic renders for kitchens that are partially outdoors can be difficult using CAD, Winner has the flexibility and capability to achieve this. 

Take a look at the below render by Arthouse Creative Interiors, demonstrating how Winner can be utilised to design outdoor spaces. 

Using a high quality quality CAD software enables you to create inspirational designs in minutes, along with an exact quote and order for you to share with your customers at the touch of a button. 

For more tips on bringing the outside in and how to utilise outdoor space through clever kitchen design, view the guide in full below.

Download guide