36 Open Kitchen Ideas for Easy Cooking and Entertaining
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Key Takeaways
- Open kitchens encourage interactions and better airflow, making them popular for modern living spaces.
- There are multiple ways to design and decorate open kitchens to suit any size and style preference.
- Incorporating elements like open shelves and furniture-like islands can enhance the functionality and aesthetic of an open kitchen.
Open kitchens are a familiar sight in today’s homes, and for good reason: They encourage casual family meals, conversations with the cook, and effortless entertaining. First introduced to homes by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1950s, the then-revolutionary design quickly became a popular option, especially for ranch homes where clearly defined rooms weren’t as easy to establish in sprawling living spaces that worked best with few walls.
Many homeowners appreciate open kitchens, which encourage interaction between the cook and family and friends rather than isolating them while preparing a meal. Open kitchens also allow for more airflow in the kitchen, allowing cooking smells to dissipate more quickly through open windows and doors in the rest of the living space.
While open kitchen ideas are common, there are infinite ways to arrange an open kitchen and even more ways to decorate one. This collection of open kitchen layout ideas and decorating styles will help you figure out what works for you and your space, whether you’re designing a new kitchen or refreshing the one you have.
Large Open Kitchen Layout
This modern open kitchen idea features a spacious layout designed specifically around the family’s needs. An island and a peninsula provide extra counter space and centralized storage areas. Opposite the cooking zone, a cozy dining nook with a built-in banquette offers space for quick meals. The kitchen maintains a fresh, open feel because there’s no upper cabinetry disrupting sightlines.
Open Kitchen and Dining Space
An open kitchen that seamlessly connects to the dining area enhances ease of serving and social interaction. In this design, the kitchen transitions smoothly into a cozy dining nook featuring a built-in banquette and a small table where family and friends can gather comfortably. During gatherings, the kitchen island doubles as a buffet, offering additional space for food and conversation.
Open Floor Plan Kitchen Ideas
When kitchens are open to other areas of the house, it’s important to integrate the styles, so the rooms don’t clash. This open kitchen features sleek seating, splashes of blue, and natural wood elements that flow from the cooking zone to the dining area. This design technique is often used in small kitchens to make the space look larger than it appears.
Modern Kitchen and Dining Room
This modern home showcases a spacious open kitchen seamlessly integrated with the dining area. Wide walkways and abundant windows create an airy ambiance, flooding the space with natural light. The design thoughtfully places doorways on either side of the range wall, inviting easy access to both the staircase and living area, encouraging fluid movement throughout the home. The use of neutral tones further establishes a calming atmosphere, ideal for relaxation and comfort.
Small Open Kitchen Layout
In a small open kitchen, a peninsula that extends outward from one wall is often a more efficient use of space than an island in the center. This peninsula provides uninterrupted counter space and creates a divider for a casual seating area. A round table and chair are a great alternative to stools around an island when space is limited.
U-Shaped Kitchen
Lisa Romerein
This clever open kitchen idea breaks up a long room with a U-shaped layout. Using a handsome open shelf rather than cabinetry makes the kitchen feel more like a living space and blends in better with the surrounding dining and entertaining areas.
Build in Personality
Annie Schlechter
An L-shaped bank of base cabinets and a built-in island make for a classic, hardworking, open kitchen idea. Unique features, including cobalt blue paint on the island and a tall bookshelf for cooking and entertaining books, bring color, personality, and utility to the space.
Combine Living and Kitchen Spaces
Ryan Bent
You may need to extend a smaller open kitchen into the living space for additional storage. The extra cabinetry and shelving provide room for hiding away entertaining items until needed or pretty dishes you don’t use often.
Open Kitchen Worktop
Tria Giovan
Furniture-like islands or worktops are open kitchen ideas that can lighten up a space, and they’re often more affordable than a built-in island. Plus, we love the easy accessibility of open shelves for regular-use items.
Casual Kitchen Dining Area
Many traditional homes feature a separate dining room, but this closed-off space is often left underused and forgotten. A kitchen open to the dining area offers a more welcoming, casual feel. In this home, the kitchen opens into the dining area and living room for an expansive family space.
Modern Open Kitchen Ideas
Cabinetry extends nearly to the ceiling in this sleek, modern open floor plan kitchen design. The extra storage gained from the tall cabinets and the central island allows for an open floor plan that flows naturally into the dining area. The open-concept kitchen works well for entertaining, as guests can easily gather around the island or the table without feeling like they’ve left the kitchen.
Open Kitchen Traffic Flow
The back entrance to this home is accessed through the kitchen, so an unimpeded traffic flow was an essential open kitchen idea. The owners opted for a kitchen table instead of a bulky island to allow for passersby. Benches on either side can be pushed under the table to create a wider walkway. French doors to the patio can be propped open so friends and family can gather outside but still chat with the cook.
Open Kitchen Casing
David Land
If your home is older or more traditional in style, consider building decorative casing to open up the kitchen while honoring its style. You can continue this style in your kitchen or choose modern finishes to create contrast, as shown here.
Long Open Kitchen Ideas
Astrid Templier
It helps to divide a long kitchen into zones. This kitchen has a cooking and prep space and includes island seating that can be used to enjoy a meal or catch up on homework. The comfortable armchair creates another zone for relaxing and soaking in the natural light.
Traditional Open Kitchen
Julie Soefer
In this traditional kitchen, an antique butcher-block island replaces a cumbersome built-in island. This choice nods to other traditional elements in the kitchen, such as the plaster range hood, brass faucet, and aged mirror backsplash.
Vaulted Ceilings
Shaun Sullivan
The spacious feeling created by vaulted ceilings is an open kitchen idea that makes this kitchen not only a place for cooking but also a gathering space for family and friends to sit and stay a while. Blonde wood and stone floors complete the modern look.
Small Open Kitchen
Kim Cornelison
Tucked in a corner, this small open kitchen efficiently uses space, but it still allows whoever is cooking to see what’s happening in the living space. The peninsula cleverly shares storage with the living room to get the most out of the space.
Integrated Open Kitchen Ideas
Emily J Followill
When considering open kitchen ideas for layout and design, think about how you’ll connect it to nearby living spaces. One option is to use the same paint color or wall treatment everywhere, creating effortless harmony between rooms. Consider repeating materials in other areas, such as referencing the metals in your kitchen hardware with decorative accents and fixtures.
Open Galley Kitchen
Annie Schlechter
An open galley kitchen is a clever way to get a lot of use out of a small footprint while maintaining the benefits of an open kitchen. These narrow kitchens sometimes feel cramped, so create spaciousness by using open shelving where you can.
Furniture-Style Features
Open-concept floor plans work nicely in large kitchens. With seating, storage, and a white quartz countertop, this large island seems more like a luxurious furniture piece than a workstation. Open shelving around the range hood and light blue cabinetry enhance the kitchen’s airy look. Stainless-steel appliances and streamlined fixtures infuse the space with contemporary style.
Minimalist Open Kitchen Ideas
Edmund Barr
Creating a minimal aesthetic in an open kitchen requires restraint. Reducing upper storage will help, as well as matching your kitchen finishes to the rest of the room, like this white stone island countertop, which almost vanishes into its surroundings.
Freestanding Furniture
Dane Tashima
When designing an open kitchen, consider forgoing a built-in island for freestanding furniture, which can add personality and make a kitchen feel more traditional. Search for butcher-block versions of work tables, or find a table you love and adapt it to counter height.
Incorporating Color
Nathan Schroder
Painting cabinetry is an open kitchen idea that’s an easy refresh. Rather than stressing about resale value, choose a color you love. The warm blue in this open kitchen is inviting and unexpected, and it carries into the room beyond for a cohesive look.
Extra Seating
Annie Schlechter
Make your kitchen work better for you by adding alternate seating. A desk-height table is accessible to kids and creates the perfect extra office space for working from home.
Create Distinction
John Granen
This rustic kitchen opens onto the dining room, with key features, such as the shiplap ceiling, wood flooring, and neutral color scheme, appearing in both rooms. However, distinctions, such as natural wood beams and darker furnishings, are open kitchen ideas that make it cozy while the dining room feels spacious and open.
Open Kitchen Color Scheme
Annie Schlechter
While some like to play it safe with an open kitchen color scheme, we think it’s an opportunity to add interest to the entire room. Kitchens have many surfaces that contribute color and texture and can be referenced elsewhere in the room. Here, unique materials in a strict color palette (cream, black, pale turquoise, and natural wood) make a visually appealing kitchen easy to interpret in surrounding rooms.
Open Kitchen Window Placement
Dane Tashima
One benefit of open kitchens is maximizing natural light in all the connected spaces. If you can, use the upper walls elsewhere in the room for cabinets and prioritize windows on external walls.
Disguise Cabinetry
Jeff Herr
Ample storage is necessary, but large banks of cabinets can feel imposing in an open living space. An easy solution is to paint one section a complementary or contrasting color, which can help connect the kitchen to the decor in the rest of the space.
Open Galley Kitchen
David Land
A long island with glam finishes makes a small, narrow kitchen feel like a five-star restaurant. If you have the right structural support, opening up one side of your galley kitchen could be an option.
One-Wall Open Kitchen Ideas
A single wall of appliances and floor-to-ceiling cabinetry works well as an open kitchen idea. Here, a long island houses additional storage and a sink, keeping the work triangle compact. Island seating allows friends and family to stay close without getting in the way. Without walls to separate the two spaces, natural light from the living area spills into the kitchen, making it feel even more open and light.
Seamless Open Kitchen Design
Repeat colors and materials to visually connect spaces in an open layout. In this open kitchen and dining area, large swaths of white create continuity and a clean look. The wood dining table also ties in with the butcher-block island countertop, but different styles of pendant lighting over the table and island help distinguish the spaces.
L-Shaped Open Kitchen
An open floor plan kitchen doesn’t need a lot of space. This compact kitchen tucks into a corner and connects with a dining area and family room. Runners define the traffic flow around the L-shaped kitchen, and a mobile island helps further separate the space.
Remodeled Open Kitchen Ideas
Consider removing some walls if you have a small, closed-off kitchen and want to renovate. Removing a wall in this kitchen created space for an L-shaped layout and a large island. The remodeled kitchen now opens to the adjacent living areas for a more welcoming feel.
Open Kitchen Entry
Expanding an entryway is a great option for opening up a room. A grand archway gives this kitchen more room to work while making it more social and accessible to the rest of the house. The arch also puts a traditional context around a mostly industrial-style kitchen, helping it merge with the rest of the home’s decor.
Open Kitchen Color Scheme
Color helps ensure that open-concept homes have a natural flow. The kitchen’s dominant color is white, but bright blues and greens appear on accessories, and the dishware visible through glass-front cabinet doors. The dining area repeats the white in the table but features dark blue chairs that contrast the lighter finishes. A light green wall color bridges the two areas to give the space a cohesive look.
Creative Kitchen Redo
When planning a remodel, make the most of the space you have. This former family room was transformed into an open kitchen with a comfortable seating area. The owners also turned the adjacent bathroom into a handy pantry.
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