South Africa is a beautifully diverse country, once deemed the rainbow nation by Desmond Tutu, and our kitchens are equally varied and interesting. The kitchen has always been the heart of the home, but as people put more creativity and effort into their kitchens, the room is being used for so much more than food preparation and family meals. These days kitchens double up as office and living spaces and so much more.
Abigail Ahern, an interior designer and blogger perfectly describes what a kitchen is meant to be, “For me, the kitchen is not just for cooking and eating but my main hangout space. I love pottering around in it over the weekend, or unwinding after a long working day. I need the space to feel loved, and to look and feel as cool as every other room in the house. Bottom line is although kitchens do have to be practical, I want mine to be magical as well!”
Here are a handful of enchanting kitchen design ideas to take note of.
Rethinking colour
“Color is so personal and we all gravitate towards different shades. My advice would be quite simply go with what makes you happy,” says Abigail. The type of colour that has an emotional appeal and leaves a smile on your face when you enter the room. South Africa is known for bright colours, so it’s no surprise that they should find their way into our kitchens.
Red can be used in South African kitchen to emulate the rich earthy tones of our landscape. I’m not talking a stop sign red, or rose red, rather look to less obvious rich earthy tones that won’t completely dominate, but rather add richness, to the space. For inspiration Plascon has a reds palette with some beautifully evocative South African shades, such as “rooibos”, “chakalaka” and “rickshaw red”.
Red can seem like an intimidating shade to commit to, but this blog will show you how to use red sensibly in your kitchen.
One way is to keep your wall colour neutral and incorporate red, or any strong shade, into your kitchen through furnishings and accessories. Le Creuset offers a beautiful range of earthy red stoneware and stainless steel kitchen accessories and cookware, although they can be a bit pricey. To get the look at a far lower price, scour any of our local home decor shops for similar looking items.
Getting more utility out of your kitchen utensils
Create a decor feature by showing off your plates and dishes in a clear cabinet or hang quirky plates and interesting utensils on the wall as decor items.
Just be sure not to over clutter your countertop or island, as Debra Retief a marketing manager at Tile Africa points out, “Families that enjoy sitting around the breakfast nook at meal times should make certain there are limited kitchen appliances on the countertop as this gives the island an open and airy look.”
Keeping it natural
South Africa has a glut of talented designers who draw inspiration from international trends but manage to incorporate the best our country has to offer. GOET, an innovative furniture, lighting and decorative accessories company that also produces bespoke kitchen designs, is just one example of how local designers draw inspiration from our natural environment. By making use of locally available natural materials, such as wood, metals and copper GOET creates timeless interiors that truly bring the outdoors in.
Kitchen design ideas to use on your wall and ceiling
Retro-inspired motifs and geometrics used as wallpaper are kicking up a storm in kitchens. What’s ideal about this trend for South African’s is that popular African prints, patterns and designs can be used to create a truly African kitchen.
Place your wallpaper on the wall between your cupboards and the countertop for the best effect. Also bear in mind the type of wallpaper you use, go with one that can be easily cleaned. You don’t want dirt and oil from cooking to permanently stain the wall. Hang steel lanterns from your ceiling to grace over your kitchen island.
If you’re thinking of adding a touch of sophistication to your kitchen, we recommend adding window decals to your kitchen cabinets. If you need further inspiration take advantage of our home renovations guide when choosing your window decals.
Image credit: http://myhomedecorideas.com/
http://www.trendir.com/house-design/south-african-villa-with-cave-like-interiors-and-observatory.html, http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/kitchen-inspiration/north-carolina-rancher-kitchen
