Creating a More Inviting Kitchen

The kitchen is a wonderful place, full of warmth, creativity, enticing smells,
and delectable treats. It’s no wonder that people tend to gravitate towards this
space as a kind of social center within the home. However some kitchens are more
welcoming than others, and there are a number of steps that you can take to
actually increase the inviting nature of this space. In this way, you can create
a room which brings people together, letting them take part in the act of
cooking as more than just a functional necessity, but as an interactive communal
activity, that can make everyone in the home closer.

The first thing that you should do is ensure that the flow into and out of the
kitchen is easy and natural. You don’t want large obstructions blocking any of
the entryways, and in general, the center of the space should be left unoccupied
to allow easy movement throughout the space. This is as important for the
functional ability of the chef, as it is to make the space seem open to people
stepping in and stopping by.

The way you decorate the kitchen will determine the nature of the environment,
and ultimately, the way people interact with the space. Unfortunately, a lot of
room in the kitchen actually has to be sacrificed to ensure that your chef has
everything necessary to perform their culinary tasks.

One place where you can have a fairly free hand to decorate in a kitchen is the
walls. Aside from shelves or racks, which are fairly optional, the walls are
free from cooking duties, and as such are a great place to express your
decorative leanings.

In order to create a more welcoming kitchen, decorate your walls with pictures
and portraits depicting comforting themes. Images of families, of friends, of
parties and picnics, are all great themes to make the space more social. Another
option is to use images of food, or clever posters of foreign cafes and
restaurants. By decorating with culinary themes you can reinforce the thing that
makes the kitchen so tempting in the first place.

Adding a table and chair set to the space is another way to make this room seem
more welcoming to the people in your home. Such an arrangement will give
visitors a destination. Rather than being forced to wander through the kitchen,
stumbling in and out of the chef’s way, people will actually be able to
comfortably congregate, gathering around the table and engaging in social
moments. The surface area will also provide a place for these visitors to
participate, giving them room to help out with mixing, chopping, or stirring,
depending on the inclinations of the culinary captain.

While a kitchen has to be inherently functional, it can also serve a dual
purpose, acting as a space where people can come together and enjoy one
another’s company, while basking in the warm glow of savory smells and sumptuous
tastes. This can be accomplished by arranging the space to increase the flow,
decorating to increase comfort, and actually setting aside specifically for
people to congregate and communicate.

Article provided courtesy of PebbleZ.com’s line of unique, natural stone kitchen tables, hand
crafted in the United States from real pieces of mountain born stone. The
article itself was written by artisan and designer Joey Pebble.