How to do an open plan kitchen-dining-room with a difference
Open plan kitchen and dining rooms have become so much a feature of how we live now, that we've had occasion to wonder – is the dining room truly dead? We're not totally convinced on that one, but there's no doubt that the open plan approach is one that works well for contemporary life. Having started to gain momentum in the 1970s, it shows no signs of going away soon. Like all popular ideas, though, it can get a bit boring. The classic approach is to to break up a large open plan space with an island, which then serves as a dividing line between kitchen and dining area, and can also be used as a breakfast bar. There's nothing wrong with this, and in many spaces (like the large extensions we now tend to build onto the backs of houses), it works perfectly well. It's not the only way to do it, however, and if you're in search of some more interesting ideas, or if you have a smaller space to work with, read on to see the clever ways the designers on our pages have tackled the problem.
Kitchen-dining-room ideas with a difference
Christopher Horwood1/10A frequent feature of open-plan kitchens is the island that also serves as a breakfast bar, but we rather like it when this idea is reversed, and a dining table serves as an island when needed. That's the case in this Georgian house in Clerkenwell, where designer Rachael Gowdridge has used a high wooden table to double up as extra space, along with woven stools as a place to perch.
DEAN HEARNE2/10Banquettes built into bay windows can be incredibly charming, and if you're one of the few city dwellers who still has their kitchen at the front of their house, it's a lovely way to go. Holly Howe, a designer at the family business Howe London, has used one to provide seating for the Regency-style mahogany table in the front of her north London house. Ernest Race's 'BA3' chairs finish off the circle, while the kitchen is a simple one-wall design. A sitting area occupies the rest of the space.
Milo Brown3/10Working with custom kitchen designers Apron Kitchens, Lonika Chande has crafted a clever little kitchen in this 19th-century Chelsea house – using her trademark flair for colour and pattern. We like how the miniature peninsula creates a wall for one corner of the banquette, which has cheerful striped upholstery to distinguish it from the rest of the joinery.
Owen Gale4/10When Tobias Vernon, the gallerist and dealer behind 8 Holland Street, opened a new space in Bath, he decided to create a superlatively sophisticated guesthouse where visitors can immerse themselves in the gallery's unique aesthetic. The kitchen-cum-dining room has an unusual layout, with a one wall kitchen down one side, Vitsoe shelving at the back of the space to display dishes and glassware, and a beautiful yellow island as a centrepiece. The front of the room is occupied by a glass dining table. The kitchen was designed in collaboration with Plain English, with cabinets painted in the brand's ‘Pretty Pickle’ paint colour and the island in their ‘Nicotine’.
Mark Fox5/10We adore this kitchen extension at the back of Katie Glaister of K&H Design's south-west London house, which is a totally different take on the usual style. The double height space creates serious grandeur, with room for large pieces of art and a vast refectory table with hand-painted decoration by Rosie Tatham. Timber windows, spray-painted in Argile’s “Celadon,” offer a gentler aesthetic than the usual steel.
Paul Massey6/10In Rita Konig's farmhouse in Durham the interior designer didn't want her kitchen and dining space to be too kitchen-y, so she has moved the appliances into a scullery and installed a dresser by Plain English, painted in the company’s ‘Army Camp’ green to provide storage and preparation space in the main area. Rita’s collection of antique glassware is displayed on the top shelf. A mix of Arts and Crafts dining chairs from AvW Antiques (with cushions in ‘Persian Flower’ in jewel by Soane) and antique ladderback chairs surround the large antique Italian dining table from Tallboy Interiors.
Andrew Montgomery7/10Designer Patrick Williams of Berdoulat advocates for kitchens that feel more like living rooms, emphasising organic, eclectic furnishings over uniform sets. His own kitchen at his house in Bath, inspired by the functional beauty of great houses like Lutyens’s Castle Drogo, features an electric range, a sink with an open pot shelf, and a traditional plate rack. Less aesthetic paraphernalia – the mixer, bowls or Tupperware – are concealed by a ‘hard-working’ glazed screen, blending utility and aesthetics while avoiding clutter.
Simon Brown8/10In small city flats, having the kitchen, dining space and living area all in the same room is not an uncommon phenomenon, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. Beata Heuman managed to create a sense of separation in this tiny London flat, with a U-shaped tucked into one corner of the space. This immediately created an additional surface on which to serve food or use as a bar. ‘It also provided a wall against which to place a banquette, which was something the owners really wanted,’ says Beata. The rest of the sitting room occupies the other half of the room to the right.
James McDonald9/10Designer Martin Brudnizki's compact west London flat perfectly demonstrates the cleverly layered look of which he is a master. The small kitchen is given an aura of calm by the soft colour scheme, enlivened by house plants. It is a loosely open space that compliments the flow of the flat. A tiered island in the middle of the room also serves as a casual dining table with stools set around it.
Paul Massey10/10The English owners of this picture perfect beach house on Cap Ferret enlisted the combined efforts of local builder Guy Allamand and London architect Jonathan Tuckey. As a nod to the owners' love of seafood (and famous seafood-tower parties), Jonathan designed the long kitchen island to be more a seafood bar than kitchen work surface, enabling everyone to gather round. The original intention was that the island would be zinc, but it proved difficult to have made, so stainless steel was used instead. Handmade by Devon based furniture maker James Verner, it was designed to be robust and forgiving of holiday life and sandy feet, with open shelving on the walls on which to display pieces found on their travels.
