How to create a sociable kitchen

The days are gone when the kitchen was just for cooking.

Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it was going that way anyway, but the kitchen is so much more than a place to prepare food.

It’s a place to eat, drink, talk, dance, share and live – a social space that gets used day in, day out.

And if that’s the kind of kitchen you’re after, the next question is: how do you create the social kitchen?

Here are some ideas…

Go open plan in your kitchen

Open plan kitchens are fantastic social spaces – they allow you to have different zones, and have more than one thing happening at a time.

Islands, seating areas, breakfast bars, they can all help open the room up, creating a hub so you can get social.

Match it, then mix it up in your kitchen

On the one hand, the more the kitchen blends into the rest of the home, the more it’ll feel social. So, start by having some similar materials, décor and colours flow through your different areas. This will be hugely helpful in bringing it all together.

 Then, to add layers of interest and subtly divide zones, mix up materials, add texture and introduce accents of colour.

 This classic kitchen below is a great example – with the furniture extending out to include a day bench, a navy sofa to complement the units, and similar themed lighting used throughout.

 Depth is created with the wooden dining table, a soft rug between areas, and pops of yellow in the dining chairs.

Seating in sociable kitchens

 Want your kitchen to be social?Seating is a must. Whether you get your main dining table into the space, or you just have a small seating area via a breakfast bar or island, giving people somewhere to sit while you cook, clean and get things done is a gamechanger.

Deliberate on kitchen doors

Open up doorways with a double door, create more light with a glass door, or – if you can’t go totally open plan - scrap the door altogether.

If you’re big on the outdoors, a bifold at the end will create a social space between the kitchen and the garden, allowing an ‘indoor outdoor’ feel – perfect for hosting!

I hope these ideas have got the creative juices flowing. For heaps more examples of sociable, open plan kitchens, check out our kitchen projects page.