Thursday 25 May 2017

Handy Hacks For Lighting Up Your Dark, Dreary Kitchen

For anyone like me who loves to cook, the kitchen is the heart of the home; it’s the hub of the whole building. In a lot of family homes, the kitchen isn’t only the place used for cooking but also the space that everyone uses to congregate in. Being a space that gets a lot of use, naturally, you want your kitchen to be a space that you enjoy spending time in, right?
But what happens when it’s not, what happens when it’s somewhere that is dark and dreary? Whenever you move somewhere new, you have to compromise on certain things, perhaps in the home that you’re in now, your compromised and agreed to have a dark kitchen and now you’re regretting it? The good news is that you don’t have to move to love your kitchen. Instead, you can simply make a few changes to improve it.

I'm very lucky that I pretty much bought my house for its kitchen - it was vital to me to have a big, bright and airy kitchen, and I'm lucky enough to have a big dining room adjoining the kitchen, but I'm well aware some people aren't as lucky.

Mrs Bishop's Kitchen

Mrs Bishop's Kitchen
Mrs Bishop's Kitchen

If you'd like to know how you can make more of your dark, dreary kitchen then read on for some top tips and advice for making more of your cooking space.

kitchen mr.jpg
Use mirrors to reflect light
It might be one of the oldest tricks in the book but when it comes to ways that you can make any room lighter, using mirrors can work wonders. The idea is that if you hang a mirror on the opposite wall to one where natural light comes from, it will reflect that light back into the room. This can help to make the space look and feel lighter. For a kitchen, you could opt to have mirrored cabinets installed, instead of using an actual mirror, or a mirrored splashback perhaps? Find ways to creatively implement mirrors into the design of your kitchen, and you can easily add extra light to the space.
Repaint using a light tone
Could part of the problem be the paint that’s been used? If the room is decorated in paint that’s a little on the dark side, this could be making the room feel darker than it actually is. So why not repaint the space? Pick a nice light shade - ideally white or cream - and repaint the room. Once you’ve repainted, you are sure to see a difference in terms of how lovely and light the space looks and feels.

kitchen 54.jpg
Be smart about lighting
In rooms that are a little on the dark side, it pays to be smart about lighting. Instead of just having an overhead light in place, consider getting more creative. Perhaps you could use different kinds of lighting to help brighten up the space? How about using LED strip lighting to add extra light to the room? To find out more about this type of lighting, click here and have a browse - there are plenty of options, it’s just a case of finding the one that’s the best fit for your home and budget. Another option could be to swap to using spot lights, rather than normal lights as these tend to create a brighter light. There are various options to consider in terms of lighting; it just depends on your budget and personal preference.
Renovate
Something else that you could consider doing in renovating the kitchen and having extra natural light sources installed. Whether that means having an extra window fitted or patio doors, it doesn’t matter, all that matters is that your kitchen becomes lighter. Obviously, renovating isn’t always an affordable option, but it’s one that’s worth considering.
There you have it, everything that you need to know about adding extra light sources to your dark and dreary kitchen.


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