If you are thinking of renovating your kitchen you may well be faced with the great dilemma of choosing an open or closed kitchen. The closed kitchen was the preferred concept for a long time as part of a classic layout.

However, the virtues of an open concept kitchen or open plan to the main living room are making it a very attractive and preferred option for modern spaces. Similarly, there are intermediate options where the kitchen is partially separated from the dining room and the living room.

If you have problems deciding which kitchen would be the right one for your renovation, we bring you a series of tips from the expert point of view of VB Reformas Integrales so that you really get to know the type of kitchen that you are selecting for your home.

An open kitchen: more space and light

An enormous advantage of joining open spaces is to make the most of all available square meters. Having connected rooms allows for visual continuity, and creates the sensation of being a larger space.

Moreover, natural light is not artificially reproducible and opens the way from the living room, all the light that enters will flow along both environments.

A great advantage of this open concept layout is that people who are cooking can participate in any group activity that happens in the living room without interruption. This improves the atmosphere with your family and friends to a great extent as well as speeds up the tasks of serving and cleaning the dining room as everything is connected. 

Here are some factors to consider if you want to include an open plan kitchen in your home renovation: 

1. Choose the kitchen furniture in keeping with the living room

Since both environments will be united, you should take into account that both environments must be in harmony. That is to say, the decoration styles have similarity or at least be compatible. This enters into the previous planning of the kitchen, which is something we highly recommend. Here you can learn more about it. 

2. An extractor hood is indispensable

A major concern of many Spaniards when having an open kitchen is that kitchen smells are invasive and annoying. To quickly solve the problem of kitchen smells, it is very important to include a powerful cooker hood. There are options on the market for excellent quality cooker hoods that are of discreet design and can easily be included in your kitchen.

3. Space can easily be saturated

With such visual fluidity throughout the living room and kitchen, it’s easy for the environment to seem messy with some things out of place. Both the living room and the kitchen should have enough storage space to keep as much order as possible and not become overcrowded. You need to consider that you will need to invest a little time to keep everything tidy and pleasant.

A Semi-Open Kitchen: Exposing Just a Little

An open kitchen usually involves including an island or counter that serves as a transition, but the entire space remains physically connected. This way it is not necessary to keep a kitchen completely open.

It is possible to create a partial space separation; to get the best of both options. You can do this in different ways, for example by only partially separating the kitchen, a half wall that closes off only part of the kitchen. Here are some suggestions on how to close your kitchen just a little bit:

1. A window to maintain contact

There is no need to lose all contact with the room, a window that joins both spaces can be a great help to maintain the participation of those who are cooking and the ease of serving the dining room. Additionally, it can be closed or opened as a convenience so it’s a great option if you want a more open space occasionally.

2. Glass walls

Use glass walls or partitions held in metal frames to physically separate the kitchen but maintain a visual flow. This is a good option for a delicate separation of both environments.

You can choose to close the kitchen completely with glass walls and leave an access of glass doors, for that modern and diaphanous effect.

3. Separation of levels

A difference in height between the kitchen and the living room can be an even more subtle form of separation. An open room is maintained between the two spaces but the steps maintain a separation that avoids shuffling.

A closed kitchen: The private and classic option

Closed kitchens are perfect for those who want to maintain completely different spaces. This has a great advantage in terms of design freedom, because by completely separating the two rooms, the design of each is independent.

Furthermore, it allows to separate all the activities of the kitchen to maintain more privacy. It certainly gives the freedom to maintain a more orderly scene in the living room as all the havoc of dishes and pots are hidden behind the door.

1.- Freedom to decorate

By keeping the living room and kitchen as separate rooms, you have the freedom to choose independent decorating styles. This allows you to add a variety of styles without losing harmony in your home.

Want to know tips for decorating your kitchen? Here are some options that will help you.

2.- More order

Keeping the room separate prevents a messy kitchen or one with lots of utensils in sight from being an uncomfortable background decoration. It requires less effort to keep both rooms tidy if they are separate and especially if you have visitors it can be a relief to leave all possible clutter away from the kitchen.

3.- Odour-free room

While a quality cooker hood will prevent any problem of bad odours, if you are particularly strict about keeping a room free of any odours that may arise from the kitchen, you should consider keeping the two spaces completely separate.

We hope that with these observations it will now be clear which kitchen is ideal for a complete renovation of your home. All that remains is to calculate the budget, if you want to know about the calculation behind the reform of a kitchen we invite you to read this article.

We recommend that you consult with professionals about the layout of your dream kitchen to save you from any functional problems. Do not hesitate to contact us at VB Reformas Integrales to obtain a quote and consult on the project of your dreams.

Which style of kitchen do you prefer? Let us know your opinion in the comments!