Our Dream Kitchen – Inspirations and Dreams

Dreaming of a new kitchen has been something I’ve done for as long as I can remember.

It’s like it’s become a part of me.

Even before I had a house I could call my own, I scoured page after page of glossy magazines, ripped out pages, cut out images and ideas, pinned umpteen pictures in Pinterest and on Houzz, made a zillion mood boards and even created special ‘Monica-esque’ files and folders.

But now the dream is finally becoming reality.

I can hardly believe I’m actually saying it. It seems so surreal as if it was something out of my grasp almost.

I can hardly contain my excitement as we design it.

The thing is, I feel as though I’ve almost ‘overthought’ it in my head.

I’ve now looked at so many pictures, lusted after innumerable styles and coveted countless colour schemes that I feel a little bit overwhelmed and drowned in the endless possibilities available to us.

But, one thing which has always been a constant is my love of modern clean lines. And finally I think we’ve decided upon a scheme of fresh white and natural wood.

Which is also the compromise my husband and I have discussed.

In an ideal world I think we’d need a kitchen each to cater for our differing tastes, I have always loved modern/contemporary, whereas he is much more the traditionalist. So by combining the modern plain white with the warm tones of natural wood, we think we’ll get a little mix of what we both love.

After all, we will both have to live in it and love it!

Plus I think this looks elegant and sleek, and I think it will date a little less quickly than some other much more contemporary colour schemes.

And, when I look back and flick through the images I’ve saved over the years, I think I’ve stayed pretty true to what I’ve always loved and wanted.

The thing I love most is the blend of the soft, natural tones as I’ve never been one for too much overpowering colour, dominating dark schemes or to a certain extent the harshness of it being too stark and clinical. I think it feels warm and inviting, soothing almost and certainly a space to feel comfortable in.

But, just because I don’t want my walls painted in midnight blue, with bright orange glossy cabinetry, doesn’t mean I don’t want our kitchen to contain colour. The opposite in fact.

The idea of having the pretty plain backdrop, is that we can then update and refresh the room as and when we please. We will be able to add beautiful bursts and pretty pops of colour with pieces of furniture, fun wall art, new accessories and soft furnishings, as and when our different moods take us, or even as the seasons change.

Anyway, we are also considering a light grey added to the mix too. Ok, not exactly a colour, but it does add a little extra something to the scheme.

It will be a room which can be dressed to be light and airy through the spring and summer months, buts then to be turned into somewhere warm and cozy through Autumn and winter too.

As for the functionality of the kitchen itself, my dream is for it to be a space for family life and for socializing. Somewhere for us all to mill around, doing our own things yet in the same space, and for somewhere we can host dinners, parties, little family events and Christmases.

So, to help and illustrate further, the ideas I have locked away in my little memory bank, here are some ideas of how we would love to have our space. Obviously there are some here that are a bit ‘pie in the sky’ as we don’t have either the room or the budget to allow for such things, but it will give you an idea of what I’m aiming for.

I’ve also added some photos of my ideal storage spaces, as once this is completed, I plan to be as tidy and organized as possible!

Though as I say, one can always dream!

I absolutely love how clean and modern this space looks and although it really is a very ‘light’ colour scheme, the wooden tones really do turn the space from clinically uninviting, to warm and comfortable and inviting.

Um. Dream kitchen if ever there was one. I think this looks stunning. The colours are just perfect and would work easily throughout the year, and the room is organized perfectly to be a social space for lots of family and friends. I could move in here right away and be very content indeed!

Another view of the kitchen above. The island is something at the top of our wish list. The perfect space to sit and chat with friends, or the ideal space to have informal family brunches.

This is another one I love. As with all of the others, it is a handless design. I think this adds to how sleek the scheme looks, plus, having two accident prone daughters and a rather clumsy husband, its probably better that they can’t knock into anything jutting out!

Another thing here is the wine fridge. This is also pretty high up on our wish list. As are the huge windows. We are planning to have bi-folds installed in place of our current patio doors, and are also planning to widen and drop the current windows to make the room much, much lighter and brighter, and make the most of the outdoors.

Here I absolutely love the beautiful wooden floors, the neat and tidy ‘bank’ of units against one wall, and the plinth lighting.

All features we are currently looking at.

And these are exactly the type of drawers we are looking at too. Just look at that inner organisational storage. Seriously – if I had these I’d be in Heaven!

Even more super duper lovely gorgeously organised drawers! Heaven again!

And just look at this rather nifty little number for the perfect under-sink storage! It’s always been a bit of a bug bare or mine to have the counter top scattered with dripping washing up liquid, cloths and scourers, so this would just be ideal.

And this one, is a photo of how I hoped to have the room layout, but I think things have changed a little since that idea. I’m still going to try for the three separate areas though, the kitchen, the dining and the living, but perhaps I’ll just have to wait and see what the budget decides!

Anyway, there you have it, my ultimate dream kitchen ideas. I would be over the moon if I lived in any one of these spaces, and I really hope that I can take some of the ideas and inspirations form these to transform my own kitchen into my dream space.