Finding the best kitchen design for your home starts right here, right now. We sought out the most stylish winter project kitchen remodeling ideas, sure to brighten up your home in the dreary months. Join us, as we examine some of the best kitchen designs and discuss just what it is that makes them so desirable.
Kitchen Remodeling in Winter
When the nights get longer and the days get cool, we spend more and more of our time indoors. After a few weeks, cabin-fever starts to set in. We find ourselves looking at what we can do to both fill the time and brighten up our home life. Winter is the perfect time to start that big project. Winter is the perfect time for kitchen remodeling!
Why would you remodel your kitchen? The kitchen is one of the most heavily trafficked areas of your home. It is used every day, at least three times, by every member of your family. With such high traffic, it gets grubby faster than any other room of the house except the bathroom.
Another reason why you might want to remodel your kitchen is for added property value. The amount invested will see an average 60% return on your investment when it comes time to sell. Couple that with the luxury of a fully furnished, clean and extravagant suite and we can begin to see the appeal.
The Best Kitchen Designs for Remodeling this Season
Every winter brings new evolutions in style and trend. We picked some of the best kitchen designs and arranged them in one place for your ease of use.
Although all of the best kitchen designs stand out because they are unique; there are a few remodeling features that they all share. Some of the best designs include:
- Spatial awareness – every space has been maximized to suit the purpose of cooking, eating, and storing food. Kitchens with excess units, bulky hardware, or décor that suited no purpose was not considered.
- An eye-catching feature – some have a feature wall with a nice tile finish, some have a pattern on the floor, and some had French windows.
- They are either bright or warm – color schemes in kitchen remodelings are a much-contended issue. We can assure you that all the best kitchens are either light and refreshing, or warm and comfortable. Nothing dark, dinghy, or that didn’t optimize the light made it through our filters.
Now let’s look more closely at some of the best winter remodeling projects for your kitchen.
Kitchen Remodeling Ideas for Galley Kitchen Designs
Galley kitchens are difficult for anyone that doesn’t have an eye for design. The lack of moving space can be difficult to encompass. There are a few features that all the best galley kitchen designs have in common. They all share these things:
- Everything is streamlined – to maximize space in a galley kitchen everything needs to have a purpose. A cupboard can have the dustbin swing out attached to the door. Tables can fold up or down into the wall when not in use. Shelving and storage racks can be placed wherever there is free wall space.
- They use light, bright colors – galley kitchens are dark in nature owing to the positioning of cupboards and shelving. Lighter, brighter colors will open the space up and make it seem larger.
- Don’t work ‘against’ your corridor – kitchen remodeling is all about optimizing the flow of a space. If you want to add islands in a galley kitchen, make sure you have enough room for them.
So with these three golden rules in mind, let’s look at some of the best styles of galley kitchen out there.
Keeping it White
Galley kitchens styled in white look extraordinary, plus the white kitchen designs open up the area so that it is elongated. White galley kitchens seem lighter, more radiant, and really reflect that bright winter-sun glow.
For some nice white kitchen designs take a look at this one, by Decoist. We also appreciate this one, on Pinterest. The dark flooring and black and white accessories really pop against the white. Additionally, because the archway at the end leads straight through to the dining room, the dark flooring doesn’t take away from the space.
Adding a Ladder
If you have limited space but high ceilings, adding a ladder to your galley kitchen could add an extra layer of storage in a space you thought was unusable.
You can add in shelving up there, use some furniture hooks to hang pots and pans, or just leave it open and stash items atop the cupboards.
Have a look at this image from Bob Vila. The space is decorated in a wood just light enough to be bright. The length of the door and the fact that it is glass really lets the light in.
If this opening wasn’t there, this galley kitchen design might appear dark. Fortunately, it doesn’t, and that ladder looks fantastic.
Sleek and Chrome
Chrome in kitchens will always be fashionable but the metal finish is generally antimicrobial too. Better Homes and Gardens sport a lovely white wood, light pine and chrome kitchen – but we just want to borrow the idea a little.
Go for a sleek, chrome finish to your galley kitchen, and then add touch-to-open drawers and cupboards for the even effect of a handle-less finish. What a beautiful end to your winter kitchen remodeling project!
Kitchen Remodeling for L-Shaped Kitchen Designs
Kitchens that form an L-shape can be tricky to design since the angles don’t always allow for the smoothest finish. That being said, there are plenty of L-shaped kitchen designs that work. Unlike a galley, an L-shape is less likely to soak up the light, so darker colors are a real possibility.
Some of the features we found the best L-shaped kitchen designs shared were:
- They made full use of the corner spaces – those corners shouldn’t be left empty, nor should they be wasted space. Some of the best designs turn those corners into pull-out wine racks, small storage spaces, or are used to form part of a breakfast bar.
- They are symmetrical – even although they are shaped in an ‘L’, symmetry can be found in the lines running parallel to the ground. Keeping your shelving to one height and depth will help keep your kitchen looking neater.
- They used color – while white is refreshing and bold; colorful kitchens create a warm, homely feel that can’t be found in any other room of the house.
With these three features in mind, take a look at our top picks for the best L-shaped kitchen designs.
The Patterned and Colorful
On the subject of color, we found a nice variety of examples. A patterned floor can work if you have enough space. Likewise, dark or bold colors can work in a kitchen that is large enough.
If your kitchen isn’t large, then try a warming, almost-lemon shade and some yellow lighting.
Color doesn’t just have to be in the walls, floors, or units, either. Changing up your lighting when you have your kitchen remodeled is almost a necessity.
Strip lighting is a favorite at the moment, as is under-unit lighting. If you have shelving on the walls then this is a nice option to add a touch of color to any white kitchen designs.
Corner Innovation
Don’t see the corners as a challenge when remodeling an L-shaped kitchen – see them as an opportunity to get creative. More importantly; realize that you can’t always beat them. Sometimes, absorbing an inaccessible corner with a breakfast bar or tiny cupboard is the only thing you can do.
One way around the corner problem is to measure your remodeling to fit very precisely into the space. The two corner cupboards are deep but run sideways. This is the standard and can present a little trickiness when trying to retrieve items from ‘around the corner’.
Another lovely design idea we found involved building a bench onto the back of any protruding ‘L’ and making a comfortable seating area. Yet another is to block off the corner with a cupboard or standing display cabinet. This will work as long as you have enough space.
Open Plan
Many of the best kitchen remodeling projects we come across aren’t large kitchens. They tend to be small kitchens with open plan access, archways instead of doors, or doors with large windows that let in lots of light. If you are struggling with darkness in the brightest room of your house, then think about going open plan.
The great thing about a full remodeling is that you can choose how the space will work for you in the future. Opening it up to more light might even work in your favor. Consult with your architect or contractor and find out if it is a possibility for your home.
House and Garden have a lovely example of how homely and warm an open plan kitchen remodeling can make your house feel. They have chosen a country-style, which we also adore. If you shy away from a minimalist style then an open plan can still be of favor to you. This example, from Habervan, is unique in its clutter and is better for it.
Kitchen Remodeling in Winter – An Excellent Idea
Needless to say that remodeling a kitchen is always a good idea, particularly if you are looking to sell your property. However, those winter months will be much less boring with a gorgeous new kitchen to enjoy. Imagine the mulled wine, the roasted chestnuts, and the family gathered for holiday feasts… wouldn’t it all look so much better in a newly remodeled kitchen?
