In recent years there’s been a trend to make the kitchen a bigger and more important part of the home, instead of it being a remote room where food is prepared and then taken through to the dining room.
It makes a lot of sense, especially if you have young children who you want to keep an eye on while you are preparing a meal, but you want to give them space to play too. Many living kitchens have room for not only a dining table, but also a small sofa or an area to have some toys out.
Of course, whether you can make a living kitchen in your home depends on how big a space you have, and what possibilities you have for making it bigger. Many dining rooms are often adjacent to the kitchen, so it is relatively easy to knock through the two rooms to make one big space. But this may not be the case in your home, in which case you could look at building out into the garden from the kitchen instead, perhaps through extending the kitchen with a conservatory.
You still need to create a certain amount of separation between where you prepare food and where you all sit down to eat, especially for those times that you want to entertain guests. A peninsular work surface with ceiling cupboards above it can provide this separation without cutting the room into two.
If you are keeping your existing kitchen units and work surfaces, then you should choose a dining table that complements the style of the kitchen. However, there are so many different dining tables to choose from now that you won’t be restricted in your choice.
Make clever use of all the extra space that you have in the living kitchen. You may want to increase the amount of storage – with a sideboard or dresser. You can also buy cheap wine racks online that come as standalone units, which can work really well if you have an empty corner that might not otherwise get used.
Spend some time deciding what you want in your living kitchen before you buy anything, and make sure you measure up accurately so that you don’t buy furniture that is too big or too small.