We’ve been renovating kitchens in and around Manchester and the north-west for decades (4 to be exact!), and while every kitchen has its own unique touches, designs and bits and bobs, they usually all follow general themes. In this blog post we want to highlight what our most popular ones tend to be and why we think they’re popular and hopefully give you some ideas for your future kitchen renovation with Manchester Builders!
Modern Style Kitchen Renovations
Modern kitchens are normally the most popular type we do. When people are thinking about improving their kitchen, they want to create a space that feels new and clean and modern kitchens achieve this. Their tell-tale signs are usually clean, smooth, solid colours and lines, with not much extra or fine detailing. They are very utilitarian and almost always come in smooth concrete or stainless steel and plain white external surfaces. Some will also have plain geometric patterns throughout.
They are built to be functional spaces so you can get in, cook and get out as quickly as possible, while forcing you to keep the space clean by having no detailing that can hide dirt. We think their only drawback is that they lack soul which means people don’t want to spend any extra time in them which we believe to be a great shame as families should spend more time cooking in their kitchens with love!
Coastal Style kitchen renovations
Another popular style we use for our kitchen renovations is a Coastal style. These will usually be painted in decorated in typical colours you find on the coast; light blue, green, white, cream and light or dark browns. The wood will often be stained to look similar to driftwood and play off very well against the lighter blues used. Often they will have lots of natural light coming in through many windows and skylights and rely on lots of warm electrical lights.
These kitchens are popular because of the bright, airy and light spaces they create for people spending time in the room. It makes them a pleasure to be in and can often be the place where people set up their work base at home due to the calming, natural atmosphere created! They also make fantastic spaces in the summer due to their natural cooling feel with lots of airflow.
Mediterranean style kitchen renovations
While the Coastal style is all about creating an inviting environment by using light, Mediterranean is all about using lots of deep, dark colours to draw you in. These kitchens use a lot of natural stone, dark wood, yellows and reds to create a warming scene you’d find in the middle of Tuscany. Expect lots of dark, stained wooden beams amid a white wall, antique furniture and a few signs and posters in French or Italian. In some will even be an open fireplace used both to cook and warm residents!
These rooms are fantastic in the Winter due to their warming effects, but can feel a little stuffy in the summertime due to how dark the room can be and all the natural materials holding the heat. Generally however, if your home is very “homely”, with lots of natural furnishings and a cosy feel, this kitchen style would be perfect for you!
Traditional style kitchen renovations
Finally, another popular style we get asked for is traditional kitchens. While traditional can tend to be a very catch-all term, generally there are a few common themes. They’ll aim to be homely and cosy, with a lot of wooden cupboards and detailing, a fair amount of glass doors for cabinets and textiles. Think of your Gran’s china cupboard for an idea of what to look for! There’ll be a large amount of natural materials, fur, felt, sewn blankets and things along those lines.
These kitchens work very well because they can allow you to bring a lot of your own individual touch to your kitchen and fill it with your own antiques and souvenirs such as family heirlooms; blankets, chairs and the like. They are usually the most homely style due to your ability to really make the space your own!
While there are a fair few other styles for kitchens such as contemporary, country farmhouse, old world and others, these are what we find the most popular are! We hope this post has given you some ideas for your kitchen and what you could do with it!
If you want to contact us about our kitchen renovations, then you can fill in the form on our site or call us on 01614100526!