The presence of a dining area in the kitchen is the most popular option for organizing the process of cooking and eating food for our compatriots. Many people find it much more convenient to install a dining group in the kitchen, so as not to carry food from room to room. For others, it is a matter of saving space, when not only the kitchen and dining room, but also the living room are combined in one large room. The popularity of studio apartments in this case played an important role in the growth of demand for the organization of the dining segment in the kitchen. In this publication, we would like to provide you with a wide range of design projects for kitchens and dining rooms of different sizes, layout methods, stylistic and color solutions. We hope that a large selection of interiors will allow you to find inspiration for decorating your dream kitchen-dining room.
Deciding on the layout of the kitchen area
The most popular options for organizing a dining area in a kitchen are linear (in one row) and angular (L-shaped) layouts. This is not surprising, because it is precisely when storage systems, household appliances and work surfaces are located along one wall or with small perpendicular branches that the maximum possible amount of usable space remains for installing a dining group. In very spacious rooms with a large window or a walk-through structure, you can find a parallel layout of the furniture set and the dining area in the kitchen-dining room
Linear layout – ideal for arranging a dining area in the kitchen
By placing a kitchen set along just one wall, we save useful kitchen space. There is room to install a spacious dining table and chairs, even in medium-sized kitchen spaces, not to mention the spacious kitchens that country houses or private households located within the city can boast of..
If it seems to you that with a single-row layout it is possible to place too few storage systems, that most of the space in the working area is occupied by household appliances – take a look at the design option for the kitchen-dining room in the photo. The built-in storage system, which is located from floor to ceiling and around the doorway, will provide you with the ability to store not only all the necessary kitchen utensils, but also items from other life segments of your home.
In rooms with high ceilings and large windows, it is often not possible to place the upper tier of kitchen cabinets. This situation can be partially solved with the help of open shelves for dishes and other kitchen attributes located between the windows. In the design project shown in the photo, the storage issue was solved by installing an additional level for organizing a spacious pantry. Thus, it was possible to provide the kitchen not only with a dining area and placement of all the necessary household appliances, but also to create an extensive storage system.
Lack of storage systems or space for integrating household appliances in single-row kitchen furniture can be made up with an island. A hob or sink can be built into the worktop of the kitchen island. On the inside, place pull-out or hinged storage boxes, and extend the outside with a tabletop to organize a place for breakfast and other short meals.
L-shaped layout for the kitchen-dining room
With an angular arrangement of the furniture set of the working area of the kitchen, in a medium-sized room (from 8 sq m), there is enough space to install a small dining table with a capacity for 4-6 people.
A corner layout can be the only practical option for embedding a kitchen unit in a room that is itself made in the shape of a letter «D». In this case, there is no need for zoning the space into the working and dining segment, the room itself performs this function.
Parallel layout in a kitchen with a dining segment
In the spacious rooms of the kitchens of country houses, there is enough space to arrange the kitchen set in parallel in two rows, and in the center of the room to install a spacious dining table with original stools. For a walk-through room or a room with a large window in the center of one of the walls, this is an ideal option for placing not only an extensive storage system, but also work surfaces and household appliances.
With a parallel layout of the kitchen ensemble of storage systems, household appliances and work surfaces, you can refuse to install the dining area in the center of the room, in favor of an alternative placement of the kitchen island, and move the dining segment to a corner with partial placement in the soft zone.
A soft corner in the kitchen-dining room – a comfortable dining area
Arranging a seating area in the kitchen is a great opportunity to organize a dining area with comfort. A good place for the soft zone of the dining group is the bay window. Making soft seats in the shape of a bay window, you not only rationally equip the available space, but also get the opportunity to have meals with the whole family at the window, admiring the beautiful view of the nature of your own yard or the territory adjacent to the house.
The couch can become a continuation of the kitchen set, so you can not only create a harmonious atmosphere in the kitchen-dining room, but also organize furniture in a narrow and long room. If you move the dining table away, the soft window seats can be used as a reading corner.
In rooms with complex geometry, it is necessary to use all the available space in the most rational way. In an asymmetrical bay window, you can install a dining area, part of which will be a couch. Snow-white finish and light furnishings of the premises for cooking and dining «smooth out» imperfection of room shapes and design features.
In order to slightly smooth out the geometry of a square or rectangular bay window and the soft corner located in it, install a round or oval dining table. The unusual design of the table will diversify the interior and decorate the atmosphere, and the use of a light palette of bay window decoration and glass surfaces will create a light and relaxed appearance of the dining area..
The spacious kitchen has a large seating area. A spacious soft area located by the window with a dining table attached to it created a comfortable and original dining area.
We attach a dining group to the kitchen island
To save space in the kitchen area, the center of which is the island, you can add a dining area to its end in the form of a small dining table and several chairs. By fixing the tabletop of the dining table to the wall of the island, you free up space for the legs of households from two furniture legs.
The classic kitchen furnishings with white traditional kitchen cabinet facades and stone countertops become modern and take on an Art Nouveau touch when installed to the kitchen island an original dining group consisting of a snow-white table with mirrored legs and dark leather-upholstered armchairs. Add an unusual blue glass chandelier to the decor and get an original and memorable image of the kitchen-dining room.
Choosing a color palette and style for the interior decoration of the kitchen-dining room
The kitchen is the focal point and heart of any household or apartment. And if a dining room is also located in the kitchen, then from a cooking center, the kitchen space becomes a gathering place for the whole family and even receiving guests. The impression of the whole house will depend on how this room is decorated. That is why when choosing a color palette and stylistic direction, which will serve as the basis for the design of the kitchen-dining room, we try to find options that will suit all family members and create a pleasant, comfortable and practical atmosphere for cooking and dining with the whole family..
Interesting and practical colors
White will always be the most popular color in kitchens. And the point is not only that the snow-white furnishings give the room freshness and lightness, white decoration and furniture visually expand the space and push the boundaries of the room, but also that, in fact, it is much easier to care for white surfaces.
In order to bring brightness to the snow-white idyll of the kitchen space, one colorful element is enough. Use bar stools in a rich shade or a bright kitchen backsplash.
The white color of the fronts of kitchen cabinets perfectly matches the gloss of stainless steel. If you finish the kitchen backsplash with gray glossy tiles, you can create not only a harmonious and relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen-dining room, but also equip the room in such a way that it will be cozy and comfortable for all family members and guests at home..
The total use of white in the room brings an element of cool atmosphere. For a little «warm up» the atmosphere of the room, you can use the integration of wooden surfaces, whether it is part of kitchen furniture, ceiling beams or decoration of window and door openings.
In the choice of color solutions for decorating the kitchen-dining room, you can go beyond using white and wood shades by adding a bright, rich color in the performance of the furniture. The blue color of the base of the kitchen island has become not just a highlight of the kitchen interior, but also an accent in orienting the center of the room..
To create a contrasting interior of the kitchen-dining room, you cannot come up with a better combination of black and white in the furnishings and decoration of the room. An absolutely black kitchen set built into a niche with an uneasy shape and a snow-white island are related by the use of marble countertops to cover work surfaces. A black wall in a room with a light finish becomes an accent, given that it was possible to pick up household appliances for embedding exclusively in black tones.
Another example of the contrasting design of the kitchen area, in which white is used for the execution of the facades of kitchen cabinets and the peninsula, and the black tone looks great as the basis of countertops, door and window openings. In this case, the bar counter attached to the peninsula not only acts as a place for organizing short meals, but also serves as a screen, zoning the space into a working kitchen segment and a dining area.
The black and white decoration of the room and the design of the kitchen set in soft beige wood tones create a truly interesting ambiance for a spacious kitchen. A non-trivial approach to design and color solutions makes the room memorable, despite the modest execution of the kitchen facades and dining group.
An alternative to using white to decorate kitchen furnishings is to use light, pastel colors. Against the background of white walls, even neutral light colors will look impressive, but at the same time they will retain the atmosphere of a calm and peaceful kitchen-dining room, in which absolutely everyone is comfortable.
The gray color of the kitchen facades will not be boring if you dilute it with the snow-white decoration of ceilings with stucco molding and a fireplace, a lot of glass decorative elements on the chandelier and transparent plastic of the original dining area. Despite the minimalist design of the kitchen unit, neutral colors, the presence of plastic furniture, the kitchen-dining room looks luxurious. Her furnishings are practical but also inviting..
Another example of the execution of kitchen furniture in gray tones, even the table top of the dining table has a grayish tint. But at the same time, the room does not look impersonal, boring. Thanks to the skillful combination of white and wood shades, the integration of glass, mirror and glossy surfaces, the interior of the kitchen-dining room is interesting and attractive..
Kitchen space with gray cabinet fronts can be vibrant. It is enough just to add to the deep gray-blue shade of furniture the brightness of wooden surfaces and the variegation of mosaic wall decoration above the working areas of the kitchen-dining room.
Kitchen-dining room style – variations on the theme
The style of your space for cooking and dining will depend on what style was chosen for the overall design concept of the entire apartment or house. For bold and creative solutions, it is also possible to deviate from the general motives in the interior of the home, but it is still better to leave some connection between the rooms of home ownership, so you can feel comfortable and calm, being in a harmonious and balanced space. If your kitchen-dining room is located in a country house, then the country style for its design may be a good option. It is not necessary to install wooden kitchen cabinets with unpainted surfaces; these can be quite traditional facades. But the dining area is better made of wood and can be used as an option with carvings and decor, as well as rustic design in a deliberately simple and even rude form of execution.
To decorate a loft-style kitchen, the minimalist design of the kitchen set and the island, which, thanks to the built-in countertop, also becomes part of the dining area, is perfect. For stylistic affiliation in this room «answers» decoration, which contains all the characteristic features of the design of former industrial premises converted into residential apartments – a spacious room with a high ceiling and large doorways, brickwork and open communications, ceiling beams and ceilings that are not hidden from view, but act as a decor of the space.
The classic kitchen, using traditional storage fronts, glass inserts on doors and natural stone countertops, is filled with marine motifs using exclusively white and blue colors. Textiles, dishes and kitchen accessories in blue tones look great on a white background and bring a touch of sea freshness and coolness to the atmosphere of the room.
The minimalism style presupposes the most practical and convenient design of the space without the use of unnecessary decor, and sometimes even the absence of decorations as such. The strict and laconic shapes of kitchen cabinets, a neutral color palette, the use of natural materials and the installation of furniture, household appliances and work surfaces in accordance with the canons of ergonomics – the resulting interior is not only rational and functional, it is also outwardly attractive.
