One of the most common question we field as custom kitchen designers is ‘where do you draw inspiration from?’
The answer is a surprising reality that many people don’t always see coming – because there is no one singular answer. Kitchen designers draw their inspiration from everywhere. Literally everywhere. And that’s the key; we need to be open to finding inspiration in every corner of life to keep ideas and kitchen concepts fresh, innovative, and exciting.
Homeowners are no different. If you’re beginning your dream kitchen renovation and you’re entering the exciting realm of fleshing out your first aesthetic and functional ideas, there’s plenty of sources from which to take stock of cool ideas and stunning visual cues that you can use and tweak to reflect your own personal style. The secret is being open to anything and everything.
In this post, we’ll list our favourite ways to get inspired and where to draw inspiration from.
Design Personalities & Influencers
The modern age of information helps people find and manifest inspiration for many different needs, and kitchen overhauls are no exception. There are a plethora of internationally recognized and celebrated interior designers and kitchen designers that make it their lives work to help people strategize and plan their dream kitchens by sharing photos, writing articles, experimenting with their own spaces, and even publicly helping friends transition the heart of their homes.
Influencers and design personalities are great for helping flesh out design inspiration – not just for their innate ability to formulate and execute chic and modern styling cues, but because their communication platforms also bring forward their experience in making it happen. They share their obstacles, their hurdles, their heartache, and their successes to help make renovating and rebuilding a distinctly human experience that helps shed light on a more authentic and realistic process.
If your own style depends on strategizing and pre-planning for potential hang-ups and big success stories, drawing inspiration from a well known designer or influencer may be the perfect way to find some virtual kinship for your renovation plans.
Magazines & Media
Trusty old print media and magazines are goldmines of influential and innovative kitchen aesthetics – and probably always will be. Even as modern society perpetually seems to be moving away from traditional forms of information-sharing like books and newspapers – the magazine is one vessel of inspiration that is consistently defying the trends. Much like the resurgence of vinyl records, home improvement magazines are seemingly untouchable in their ability to provide authoritative and genuine accounts of great renovation inspiration.
With so many publication decisions to make and one magazine to articulate the best opinions and photos in – liken magazines to the watchful and patient eye of a film photographer. While their digital counterparts shoot, shoot, shoot – film snappers are calculated and methodical in their selection of subject matter; magazines are much the same, and this patience and insight helps them to remain a fine source of kitchen inspiration, even in 2018.
Social Sharing
Sharing is caring, as they say — and social media is king for helping homeowners to not only narrow in on a desired kitchen style and aesthetic, but the vast and seemingly endless array of content can also help the modern renovator to expand their horizons and potentially find an ideal style, or a perfect feature that they may not have thought of before.
Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are the Holy Grails’ or social sharing these days, and the inspiration you can draw from the global reach, professional photography, and inspired blogging content helps kitchen renovation brainstorming become a hugely enjoyable and fun aspect of beginning your dream renovation. Log in, type in your style, and begin viewing kitchen spaces that will help you inform your own style and see concepts in action.
From Within
For many people, designing a kitchen based on their own tastes and experiences is a hugely intimidating and daunting task for the simple fact that loads of people mistakenly believe they don’t have the personal style or know-how to pull off a dream kitchen rebuild without outside help.
They. Are. Wrong.
Drawing inspiration from within your own being is an immensely gratifying and liberating process, and it’s full of surprises and revelations that not only help you get a design concept down onto paper, but can also open a door of self-discovery. You can do this, and it’s easier than you think to pull great ideas from your own mind.
First, sit down with a pad of paper and a pen. Begin to write down your ultimate wish list of kitchen features, and tailor that list with physical locations you think may host those ideas well to give your kitchen some shape. Imagine a wall removed, or a sink repositioned to look onto your property at sunset. No one knows your home like you – so you’re the perfect person to begin fleshing out these ideas that will power your reno towards its full potential.
If you like monochromatic colour palettes. Do it. If you like coloured appliances. Do it. Fancy a copper countertop? Make it happen. If you’ve always wanted a stovetop pot-filler. Get it. Want to minimize your island, by maximizing your storage, to make room for a small breakfast nook? You guessed it: do it.
Inspiration for your dream kitchen is one thing – but homeowners struggling with what style or aesthetic to choose need to remember one thing. This is your dream kitchen. No magazine or social media channel is going to epitomize your life, your style, and your unique needs; that can only come from within.
While all these examples may be good starting points; tweak, alter, change, reposition, and reimagine everything you see to help it fit your own vision of culinary space perfection. When in doubt, make sure you speak with your kitchen design consultant!