Who said that kitchen renovations are easy? Even if you don’t roll up the sleeves to do the hard work and leave it all – from the planning to the actual tearing & building, to a kitchen remodeling contractor, you have some serious decisions to make. No contractor will ever try to influence your opinion or change your interior style.
So, are you a minimalistic kitchen kind of person? Or like the affluence maximalism brings? Even if you are familiar with both architectural terms, you may not know which route to follow.
You see, it might be easy to decide on whether to go minimalistic or maximalist in the living room. But in the kitchen, things are a tad different. It has to do with the kitchen accessories, the easiness of having everything around you when you cook. Even if you love absolute order, you might love the chaos a maximalist kitchen design brings.
But wait a minute. Is this chaos or intended affluence? Let’s take a look at both trends and then you decide.
Minimalistic kitchens – going for less is more
Yes, minimalistic kitchen designs keep the counters empty and things out of sight, but that doesn’t imply no function, no comfort.
What does a minimalistic kitchen look like?
Entirely clutter-free.
After all, the main concept of minimalism is clean lines, no clutter at all. The whole idea is to see less, while getting more (or all). To achieve the crispy looks and nearly nothing in plain sight, minimalistic kitchens are often white or black or gray – solid colors, no mix. No intricate designs. There’s also lots of storage space since everything is hidden.
Only a few essentials are kept on the kitchen countertop. Plus, the standard kitchen cabinets over the counter are missing. There might be one line of cabinets or simply a long shelf, instead. There’s usually (although, not always) a kitchen island, while the color and overall design of all cabinets and pieces of furniture in the room are the same – at least, similar. There’s consistency – the tool needed to create the crisp, clear lines.
Maximalist kitchens – a flavor of more is more
The trend of maximalism started as a reaction to minimalism. It started by people, who wanted to celebrate the material world and every little object they loved. So, don’t confuse maximalism with chaos and clutter. While it is a sort of clutter, it is intentional and well-organized. It’s not random or messy.
What does a maximalist kitchen look like?
Like it could use a few more storage shelves.
In a maximalist kitchen, the countertops are not empty. Most – if not all, objects and accessories can be seen, even if they are kept in cabinets – thanks to glass doors. Here, redundancy and excessiveness rule. The colors may be neutral but they are often bold, intense, screaming for some attention. There is pattern, texture, intensity.
But there’s also order. All the above may be extreme, but it is all intentional. There might be a lot on the counter or open shelves but everything is in order. Don’t make the mistake to believe that a maximalist kitchen is one and the same with a cluttered kitchen, because it’s not. There’s just too much emphasis on more and embellishments and intense colors that they often give the impression of disorder, whereas this is not the case.
Maximalism & minimalism – a little bit of this, a little bit of that
Who said you need to follow one route or the other? You can borrow the best features of each trend and bring it to your kitchen. For example, you can keep clean lines by going easy on colors but you can avoid the complete nakedness of minimalism by keeping all essentials on the countertop.
Their best features? Minimalism makes use of natural materials and neutral colors. Maximalism doesn’t say no to anything. And they both have one common denominator too. They both embrace order. The question now is whether you want absolute order or orchestrated chaos.
