Open and Semi-open Kitchen Design
Hong Kong’s renowned high land prices have prompted recent developments to adopt open or semi-open kitchen designs extensively. This approach aims to enhance the sense of space within units and make them more practical. Many customers also choose to convert their existing enclosed kitchens, commonly known as “closed kitchens,” to open or semi-open layouts in pursuit of aesthetic appeal. Recognizing the market’s strong demand for open-plan kitchen renovations, let’s share some experiences.
3 major guarantees
6 advantages of open kitchen design
Save space
An open kitchen can effectively reduce the use of partition walls, which not only saves space but also makes the unit more practical and flexible. The space freed up by the open kitchen can be used as a dining table or as a passage as needed. This open kitchen design can also enhance the visual sense of spaciousness within the home, making the entire space look more transparent and bright.
Open and beautiful
The open design of open kitchen decoration can expand the field of vision and enhance the sense of space. The design and material selection of open kitchen cabinets can be coordinated with the design of the living room and dining room, making the styles of the two more unified and beautiful, and making the planning full of coordination.
Increase time with family members
An open kitchen decoration also allows family members to easily interact and communicate during cooking activities. Family members can share cooking skills and experiences in the open kitchen and create delicious food together. The open kitchen design can enhance interaction and mutual care among family members and strengthen family cohesion. In addition, through the interaction and communication during the open kitchen cooking process, family members can enhance their understanding and love of food and cooking.
Property prices are more affordable
An open kitchen can effectively reduce the use of partition walls, which not only saves space but also makes the unit more practical and flexible. The space freed up by the open kitchen can be used as a dining table or as a passage as needed. This open kitchen design can also enhance the visual sense of spaciousness within the home, making the entire space look more transparent and bright.
More light
When designing an open kitchen, we generally ensure that natural light enters the open kitchen through the windows to make the entire living space brighter. However, natural light can also add points to the open kitchen design.
Increase building value
In the past decade, open kitchen design has been regarded as a necessary element to increase the sense of modernity. Therefore, many open kitchen designers will add this element to new or renovated buildings to increase the attractiveness of the house and improve its value.
4 Key Points of Open Kitchen
4 key points of renovating open kitchens:
1. The issue of cooking fumes
When cooking in an open kitchen, cooking fumes tend to spread to every corner of the house, causing unpleasant odors and leaving grease stains on furniture and walls, making cleaning difficult. Accumulated cooking fumes over time can also cause furniture and walls to yellow. To mitigate these issues, when designing open kitchen renovations, consider installing high-powered range hoods that can effectively absorb cooking fumes and prevent indoor air pollution. Additionally, controlling the generation of cooking fumes during cooking can help avoid indoor air contamination. Regularly cleaning the kitchen and furniture can also effectively prevent grease from adhering to walls and furniture.
2. Safety
Due to the lack of partitions, children are more likely to access open kitchens area, which may hinder the cooking activities of kitchen users and lead to accidents in the kitchen. The kitchen area is surrounded by hazards such as cooking stoves, knives, and hot water. To prevent these problems, safety measures can be installed when designing open kitchens, and hazardous items can be placed in areas less accessible to children.
3. Cleanliness
Open kitchen design requires long-term maintenance of cleanliness. When people enter a unit with an open kitchen layout, any clutter in the kitchen is immediately visible. The cleanliness of the kitchen directly affects the overall feel of the living space. While most open kitchens in case studies are very clean and attractive, it is difficult to avoid the presence of clutter or stains in daily life, leading to a potential gap between ideal and reality.
4. Less sense of space
Typically, open kitchen renovations feature fewer kitchen cabinets due to the absence of walls for hanging items. Consequently, storing larger upright items such as brooms, mops, and umbrellas becomes more challenging.
What is a semi open kitchen?
What is a semi-open kitchen?
The so-called semi-open kitchen design refers to separating the kitchen and living room by non-traditional methods, such as using glass, sliding doors, half-height walls, low cabinets and center islands. A semi-open kitchen retains the open nature of an open kitchen while also avoiding the problems associated with some open kitchen designs. Therefore, more and more people prefer to use semi-open kitchen solutions.
The 2 benefits of a semi open kitchen
2 advantages of a semi-open kitchen
1. Addresses some of the Issues associated with open kitchen designs
Using glass, folding doors, or half-height walls to separate the kitchen from the living room can reduce the spread of cooking oil fumes to other areas of the home, preventing unpleasant odors from filling the house. Incorporating low cabinets and kitchen islands can increase overall storage space, addressing the inherent limitations of open kitchen renovations.
2. Visually appealing
Even though referred to as semi-open kitchens, they can still achieve the aesthetic and stylish effects of open kitchens. Designers can incorporate various design elements into the partitions or furniture of semi-open kitchens, such as using different types of glass or utilizing different types of stone on the countertop of the kitchen island.
Our open and semi-open kitchen design services
We provide open and semi-open kitchen design solutions to meet the specific needs of our clients, allowing them to choose their preferred style and design. Through meticulous customization services, we aim to fulfill various expectations our clients have for space transformation, enabling them to enjoy both aesthetically pleasing and practical kitchens while enhancing their overall quality of life. Our services are designed to achieve the following outcomes:
Utilizing a variety of materials efficiently
As professional designers and construction teams, we understand the advantages and disadvantages of different materials. When it comes to choosing partitions, it’s not necessary to stick with bricks. For instance, if homeowners want to maintain the open feeling of the kitchen while blocking grease and smoke, our designers might suggest using glass partitions. However, there are various types of glass materials available, and our designers will provide guidance on which to choose and how to combine them effectively.
Efficiency
When moving into a new building where kitchen cabinets and appliances are already included, our kitchen renovation service can add partitions to create an open kitchen without damaging the cabinets and appliances. The entire process does not require dismantling the cabinets and appliances, let alone rebuilding from scratch. This can save you time and money.
Unique style
We understand that semi-open or open kitchen renovations are indeed aesthetically pleasing and can complement the overall home style. Therefore, our designers will add partitions based on the overall style, integrating kitchen design elements such as choosing appropriate lighting, wall materials, kitchen appliance combinations, etc., to create the perfect kitchen atmosphere.
High-quality service
We value the ideal quality of all finished products, but also understands the importance clients place on the process. Our team of professional kitchen designers, engineers, and comprehensive assistants will provide clients with reassuring and attentive service, offering three guarantees: a pricing guarantee, a timeline guarantee, and a service guarantee, all to assist you in completing your ideal open or semi-open kitchen design.
Frequently Asked Questions
Semi-open and open kitchen design – FAQ
1. Do my family members need to temporarily move out of the house during the renovation of a semi-open or open kitchen?
The main reason why open or semi-open kitchens are popular in Hong Kong is that they can enhance the sense of space. Hong Kong has a small land area and a large population. Every inch of land is valuable. Of course, we want to make full use of every space through open kitchen design. In addition, using an open kitchen can effectively enhance the interaction between family members. Therefore, many families in Hong Kong will use this type of kitchen. Whether it is an open or semi-open kitchen, we generally do not recommend guests to stay at home during the construction period.
Most open kitchen decorations require the following construction procedures, such as removing walls, changing the location of water and electricity, and replacing floors. This series of work will generate dust and noise, which is likely to affect the quality of life. Therefore, we recommend that guests move to other places to live during the construction period of the open kitchen decoration to avoid unnecessary dangers. If the guest’s open kitchen renovation only makes some minor changes, such as changing the cabinets, gas stoves and other equipment, generally speaking, there is no problem for the guest to continue to stay at home. In addition, most semi-open kitchens are connected to the dining room, but the partition is reserved in the design to block the fumes from the kitchen when in use. During the semi-open kitchen renovation, the guest can stay at home without causing too much interference. Whether it is an open kitchen or a semi-open kitchen, we still need to evaluate whether the guest can stay at home based on the actual situation.
2. Should I choose an open or semi-open kitchen?
According to our experience, in addition to choosing a semi-open or open kitchen based on personal preferences, it is also necessary to consider living space and personal future plans.
First of all, it is the sense of space. It is undeniable that an open kitchen can increase the sense of space in the living environment. For many Hong Kong people, it is especially important to create a comfortable and spacious feeling in a small space. Then there is the interaction between family members. An open kitchen effectively promotes communication between family members, and you can still chat while cooking. A major advantage of a semi-open kitchen is that there is a certain degree of isolation to prevent the smell emitted when the kitchen is in use from spreading to other rooms. Whether it is an open or semi-open kitchen, the final choice must be determined based on the actual size of the space, customer needs and cost.
3. What should you pay attention to before decorating an open kitchen?
Many customers think that an open kitchen is just a matter of demolishing the original wall, but in fact, reconstruction requires a detailed assessment by the Vanguard professional team, including whether the work involves the structural walls of the building, whether it affects the water, electricity, gas and other pipes in the kitchen, and whether the open kitchen design will affect the layout and planning of the living and dining room. For example, if the original kitchen is converted into an open kitchen or a semi-open kitchen, will the only wall where the TV can be hung be demolished, thereby affecting the normal use of the living room. Finally, there is the consideration of safety. For example, if the kitchen is changed to an open kitchen or a semi-open kitchen, it will be safer for guests to use an induction cooker instead of an open flame stove. At the same time, we must also consider whether the stove head is too close to the sofa, dining table and other places where people stay for a long time. This will also bring many hidden dangers.
4. Does choosing a semi-open kitchen mean there will be more storage space?
In most cases, we will first understand the needs of the customer before we carry out the semi-open kitchen decoration, such as the design style of the semi-open kitchen and the practical use of the furniture as a partition. Many customers use semi-open kitchens for the purpose of adding storage or display space, so we recommend using more functional furniture as partitions. The advantage of a semi-open kitchen is not only convenient for storage, but also can provide more storage space, which is especially suitable for the living environment in Hong Kong.
5. What are the decoration and design styles for open kitchens?
There are numerous styles of open kitchen decoration design. Among them, it is worth mentioning that the modern style adopted by many customers. The entire open kitchen design will be based on simple lines, using smoother building materials such as marble and quartz stone. At the same time, the open kitchen can also choose warm-toned lighting design. Another common style for open kitchen decoration is the Mediterranean style. This type of open kitchen will be based on bright colors, which makes people full of vitality. The open kitchen design will also use a large number of colored tiles and plant decorations to create a Mediterranean style.
Regardless of the type of open kitchen decoration adopted by the customer, we will recommend that the open kitchen be matched with the main style of the home to make the overall feeling more unified.
6. How to solve the problem of oil smoke in an open kitchen?
We have encountered many customers asking about the oil smoke problem in open kitchens. From our perspective, there are actually many solutions.
One of the solutions is to add a sliding door to the open kitchen. There are many sliding doors on the market, and customers do not have to worry about affecting the overall appearance of the residence due to the addition of sliding doors. Sliding doors can be added outside the open kitchen or outside the dining area, and can also separate the dining room and the living room. Another thing is to choose a suitable range hood for the open kitchen, or a range hood with stronger wind power, because the suction power is relatively high, which effectively blocks the oil smoke from the open and semi-open kitchens to other places in the home. The ventilation position of an open kitchen is also very important. When cooking, open the windows and exhaust fan next to it to allow air circulation and exhaust the fumes outside the house. There are also many home appliances on the market that are friendly to open and semi-open kitchens. For example, if the owner wants to fry food, he can use an air fryer instead of deep frying to reduce the occurrence of high fumes.
7. What are the options for sliding door designs for open kitchens?
The relatively cheaper open kitchen sliding door design is an opaque style, which can also completely hide the kitchen. Another is the glass transparent sliding door, which can retain the sense of space of the whole house without losing its beauty. Finally, the open kitchen uses a movable screen sliding door, which guests can close or move to other places for partitioning at will, which also effectively reduces the fumes from the open kitchen from spreading to other places in the room.
