A kitchen is a place of magic. It’s the beating heart of a house, where dreams of food become delicious spreads right before your eyes.
A truly beautiful kitchen is not just a place for creating amazing dishes, but a soothing space for the soul. Any Malaysian knows the joy of a well-prepared dish!
With such an important function in our households, the kitchen is a space that requires a unique approach to interior design.
There are serious practical considerations, alongside the need to create a space which makes you relaxed and comfortable.
Kitchen design in Malaysia isn’t just about shuffling around the oven or fridge, it’s about why and how to create an area that brings about happiness too.
So, let’s explore interior design kitchen ideas to feed the soul and inspire the mind in 2020 and beyond!
Building a balance in kitchen design
The first thing to consider when discussing your fantastic new cooking is the balance between a wet kitchen design and dry kitchen design.
The wet kitchen is the area where the magic happens. It’s the oven and hobs that turn tasty potential into amazing food reality, as well as the sink and other preparation stations.
This area requires more frequent cleaning, and any design should take into account these practical needs, alongside the aesthetic value.
The dry kitchen is all about preparation and presentation. It’s where interior design has a little more freedom to experiment. Not every kitchen in Malaysia has the room, or a need, for these two partitioned areas.
But separating these two not only helps promote better food hygiene and a more productive kitchen environment, but also provides an opportunity to consider kitchen design from a whole new angle.
Here are 10 amazing design ideas and themes to help inspire that perfect kitchen of your dreams, followed by some unique bonus tips for those of you with mini kitchen challenges.
1) Vibrant colours
Life needs a pop of colour, and there’s no better place where that passion can be more alive, than in the kitchen!
Bring some vibrancy into your kitchen style with bright colours that echo the beautiful palette of your cooking.
Kitchen cupboards are the perfect place to let this style thrive, creating a patchwork of colour that brings your kitchen to life.
2) Standalone colour
This style can incorporate modernist design elements, but is more bold than the simple whites and blacks so often associated with that style.
Include vibrant kitchen cabinets in a single colour that livens up the kitchen, whether that’s a polished wooden finish or shiny easy-care plastics.
While a darker counter or surface top might make for a practical choice, there’s no reason to be held back in embracing the passion and vibrancy of cooking into the unique design of your kitchen too.
3) Simple minimalism
Minimalism sometimes gets a bad reputation for being boring, but it’s all about thinking of the simple ways to really make a space special.
Use simple white or black colours to make a bold contrast that stands out, and avoid clutter on surfaces by clever use of storage spaces.
You want a clean, sleek feel to your kitchen that opens up your space to light and joy. Consider a statement workbench such as beautiful white marble, or simple but stunning white bench.
In a kitchen, minimalism can have a further benefit of opening up more space for wonderful creation. That means more countertops for preparation, and a much simpler space to clean once the magic is complete.
4) Hipster chic
Call it bright and brassy, or bold and metallic, there’s no doubt that a combination of brushed metal and beautiful (often reclaimed) wood is a growing style choice for many kitchen designs in Malaysia.
You’ve likely seen similar stylistic elements incorporated in your favourite trendy coffee shop. Think reclaimed wood surfaces and design elements, while brushed metal copper and frames create uniquely beautiful storage spaces.
This is a great design idea for people looking to incorporate a bit of that stylish coffee shop vibe into their own property.
5) Open storage
An element of design that overlaps with the hipster chic is the joy of open storage. Think shelves stacked above the workbench or practical corner stands.
Open storage spaces built into metal frames also add a really interesting design element to this kind of space.
Not only does this design style allow you to show off the design of your kitchen itself, but if you’re one of those people who finds joy in buying unique and beautiful kitchen items or crockery, this open design helps you incorporate that visual story too.
6) Rustic kitchen
The rustic kitchen combines the joy of food with a vintage appeal, creating a beautiful kitchen space with echoes of a European farmhouse or old country home.
This style appeals more to bungalows and large kitchens than some of the more minimalist kitchen design ideas.
Include a large range-style cooker as a centrepiece of your cooking, and a large rustic white ceramic sink that oozes charm.
Cabinets could be pine or light wood, potentially coloured with simple pastel colours that create a relaxing and appealing ambience to your kitchen.
Create hanging hooks for kitchen utensils that really amplify that feel of a lived-in and much-loved kitchen space.
7) Open layout
This is more of a structural choice than a question of colours and style. While cooking can add a little flavour to the house, open plan kitchens add a little flavour to the whole cooking experience.
Makan-makan should be shared, but so should the making of it! Cooking can be a wonderful family and friendship experience, combining the joy of the food with the pleasure of sharing it with others.
Consider an open design to your kitchen that creates a new social area, opening up into other shared areas in your property.
A workbench to replace a wall can also add more space to your kitchen, creating an even more positive experience for your cooking.
8) Scandinavian design
Everyone loves a bit of Scandinavian design (if the entire house could look like something out of an IKEA catalogue – perfect!), and they’re happy to have that with the kitchens too.
This is about bringing in natural wood colours alongside your traditional kitchen finish. Use bright white tiles and pastel colours on wooden doors.
You can even take the alternative option and go for a subtle dark pine finish, with an open-bottomed workbench or table that keeps that idea of open spaces alive.
9) Bold and black
We’ve talked about colours a lot, but there’s also a simple beauty in the solid black design. After all, you can’t go wrong with something that just screams "rebellious"!
This classy option is probably best in kitchens that also receive a little natural light, as there’s no doubt that a core black palette can seem to sap the light from the space in smaller kitchens.
Use uniform black for cupboards and features, but consider a lighter colour for your workbench to balance that dark and brooding appeal across the whole space.
10) Tech-tastic design
We admit we made up the term ‘tech-tastic’, but with all the amazing kitchen technology available today, the idea of a futuristic and technology-driven kitchen is a really exciting opportunity.
Consider a futuristic appeal with design elements that incorporate the latest in kitchen technology. Connected fridge/freezers can tell you when you’re out of essentials like milk (thanks fridge!).
A Bluetooth speaker/stand can help keep the tunes going, while you scroll through a recipe on your tablet (or you could even get your smart assistant to read out the recipe).
There’s even a growing trend for high-end interactive workbenches which combine a kind of smart screen technology with a durable kitchen appeal. Sign us up, and blast off to the future!
Unique small kitchen ideas
If you’re looking for condo kitchen design ideas, or something special for your small kitchen, here are some unique tips that might help you find the right balance between perfect food and perfect space.
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Consider the kitchen triangle
One great concept to consider when looking for a small kitchen design is the joy of the ‘kitchen triangle’. Some of you might have heard of this concept, but for those who haven’t, it can be a revelation in how you order an efficient kitchen.
The kitchen triangle sort of does what it says – it creates a triangle of your three most important kitchen features to improve workflow in the kitchen.
The sink, the refrigerator, and the stove should create a triangle, which vastly improves the simplicity of undertaking the most common cooking tasks.
While the kitchen triangle works well in a large space, it can create a unique boost to kitchen productivity in a small space too.
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Hidden cupboards
Hidden cupboards are an amazing way of providing additional storage space, without taking up the open space in your kitchen itself.
These can be rotating storage areas that fold out from the awkward corners of the room, or drawers which rise up from small recesses in the floor to add an extra layer of space.
It’s all about being innovative and creative in using mechanical solutions to open up the spaces you might otherwise not get to. This can be a particularly helpful idea for a condo kitchen design.
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Build down as well as up
Okay, so building normally starts from the floor up. But with a little innovation, and some good installation, you can also bring in the benefits of building from the ceiling down.
Hanging storage space above your workbench or preparation area can bring in a whole new storage area to your kitchen.
This is related to the open layout design we talked about above, but it’s also a great idea to maximise your available space in the kitchen.
Who really needs that big ball of open space just floating around above your counter, when you could be storing your collection of coffee-making equipment and ingredients instead?
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A cart can help
This is a simple idea to open up a new surface and storage space in your kitchen. A simple serving cart is a really cheap and unique idea for your mini kitchen challenges.
The top of the serving cart can be kept clean as a preparing or serving area, while the storage space beneath is the perfect little addition to balance any problems with tiny cupboards.
It’s up to you what you store and where, but we’d recommend that you find a cart that slips easily under the kitchen table if you need to.
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Hanging hooks
Pots and pans can take up a lot of room, but they’re also the opportunity to create a statement decoration that boasts a bonus practical benefit.
Install hanging hooks or wall hooks to store your pots and pans, opening up space in drawers for grocery items or other cooking equipment.
Clever use of hooks can not only provide a practical solution for storage, but can even add a whole new design element to your kitchen… especially if you’ve got a set of beautiful pots and pans that you’re proud of!
Kitchen design is all about creating a space that echoes the passion for good food. Want to get passionate about more interior design? Check Out These 5 Dining Area/Dining Room Ideas To Inspire You.
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