The American kitchen has become essential in many interiors. Open to the living room, it alone symbolizes conviviality. But this is not its only asset. If the layout allows it, installing an American kitchen also offers many functional advantages. Discover now the characteristics, pros and cons of this trend coming straight from the United States.
HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE AN AMERICAN KITCHEN?
The American kitchen is characterized by three essential qualities: space, modernity and functionality. Zoom on these features that make this kitchen a must have for trendy interiors!
THE AMERICAN KITCHEN DECOMPARTMENTALIZES THE SPACES!
The American kitchen is an open room. This is its primary attribute: it decompartmentalizes the space allocated to the kitchen, by removing doors and walls. Thus, the kitchen overlooks a living space which can be the living room, the living room or the dining room. The room is usually separated by a kitchen table or a central island. This results in a spacious and brighter place. However, the American kitchen is not just an open kitchen! By expanding your space and merging different rooms together, you get a hybrid living room that invites sharing and conviviality.
THE AMERICAN KITCHEN IS FUNCTIONAL!
The American kitchen advocates practicality! It is therefore functional and equipped. For this, its layout respects the famous triangle of activity composed of cooking, cold and washing areas in order to facilitate and streamline each activity. Household appliances also occupy an important place. The central island, which can be used both as a worktop, a dining table or even a side table, must be equipped in this sense: with a shelf to store crockery or drawers to put cooking tools. Installing sockets on the central island is also a good idea to make the kitchen eminently functional. As you will have understood, in an American kitchen, everything must be thought out to make it practical!
THIS IS A MODERN KITCHEN!
The American kitchen has revolutionized our traditional concept of the dining area thanks to its practicality but also its modern aesthetics. Its airy space, its volumes and its furniture contribute to its success. We like to have kitchen stools rub shoulders with a central island or a high table. The furniture adapts, in fact, to our new lifestyles to meet all our needs.
THE ESSENTIAL FURNITURE OF THE AMERICAN KITCHEN
To create an American kitchen, a few elements are essential. Which? Follow the leader!
THE CENTRAL ISLAND
The most important element of American cuisine is him! Halfway between the living room and the kitchen, it transforms your space into a hybrid living room where people like to gather. It is essential in American kitchens because it offers a multitude of uses. It is both a table and a worktop, and can also house a sink and storage. However, the central island is not suitable for small spaces: it takes about a meter of distance between it and the other furniture in the room, in order to facilitate circulation around it.
THE KITCHEN TABLES
The kitchen table is an alternative to the kitchen island, which is too bulky for some spaces. In an American kitchen, a snack-height table (90 cm) is preferred rather than a standard table. The reason? The high table has the advantage of being particularly user-friendly and will structure the space between the two living rooms.
SNACK AND BAR STOOLS
Who says central island and high table, necessarily says snack stool or bar stool, the alternatives to traditional kitchen chairs! These stools take part in the spirit of the American kitchen and adapt to the height of the central island or the high table contrary to the traditional chairs. Of a substantial height, they allow to have a better overall vision of the room. The 65 cm high snack stools will go with 90 cm tables while the 75 cm or 80 cm bar stools will go perfectly with 110 cm high tables. Get right models on Homary.com.
STORAGE
Last key elements of the American kitchen: storage. They are essential, because the American kitchen being open to the eyes of all, order must reign there. To do this, there are multiple storage spaces in all corners of the kitchen: in the wall and base units as well as in the corners, but also in the central island. Storage accessories such as drawer organizers or spice jars are also mandatory, so that everything is tidy. In this type of kitchen, preference should be given to closed storage spaces, which offer greater organizational flexibility and give the kitchen the neat and orderly appearance so much sought after.
PROS AND CONS OF AMERICAN KITCHEN
If you are seduced by the American kitchen and you are considering installing one, you should know that it has many advantages, but also some disadvantages. To help you decide, we’ve listed the main “pros” and “cons” of American kitchen.
PROS
When it arrived, American cuisine met with great success, which can be explained by all its advantages!
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A LIGHT AND BRIGHT ROOM
An American kitchen is always a bright kitchen. Indeed, it enjoys a double contribution of light: that of the kitchen and that of the living room. Thus, the darkness is chased away to make room for clarity! In addition, this lighting is most often provided by natural light, the benefits of which are countless!
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A SPACIOUS AND AIRY PLACE!
The American kitchen saves space. It is well known, in a spacious room, we breathe! In addition, the American kitchen offers greater freedom of layout thanks to the large volumes it generally has.
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A PRACTICAL AND FUNCTIONAL SPACE
As we have said, the American kitchen is a practical and functional space! You will find plenty of storage space to install all your kitchen utensils and appliances.
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A FRIENDLY AND WARM KITCHEN!
We come to the last advantage of American cuisine: its conviviality! In such a kitchen, you never feel sidelined, thanks to the dining area that serves as a transition between the two rooms. Sitting on a kitchen chair, the person who prepares the meal can thus take part in the activities of the house without being recluse in a room. An American kitchen also allows more exchanges and effective communication.
CONS
Despite all its advantages, American cuisine does not always appeal to everyone. Here are the few disadvantages that must be taken into account if you have this kitchen project in mind.
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THE NOISES
A kitchen can make noise! Between the mixer, the dishwasher, the microwave or the electric mixer, we sometimes end up not knowing where to turn. In a closed kitchen, the partitions and the door act as soundproofing, but in an open kitchen, the noise spreads freely. These noise pollution can be very disturbing in everyday life: impossibility of being able to hear the television or the radio, impossibility of conversing quietly… In order to limit this inconvenience, the solution is to opt for silent household appliances.
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THE SMELLS
The kitchen knows how to delight us with good smells, with for example, the delicious scent of the cake baking in the oven. However, there are also much less pleasant smells in the kitchen, such as frying for example. In an American kitchen, these smells stay in the room for a long time and end up permeating the textiles in the living room. For these reasons, the hood is necessary. It must, however, be very efficient and, of course, silent.
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WE SEE YOU!
It’s obvious! you will say to me, but we sometimes forget that an American kitchen is a kitchen open 24 hours a day! It means being exposed to everyone’s gaze. It is also impossible to prepare a “surprise” meal, because your guests will immediately know what is on the menu. In addition, the various passages in the kitchen can disturb and interrupt the activity. Finally, the living room can potentially distract you with the presence of others and the television. Beware of forgetting in the oven!
