Summer is here, and that means garden parties, BBQs, cold drinks and great times with family and friends. At no other time of the year is your kitchen so important as in summer. There’s food to prepare, drinks to pour and guests to entertain.

But what if you could enhance that summer feeling? What if you could make your kitchen summer-ready all through the year? What if you could capture the essence of summer and enjoy it in the cold depths of winter? Well, you can do just that!

We take a look at how you can design a kitchen with summer in mind, to not only open it up when it’s hot and sunny but to give it that summery feeling any time of the year.

Use an Open Layout

The easiest way to bring summer into your kitchen is to design it with an open layout. Open space, clear lines of sight and zero barriers will help to foster a friendly atmosphere in the kitchen, and allow you to better interact with family and friends while you’re preparing food and drinks.

Parties and dinners flow better with an open layout, and there’ll be no exclusions or secluded chefs. Prepare food while you chat with family or pour drinks while your guests are relaxing in the dining area that’s also part of the kitchen.

Add in a Kitchen Island

Kitchen islands are a fantastic way to utilise existing space. These kitchen worktops look brilliant if they are made from granite or quartz, and they add a new aspect to your kitchen design.

Rather than having a wide-open space in the middle, you can have a purpose-built kitchen island where your summer party guests can stand or sit while you’re preparing barbecue meats or mixing potato salad.

A kitchen island helps to complement an open kitchen design, as it keeps the kitchen environment open and sociable.

Lighting and Windows

If you’re looking to maintain a summer atmosphere throughout the year, the most important elements to consider are lighting and windows.

A closed kitchen with little natural light isn’t going to be summer-ready. We love summer because it’s bright, hot, and full of sunshine. High windows that run from ceiling to floor help to bring in natural light.

Countertops set up next to windows will help to bathe you in the sunshine while you’re preparing and cooking food. Natural light is even more important in winter when it’s cold and dark.

You need to be able to let in as much light as possible or summer will escape you.

Bright Colours

Bright colours are just as important as natural light. Bright, summery colours help you to keep the summer spirit, even when it’s snowing outside.

Bright white walls can help to maximise the amount of light bouncing around the kitchen, although they might be overwhelmingly bright.

Subtle greens, blues or yellows aren’t so startling and provide a welcoming atmosphere throughout the year.

Outdoor Access Should Be Easy

The best way to bring summer into your kitchen is to make outdoor access as easy as possible. If your kitchen backs onto a patio, embrace the outdoors by having large patio doors installed to let in lots of light and let the outdoors flow inside.

Make it easy to stroll between kitchen and outdoor seating area, and try to create an open and continuous area that’s enjoyable to be in.

Indoor Plants

Add some life to your kitchen by bringing the outdoors in. You can do this throughout the year by livening up your kitchen space with indoor plants.

These can be fake plants if you’re worried about looking after them, or if they can get enough light during winter you could keep some hardy, green plants inside to keep summer alive.

The ultimate summer kitchen is a purpose-built outdoor kitchen. You can take all of your cooking and party hosting into the garden with an outdoor kitchen area.

Complete your outdoor kitchen with summery countertops that complement your inside kitchen areas, and build a barbecue around the rest of your infrastructure. Install fridges, sinks, worktops and more, and enjoy the great outdoors while you cook up a feast in the sunlight!

We have an expert team ready to help you design your perfect summer kitchen. Contact Granite & Quartz Installations today for your free quotation and to find out more about having your ideal kitchen installed.