Photo Source: Canadian Home Trends, Creating Kitchen Zones with Ramsin Khachi
Maximize your light
Inviting natural light into your space is a great way to engage the outdoors and keep your electricity bill low. Consider adding a skylight, bay windows or a walkout feature that extends your kitchen or living area into your porch. A minimalistic colour scheme comprised of shades of off white will reflect the natural light and further brighten your space.
Combine your common areas
Particularly with older cottage properties, you may find the interiors to be truncated, with walls and doors providing definition between the kitchen and living areas. Consider the benefits of an open concept common area. This gives the illusion of a larger space, and better traffic, light and air flow.
If you prefer distinction between the rooms, consider a large pass-through window between the living and kitchen areas. This will encourage light flow while maintaining boundaries.
Change up your cabinetry
Dark wood can sometimes come off looking dated, especially in a small cottage kitchen. Consider revamping dark wood in your kitchen with a few coats of paint. Lighter cabinetry will reflect light better.
Photo Source: backyardbuildings.com
Convert your shed into a guest suite
Sheds are perfect for stowing away bikes, gardening tools, boating equipment and other things that have seasonal use, but if you’re noticing that you don’t have much to store during winter months, why not convert your shed into an in-law suite? If size is an issue, consider a hobby room, a playroom for the kids or a mini gym.
Update your porch
One of the key elements of cottage living is spending less time glued to Orange is the New Black on Netflix, and more time enjoying nature’s entertainment system: the outdoors. Beautifying your existing porch could be the first step in getting you and your family off the couch and into the sun. Evaluate your current structure. Does it suit your family’s needs in terms of size and design?
Updating your deck or porch structure could be as simple as a repairing and re-staining the existing structure.
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