Inspiring Kitchen Extension Ideas
If you're after kitchen extension ideas for your home, you’ll need to think about how your spaces will flow. A kitchen extension will increase the square footage of your home, increasing the value of your home as a result, which is never a bad idea. But it's important to get your new kitchen extension just right.
There are tonnes of different kitchen extension ideas available, whether you're investing in an Ultraframe conservatory, orangery or extension for your new kitchen.
Here are our top ideas for creating your perfect kitchen.
1. Be smart with your space
When looking for kitchen extension ideas, you above all need to be smart with your space. If you don't have as much floor space at your disposal, you can use intricate storage systems to make the best use of the room. When investing in a kitchen extension, it's always a fantastic idea to make the most of your investment.
As a result, you may be left with more room in your kitchen extension than you first imagined, allowing the room to be a better, more open social space for you and your family.
You may even have room to include one of our other features or ideas as a result of this. Maximising space with your essentials can leave you with a new kitchen extension you're proud of.
2. Add Light To Your Kitchen Extension!
Light will play a vital part in your design strategy – as it will connect different areas of your home together. Your choice of roof therefore plays an important role in dictating how much light will fill your new kitchen.
An Ultrasky Roof fuses the classic style of an orangery with features of a glazed extension. It uses fewer bars in the roof and extends to the eaves beam, which means it lets in more light and provides better views of the sky.
Kitchen extension designs built using the Ultrasky roof also benefit from unbroken views of the outside. This roof system can incorporate a structural goalpost that remains hidden while allowing bi-fold doors with a span width of up to 6m to be fitted into its structure.
3. Add a Roof Lantern
A popular kitchen extension idea is to integrate a roof lantern into a solid roof structure. Adding a roof lantern to your kitchen conservatory extension will flood your new space with light.
Bigger kitchen extensions connect with other areas in a home when light entry into the room space is properly enabled. The Ultrasky Lantern uses slimmer bars than other lanterns – and fewer of them. Better internal and external sightlines and improved views come as standard with the Ultrasky Lantern.
As well as allowing light to be focused centrally – on a breakfast bar or dining table, for example – the Ultrasky Lantern is the perfect idea for a kitchen extension for a different reason. Spotlights or hanging lights can be fitted into the ceiling to make your space warm and cosy when the sun’s gone down.
4. Go Open Plan!
Another great idea for a kitchen conservatory extension is to create an extension that connects seamlessly to your home for an increased sense of space. Knocking through the internal walls in your home may seem daunting, but it's a great idea to revamp and transform your home. It can help make your kitchen extension the focal point of your home.
Doing so would help you achieve a kitchen extension with a look similar to the one below. Click on the hotspots for more information on the designs featured.
5. Connect your Kitchen to your Garden with Bi-Fold Doors
Bi-fold doors open fully to create an almost threshold-wide access point that will come into its own when you’re entertaining while also letting in more light. Your kitchen, extension and garden will feel connected, and guests will be able to flow through your newly-created space with ease.
6. Create Your Perfect Space by Adding A Veranda
Is a standard or open-plan kitchen extension idea best? With a veranda conservatory, you can have both.
If you want a space that is multi-functional and designed to suit any occasion – not to mention any weather – this is a conservatory that will provide a solution to your kitchen extension dilemma.
Two Spaces Or One?
A Veranda conservatory creates two distinct spaces that could be used separately or flow together. The oversails in the roof create a sheltered pocket, which could be used for entertaining or relaxing during the evening or rainy weather.
Bi-fold doors could be used internally and externally, which means you could separate your kitchen from your conservatory – and your conservatory from your garden.
When fully opened, your doors would connect all three spaces. You could use your garden to host a BBQ, then head back inside for some drinks and relaxation.
If you want to let more light in, glazed side frames can be added to your design. The roof and frames can be colour-customised to ensure continuity. Our Veranda kitchen extensions stand out for all the right reasons!
7. Choose the Right Colour Scheme
Kitchen extensions need more than light if a sense of space is to be achieved. This is a room you will spend a lot of time in, and visitors will pass through it on their way to your garden. You may choose a neutral colour, such as white, as your primary colour and use reflective glass to decorate notable features – - like your breakfast bar – to create a bright and welcoming environment.
Kitchen conservatory extensions like this might also benefit from the following:
- The use of a consistent theme throughout, like wooden flooring, creates a sense of unity
- Customised frames that match the internal scheme used in your kitchen and elsewhere
8. Choose An Orangery Style Kitchen Extension
The kitchen extension pictured below features the Ultrasky roof that will add even more light to your new room. You can also add super-insulated columns to improve thermal efficiency and improve external sightlines.
9. Connect the Inside and Outside
Another kitchen extension idea is to link your interior and exterior spaces seamlessly, you could use the same stone flooring. This could allow your kitchen space to blend in with your garden.
10. Customise Your New Roofline
Adding a decorative cornice to the outside of your new kitchen extension would make it look like an orangery. It would also hide the gutters in your roofline – further improving its external appearance.
11. Create a Kitchen Diner Extension
Many homeowners are now opting for kitchen extensions with a dining area. Your kitchen is the hub of your home, the room everyone gathers in, so it really needs to offer a good seating or dining area.
An Ultra Installer in Essex recently completed a fantastic kitchen diner extension using the Livinroof and Insulated Pelmet from the Ultraframe range. Take a look at the finished results below.
Installer: Bluemanor Windows
Location: Essex
Website: www.bluemanorwindows.co.uk
The Livinroof: A Closer Look
A solid conservatory roof with a shaped glazing option. Use light to create a focal point in your room and add a touch of style to it at the same time.
With Livinroof, you can:
- Place the glazing anywhere you like so that you can direct the light where it’s needed – above a table or breakfast bar, for example
- Shape the glass in your conservatory roof however you want to, which means you can create a design that’s uniquely yours.
Light plays an essential part in the creation of space; you can see how Livinroof illuminates this kitchen diner extension to create a spacious-looking room.
Insulated Pelmet with Vaulted Ceiling
One thing that’s probably caught your attention is the sense of height achieved by this kitchen diner extension. The vaulted ceiling makes the room feel larger and less enclosed, an effect that’s further enhanced by the use of bright reflective surfaces.
The insulated pelmet that runs around the perimeter features spotlights. It can also accept speakers, which means you’ll be able to set up an entertainment system in your room. Additionally, the pelmet will make your room warm and thermally efficient.
The breakfast bar works as a focal point and captures and redirects the light back inside where it’s needed. Neutral colours are used throughout to create a pleasing, low-key colour scheme that’s easy on the eye.
12. Glass Kitchen Extensions
Creating a kitchen extension is a new phenomenon that many people are utilising. To make yours unique, consider creating a glass kitchen extension. This not only provides your home with a new dynamic that can be used as a conversation starter, but it also provides you with a bigger kitchen space.
By installing a glass kitchen extension in your home, you will be benefitting from a wealth of natural light. This makes it a great place to entertain guests. Due to the high level of natural light you will be getting, you will be lowering your electricity bills and making sure you save money.
13. Install a central lighting panel
One helpful kitchen extension idea is to add one of Ultraframe's brilliant central lighting systems. These work perfectly with some of our steeper roof options, such as the Livinroof.
By installing one of our central lighting panels in your new kitchen extension, you can keep the room bright even in the darkest of evenings. This means you can enjoy your stunning kitchen extension every hour of the day.
Another idea would be to customise your central lighting panel. There are tonnes of options to suit varying tastes, including more modern spotlights and more traditional hanging products.
14. Make Your Kitchen Extension P-Shaped
One kitchen extension idea is to install a p-shaped extension, be that in the form of an orangery or a more classic extension. The idea behind this is to maximise the potentially limited room you may have with your new kitchen extension.
Furthermore, you will be left with an eye-catching, visually stunning design even before you've looked at our ideas for the configuration of your new kitchen extension.
In addition to this, a p-shaped orangery or kitchen extension opens up the possibility of it becoming a multi-use room. Utilise the extra space by installing a stunning breakfast bar or a table so you can get the most from your money with your kitchen extension.
15. Use Quantal aluminium for a stylish finish
When shopping for your new kitchen extension, one idea would be to go for one of the gorgeous Quantal aluminium models that we have on offer here at Ultraframe.
Although our uPVC kitchen extensions are robust and secure in their own right, our aluminium models offer brilliant safety features and are a long lasting product. If you're looking to make an investment which will continue to perform to a high standard for years to come, then a good idea would be to shop for aluminium.
16. Make More of the Outdoors
Make more of the outdoor space in the warmer months by incorporating an outdoor dining area. This feature can seamlessly connect the kitchen to the garden with the exterior dining area.
This kitchen extension design can open up space inside during the summer months when you want to create a space for cooling down.
17. Incorporate Multiple Levels
Add multiple levels into your kitchen extension to break up and section off different spaces used in the room. This can create a sophisticated hosting area that breaks the room up from the cooking area.
This is a cost-effective way of dividing a room into sections without the added costs of installing walls.
18. Choose Furniture Wisely
The choice of your furniture can make or break the space within your extension, which is why it is best to think thoroughly about the shapes and sizes of your furniture choices.
Make a list of all the must-have appliances in the room to help you identify the aspects that you need to combine to fit into your extension. Once you have added all the appliances, you can then work out the shape of the additional furniture required, such as chairs or storage.
19. Mixing Material Options
Experiment with different material options to combine popular, modern extension trends with timeless classics. Traditional wooden countertops with industrial steel can create an alternative feel to your space.
Combine both modern and traditional materials to create the perfect kitchen extension to suit your decor needs.
20. Create a Theme
Creating a theme within your extension can help to separate the extension from the rest of your home. Transition your kitchen extension into an individual space with the introduction of a theme.
Alternatively, if you are keen to create a multi-functional living area, then you can create a theme for the different areas you wish to separate.
Kitchen Extensions: FAQs
If you’ve still got questions regarding your new kitchen extension, get in touch with a local installer using our Find an Installer tool.
Alternatively, read on for some Frequently asked questions.
Do Kitchen Extensions Need Planning Permission?
Kitchen extensions may need planning permission under certain circumstances. If your room design is going to be open-plan, then consent may be required – plus, your structure will need to comply with Building Regulations. Your Ultra Installer will be on hand to assist you with this process.
Orangery or Conservatory – Which is Best?
Whether an orangery or conservatory could be the ideal choice for your kitchen extension project. Orangeries tend to use more masonry and feature a lantern roof, whereas conservatories feature a larger glass area. However, contemporary or traditional designs can be built in either case, depending on your preference.
How Much Do Kitchen Extensions Cost?
Kitchen Extension costs vary. The size of your proposed structure and the materials you use – as well as any optional extras you decide to include – will influence the final price. If you'd like to know how much a kitchen conservatory extension will cost in your area, use our free quote tool.
Need More Ideas? Explore and Save Your Favourite Designs
As you review the kitchen extensions in our blog, you may want to save the images for reference. To do this, select the heart icon on any image and create your Scrapbook.
Once you’ve finished exploring our suggestions for kitchen extension ideas and are feeling inspired, you can search for your nearest approved Ultra Installer and ask for their advice.
Our orangeries, conservatories and extensions can be explored by using our brand-new VR tool. This means you can ‘step inside’ your dream room for a closer look.
Find A Kitchen Extension Installer Near You
Use our approved Ultra Installer search tool to find reputable kitchen extension installers near you. They will be able to discuss your ideas and offer advice on our complete range of products.
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