When it comes to home renovations, kitchens and bathrooms are two of the hottest spots in the home. There are several reasons to remodel both. Let’s talk about the kitchen.
Why the kitchen?
- Dilapidation– Cracked tile, broken cabinets, shoddy appliances, in other words, it needs it.
- Lifestyle – The previous owners layout doesn’t work for you. You want a breakfast bar, rather than walking to the dining table to have your coffee.
- Home Value– There is a reason it’s one of the most remodeled rooms in a renovation.
- Upgrade– For the love of cooking, you want a kitchen built for culinary greatness.
While many home owners want bigger and better some also want to eliminate and simplify. One of the ideas we orbit around in the design process is creating a unique space specific to the life and needs of each client. Even with all the varying reasons to remodel; the same basic principal is always at the forefront of the design, and that is visual balance. Visual balance in architectural and designing principles is created in two ways, formal balance and informal balance.
Formal balance, also referred to as symmetrical balance, creates a mirrored-image effect from the center of the room.
(Full Project Melinda Lane Renovation)
(Full Project Casper Road Cape)
Symmetrically balanced kitchens create functionality with ease. Reaching balance incorporates many kitchen components such as the cabinets, appliances, colors, back splash, counter-tops, and lighting. A symmetrically designed kitchen also looks sleek and orderly, rather than the feeling everything is out of place, even when it’s not.
Informal balance is created with asymmetrical design concepts in place. The informal or asymmetrical design uses different objects of the same visual weight to create balance. This can be done with appliances, decor, back splashes, color, windows, and cabinets alike. This type of design tends to be more unconstrained, casual, and inviting. Visual weight refers to the force that the elements of a room have in attracting the eye. It is the push and pull of the flow.
(Full Project E Street Victorian)
Bold and dark colors hold heavy visual weight. The goal is to distribute those colors and textures equally with cooler shades and softer colors. I just love how the brick wall and pot rack contrast each other, yet create a visual line of equality and attraction with the rest of the kitchen. In likeness, the bright blue really pops in contrast with the white cabinets and farmhouse sink.
Kitchens are not only a place to cook. They are where we gather, share meals, catch up, and create. In many homes it is the heart of the house. It’s easy to picture balance when it comes to physical weight. If a 200 lb person is on one end of a see saw with a 100 lb person on the other, we can clearly picture the outcome and lack of symmetry. The same idea should be applied when striving for balance in the kitchen. If the design is not a mirror image from the center of the room, the importance of the visual weight becomes greater to create that balance.