House
May 1, 2024
Minutes To Read: 7

American kitchen: an integration space for your home

Optimizing spaces is one of the great challenges of architecture and decoration, after all an environment cannot appear empty due to the large amount of space left over, or tight due to the lack of space.

With that in mind, many apartments are designed with the kitchen and dining room integrated as a way to address this issue. Such an environment that brings together the kitchen and another environment takes its name from American cuisine.

However, American kitchens are not just about kitchen + dining integration. Although this is the most common use, it is possible to integrate the room with other environments and create spaces for different purposes.

Check out what types of American cuisine exist, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this type of environment, as well as tips and photos to inspire you when decorating yours.

60+ amazing American kitchens for inspiration

See dozens of American kitchens with different styles, choose your favorites and get inspired.

Also read: 10 items that turn home decor into a magic pass

oto: Reproduction / The design files

Now that you're inspired, let's take a look at the tips for planning the layout and decor of a dream American kitchen.

American Cuisine

The basic idea of an American kitchen is the integration of the kitchen with another environment. Find out which environment you can integrate into the kitchen and which type is best for you, according to your lifestyle.

Kitchen and dining room

"Dining is wonderful because it becomes a gourmet kitchen," says architect Yayoi Hayakawa about the integration between the dining room and the kitchen.

This combination is quite common when it comes to American cuisine. It is a great option for those who have the habit of eating at the table and who also likes to enjoy the hot food as soon as it comes out of the fire.

Kitchen and TV room

According to architect Yayoi, the kitchen integrated with the TV room is nice for families, because this way the kitchen cooks can follow the program together with their families and also interact more closely.

Kitchen and living room

"With the living room is great to receive friends and be able to get drinks and snacks in the same space.", Defends the architect. In addition, the environment becomes conducive to get-togethers and conversations, after all the kitchen has sofas and armchairs nearby, giving more comfort to guests.

Kitchen and balcony

It is also possible to integrate kitchen and balcony, making it almost a gourmet space. It is also great to socialize with who you like, besides expanding the space and bringing freshness to the environment.

Advantages and disadvantages

See what are the pros and cons of integrating these environments to assess if the project is worth it for your need.

Benefits

Integration Environment: The biggest advantage of investing in an American kitchen is that you can create an integration environment to welcome friends or interact with family.
Space optimization: An integrated environment is a great alternative to broaden the feeling of space and make furniture positioning easier, using room extension to the best of your ability.
Increased mobility: by grouping two rooms, space is gained and therefore the passage area also increases, giving more comfort to the environment.
Higher Lighting: An American kitchen is brighter than an ordinary kitchen, again due to the integration of two spaces. Fewer walls, more windows, more ventilation and more light coming in.

Disadvantages

Smell and smoke: Because it is an integrated environment, the smells and smoke that comes from preparing meals will reach the other room, which can create a nuisance.
Difficulty in cleaning: This disadvantage is linked to two factors, first because smells and fat particles are not restricted to the kitchen area and second because it is a larger environment (integrating two rooms). However, it depends on the frequency and usage habits of your kitchen, as well as your cleaning habits.
Maintaining order: An integrated environment requires that the kitchen be always tidy, after all it is visible not only to those who enter the room, but also to those who are in the room integrated with it.
Cost: Turning a regular kitchen into an American kitchen often requires renovating and breaking walls, as well as investing in a debugger and countertop.

However, if you are still building your home, it may be cheaper to have one less wall!

How to decorate and organize American kitchens

Is it possible to maintain an integrated environment with taste and organization? Yes, but care must be taken to ensure that everything is always in order and that the functionality of the environments is maintained.

Functionality

One of the essential factors when decorating an American kitchen is to think about the functionality of each item. As already said, because it is an integrated environment, you must always keep it in order, so items left over should not be on the account.

"The most important is the functionality, there is no decoration that can resist a poorly designed kitchen," argues architect Yayoi.

Although not a very simple task, it is possible to combine functionality and style in one piece, just be selective and calm to choose the right items for your kitchen.

Environment Integration

Again, the principle of an American kitchen is integration and this factor changes some things when it comes to decorating. It is necessary to consider both rooms when decorating the joint environment and for this it is possible to invest two lines:

The first is to create a fully integrated environment with consonant decoration (same color palette and decorative line). The advantage is to increase the feeling of space and bring more relaxation and harmony to the environment, due to the complete integration of space, there is also no risk of decorating the "fight" environments, as they will follow the same style.

Another alternative is to decorate the two rooms differently by dividing them by means of decorative style and devices such as countertops, lighting, wallpapers or other types of flooring. The advantage is that both environments are well defined and gain their own personality in the space of the house.

To decide which option is best for you consider the size of your space and also your lifestyle and those who share the house with you. If your kitchen is small, perhaps the best alternative is to integrate the environment completely, thus expanding the space. For those who like to cook while chatting with friends or family, full integration can also be a good fit.

Lighting

As others have said, lighting can help you create a more integrated or well-defined environment. To integrate the rooms it is interesting to invest in the same or similar lighting for both spaces, thus creating a sense of unity. To delimit the spaces just thinking the opposite, changing the intensity or positioning of the lights can help in the delimitation of the two environments, even though they remain integrated.

Another tip given by architect Yayoi is to invest in a central lighting to brighten the environment as a whole and assist in cleaning, in addition to focusing on a focused lighting in the space of preparation of food and meals, bringing style and comfort.

Decorative line

Defining a decorative line is very important to create harmonious and well decorated rooms, however the style depends a lot on your personal taste. Can American cuisine get modern, minimalist touches, vintages, fun, anyway? Just choose the line that suits you best and whim in creativity, functionality and balance, after all you can not overdo it and leave the heavy space.

"The decoration goes from each person, the house is yours, take comfort and seek help to know how to combine the things you like!", Advises Yayoi.

Coating

The coating of an American kitchen can also influence the space integration factor and also serves as the space finish. As it is directly connected to the decorative line, care must be taken when combining wall and floor coverings.

Whether the environment is fully integrated or well-defined, using the same floor in both spaces brings warmth and harmony to the space and is a good trick to create a sense of continuity.

In small American kitchens, choosing close and light wall and floor coverings further helps in the idea of expanding the space.

Stand

Countertops are a great investment for your American kitchen, as they are practical, do not take up a lot of space and allow the division of spaces without breaking with their integration. A tip from expert Yayoi is to avoid using marble on countertops, as the material is very porous, which can damage the durability of the countertop and limit its uses.

Cooker Hood or Debugger

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest drawbacks of an American kitchen is that, due to the integrated space, the odors and smoke from meal preparation can spread and even dirty and shorten the life of furniture in other rooms of the house. .

To prevent or at least mitigate this effect it is essential to invest in a hood or debugger. They are available in different sizes, shapes and power ratings.When choosing the size and shape depends on your taste and the size of the room, the power must be defined according to the frequency of use and also the size of the space. After all, the bigger the kitchen, the more powerful it should be. debugger.

About this the architect is direct and humorous: "You have to have a hood or debugger so that the house is not dominated by fat!", He says.

Minimum passage spaces

Circulation is essential to maintain the comfort of an environment and in the case of American cuisine is no different. As small as your kitchen is, you need to respect a minimum passage space so that it does not become tight and make activities common to the kitchen environment unfeasible due to the lack of space.

Architect Yayoi Hayakawa teaches: “Measurements are also very important, advising 120cm of circulation between the benches, but if you have no way, 100cm is enough.

Furniture

Here, what prevails is the functionality, just add to the space really useful and functional furniture. When disposing of furniture consider the minimum space of passage and the optimization of space.

If you like the idea and have a habit of inviting who you like to share a table with you, American cuisine might be a great choice. Comfort for your guests, integration with family and friends, functionality and style!