Many kitchen hatch ideas improve both the functionality of the hatch and the design of the room. Whether you are working with an existing feature or looking to install one, paying attention to the size of the hatch and learning how to decorate the area can create a space that performs well and looks great.
Read on to explore various ways you can design and renovate a kitchen hatch to meet your needs and aesthetic theme.
What a Kitchen Hatch Can Be
Kitchen hatches were initially designed as a small opening in the kitchen wall so that you could serve food to a connected room, but you are not limited to this function when you are designing a new or existing area.
Kitchen hatches can be several things, including:
- A breakfast bar
- A dining area
- A window to the kitchen
- A statement piece
- Additional shelving
By utilizing these kitchen hatch ideas you can transform a hatch into a useful feature of your home.
A Breakfast Bar Or Dining Area
Because kitchen hatches connect the kitchen to another room, it is easy to change the hatch itself into an area to eat. By ensuring that the sill is wide enough and at a comfortable height you can create a bar or table area that you can dine at.
This may not replace a dining table, but it can create a quick and quaint area to grab a bite while taking advantage of a unique home feature.
If you do not feel comfortable adjusting the sill size of an existing hatch or do not want to commit to the design, you can always add a table underneath. This lets you take advantage of quick service without modifying the kitchen hatch.
A Window To The Kitchen
An existing kitchen hatch can serve as a way to look between rooms without the pressure of remodeling or finding a function for the feature. Choosing to leave the hatch as it is can be just as effective as remodeling in certain cases.
You can even add window shutters or glass panes to the hatch to capitalize on this idea. This will let you close off the area as needed without compromising visibility.
A Statement Piece
On the other hand, you can draw more attention to the hatch by utilizing unique shapes, sizes, and elements of design. This relies heavily on other aspects of your home, including available space and existing style.
A kitchen hatch is a statement piece on its own, and you can balance it out by adding artwork to that wall, surrounding it with shelving, or using bold paint or wallpaper.
This transforms the wall that the kitchen hatch is on into an accent wall, and it balances things out.
Additional Shelving
If you are looking to cover up or mask a kitchen hatch, then surrounding it with shelving helps it blend into the wall. The sill of the kitchen hatch can still function as a shelf on its own, holding plants, books, or whatever else you need to sit in that area.
Working With Size And Shape
When are installing a kitchen hatch or remodeling one that you already have, manipulating the size and shape of the opening can easily change the feel of the space. Most traditional kitchen hatches are just large enough to transfer dishes through, but they do not do much to voice the aesthetic of the room.
Taking the opportunity to make a kitchen hatch larger or transform it into a different shape allows you to take a functional feature in your home and give it more visual appeal.
Making A Kitchen Hatch Bigger
The easiest way to improve the performance of a kitchen hatch is to make it much larger. These in-home features were once no larger than a window, but many remodels involve increasing the area of the hatch and its to accommodate a few barstools.
Some people just add a larger sill to turn the hatch into a breaking fast, but you can go as far as extending the kitchen hatch window out over the entire wall. This connected the two rooms and retains the function of the kitchen hatch. This is a great way to create an elongated bar area or provide more counter space.
Kitchen Hatches in Less Common Shapes
While most kitchen hatches resemble a small rectangular opening in the wall, changing up the shape can create different energy in the room.
For example, a circular cutout can create a more contemporary look and blend easier with abstract furniture, artwork, and decor.
You can also reorient the hatch so it has more height, opening up the room more without connecting the two areas as you would by making the kitchen hatch wider.
Decorating a Kitchen Hatch
One of the most difficult parts of working with a kitchen hatch is learning to decorate it. If you have an existing kitchen hatch this is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to update and transform your space.
Decorating ideas for a kitchen hatch usually revolve around framing and concealing, or what you use to surround the hatch and what you use to close it up.
Framing A Kitchen Hatch
There are plenty of ways to frame a kitchen hatch, including:
- Using an actual picture frame
- Trimming the hatch
- Surrounding it with wall art
If you can find a frame that is a perfect match for the dimension of your hatch then you have a quick and easy kitchen hatch idea to draw attention without going over the top.
Finding an exact match is difficult, and an easier approach is cutting trim to fit your hatch. This can help break it up from the rest of the room or the wall without making it a focal point of the room. You can even paint the trim to match minor colors in the room.
Surrounding the kitchen hatch with wall art helps the hatch blend in with the rest of the wall. Try using two larger pieces of wall art that are close to the size of the hatch to help balance it out.
Concealing a Kitchen Hatch
Ideas for concealing a hatch usually involve shutters or blinds, but you can also use pocket doors to block the area off without taking up more space.
Shutters work well if you do not have anything else on the wall. You can also have them custom-made to fit the space, and you can adjust them as needed.
If wall space is an issue then another idea is to use blinds. These are also adjustable, and they fit within the space of the hatch instead of taking up extra space on your wall.
Pocket doors will shut off the area more definitively than shutters or blinds and slide away into the wall. Because the doors can be designed to match the wall, they are the best idea for properly concealing a kitchen hatch in a room.
Final Thoughts
While many will debate whether kitchen hatches are dated or not, few offer up ideas to incorporate a kitchen hatch with an evolving room. The truth is that kitchen hatches are a functional feature of your home that can easily be renovated or updated to match your style.
You can adjust the size of a hatch to offer more dining space or you can capitalize on its unique appeal by decorating the area. Before you decide to do away with a wall featuring a kitchen hatch consider using any of these ideas to improve your space.
