Open-plan Santos kitchens created by designer Majo Flores
27 / 03 / 2026
Open-plan kitchens are an enduring trend in interior design, as they make the space look bigger, make everyday living easier and bring a modern, harmonious look to the different areas. Nevertheless, to ensure they’re fit for purpose, it’s necessary to plan them out carefully, from both an aesthetic and functional perspective. In this article, interior designer Majo Flores gives us five keys to design kitchens open to the lounge and diner, and illustrates them through five Santos kitchens designed by her studio.
Majo Flores: Contemporary, timeless and Mediterranean
Majo Flores founded her own studio in Valencia after graduating with a degree in Interior Design from the Complutense University of Madrid. The designs she creates are characterised by light, harmony and functionality in perfect balance. Her style – which she defines as contemporary, timeless and Mediterranean – is based on the use of natural materials and a soothing colour palette, giving rise to warm, elegant and cosy atmospheres.
Majo Flores Interior Design Studio takes a global approach to all its projects, envisioning the spaces as a whole and working on them down to the very last detail in order to deliver cohesive designs that truly reflect the tastes and respond to the needs of the people living in them. In fact, the studio coordinates and supervises all stages of the process until the handover, so its clients get a unique, move in-ready home.
Majo Flores’s five keys to designing open-plan kitchens
1) Create distinct spaces without losing continuity
When the kitchen, diner and lounge all share the same space, the best thing to do is not to separate them from each other, but instead to suggest boundaries and create smooth, clear transitions that enable each area to serve its purpose while having its own personality. For the interior designer, the most important keys are:
• Use an island or peninsula as a visual barrier and transition between the work area and social area.
• Install a fixed or sliding glass partition that closes off the kitchen without losing natural light or visual continuity. This element, aside from keeping noise and smells to a minimum, defines the work area and brings character without boxing in the space.
• Apply a subtle change in the flooring, for example, wood in the lounge and porcelain tiling in the kitchen.
Santos dealer: Santos Campanar – Kookers
Santos furniture: Mist Grey FINE
Kitchen layout: Parallel with island
Worktop: Cosentino | Dekton Entzo
Interior design: Majo Flores Interior Design Studio
Styling: Sol Van Dorssen
Photography: Felipe Scheffel
2) Designs and materials in harmony with the rest of the areas
In integrated spaces, materials shouldn’t clash with each other but instead be in tune. This means that instead of giving the kitchen ‘its own style’, it’s better to integrate it into the rest of the areas.
In this regard, a good option is to go for furniture with warm finishes in neutral colours or wood, with designs and fronts in line with the lounge’s overall aesthetic, and worktops that look great without standing out too much, which could be in stone, marble or any solid surface for a seamless look.
Santos dealer: Santos Campanar – Kookers
Santos furniture: Pearl White and Natural Oak FINE
Kitchen layout: Parallel with island
Worktop: ABK Stone | Trani Beige
Interior design: Majo Flores Interior Design Studio
Photography: Fernando Bedón
3) The most storage space possible to keep everything tidy
In open-plan kitchen, keeping everything tidy is not just a matter of practicality, but also of aesthetics. The key lies in planning a kitchen with enough storage space and, above all, which is easy to maintain. To do this, the interior designer proposes the following strategies:
• Use wall units that go all the way up to the ceiling, so as to make the most of the space and avoid having decorative spaces where dust accumulates.
• Have hidden storage solutions and interior systems to store small appliances without taking up valuable space on the worktop.
• Integrate appliances into the units, so the kitchen feels more like a furniture arrangement than a work area.
• In double-sided islands, the side facing the lounge could provide additional storage options.
Santos dealer: Santos Campanar – Kookers
Santos furniture: White Seff FINE
Kitchen layout: Parallel with island
Worktop: Neolith | Arena
Interior design: Majo Flores Interior Design Studio
Photography: Fernando Bedón
4) Consistent and functional lighting all throughout the space
In an open-plan space, visual continuity is also achieved through lighting, so this aspect should not be dealt with as if each area were separate. For the space to be seen as a well-lit whole that’s practical for cooking, cosy for living together and visually harmonious, the best thing to do is to use the same warm light (3000K) in the kitchen, diner and lounge, as using different colour temperatures disrupts the entire design.
With this in mind, the aim is to differentiate between types of lighting according to their use without undermining unity: Use direct lighting above the worktop to work comfortably while pendant lights can be placed above the island which – aside from providing spot lighting – serve as a focal point and transition between the kitchen and social area. It’s essential for the decorative lighting fixtures in the different areas to be along the same lines, creating a common theme that promotes a cohesive design aesthetic without being repetitive.
Santos dealer: Santos Campanar – Kookers
Santos furniture: Pearl White FINE
Kitchen layout: L-shaped with island
Worktop: Cosentino | Dekton Entzo
Interior design: Majo Flores Interior Design Studio
Photography: Fernando Bedón
5) Keep noise and smells under control
In an open-plan kitchen, the sticking point is usually not the design itself but instead the minutiae of everyday life: Smells that reach the sofa, noise while someone is watching TV or guests talking while clearing the table away. Both the layout and furnishings play a crucial role in this regard, and a few solutions that generally work are:
• Install quiet high extraction rate cooker hoods that are suitable for the size of the space. If it’s not possible to have a duct to the outside, extraction systems built into the hob can be used instead.
• Choose quiet appliances, particularly the dishwasher, hood and fridge.
• Place the sink and dishwasher slight further away from the social area, to avoid noise during meals or get-togethers.
Santos dealer: Santos Campanar – Kookers
Santos furniture: Cosmos Blue Silk Matt LISSE / Pearl White FINE
Kitchen layout: L-shaped
Worktop: Porcelanosa | XTONE Bottega Caliza
Interior design: Majo Flores Interior Design Studio
Photography: Fernando Bedón
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