1. OPEN SHELVING
Filled with personality, open kitchen shelving is a playful way to add something extra to your kitchen while storing and showcasing items you want to display.
2. COLOR
Using bold colors is playful and creates a unique personality, and it doesn't always mean repainting your entire kitchen. ‘We often worry so much about choosing paint colours, but it’s an opportunity to have some fun. It’s only paint after all, and it can be changed with a brush and a few days if you fancy a change,’ encourages Merlin Wright, Design Director of Plain English, which has New York and Los Angeles showrooms. Give it a go on something like a kitchen island, as shown here. Bright colors will only make you feel more vibrant day to day.
3. ADD IN A PANTRY
A slightly more substantial improvement is a pantry and a view through to one is even more interesting. Whether you have one already or not, Merlin explains, ‘making a room within a room enables a scullery area for dishes to be soaked away from the kitchen, a walk-in pantry with shelving for beans, pulses and dry foods.’
4. USING HANGING RAILS
Hanging rails are an interesting addition to a kitchen, adding a timeless design detail alongside a little extra kitchen storage.
5. CONSIDER YOUR WALL DECOR
Art in the home is an incredibly personal, individual piece of decor, you have to really love it for it to be a constant feature in your home. Yet, it can be the item which completes a room, therefore a highly important detail. It’s not just the image itself but the size, the frame, the colors, textures and even the message your kitchen wall decor puts across.
6. BRING IN ACCESSORIES
Updating accessories can completely transform a space. Gretchen Murdock, Design Director of Modtage Design, refers to it as adding ‘jewelry’ which is an interesting perspective to consider, and you can consider different kitchen hardware trends that will change the feel of your space.
7. INTRODUCE MIXED MATERIALS
You don’t always need to play it safe with wooden cabinets. Mix up materials to add layers of interest. Gretchen suggests adding metal mesh panels to cabinets doors. ‘The mesh breaks up the continuous wooden cabinetry and brings in one of our favorite elements, texture,' she says. 'You can choose between various designs as well as a more open or closed mesh, depending on how much of the interior of the cabinet you'd like on display.’
8. ADD A RUG
Updating the decor in your kitchen is a never ending process, we’ll always naturally add things we find and love along the way. Rugs are a wonderful way to add some history and character and to soften the kitchen too.