12 Ways to Give Your Kitchen Some Wow
Step away from white-on-white and strike some bold moves in your kitchen
Laura Gaskill
15 May 2014
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
You’ve finally scraped your dollars together to renovate and create your much-longed-for unique kitchen, but where do you start? These 12 ideas will inject some fun, style, colour and personality into the heart of your home.
And if you have any fabulous ideas of your own, please let us know in the comments section below.
And if you have any fabulous ideas of your own, please let us know in the comments section below.
1. Pop with a geometric splashback
Bright and bold, a feature like this is sure to be a focal point in your home. You can achieve a similar look with mosaic tiles or by carefully applying paint. With such a busy look, be sure to keep the rest of the kitchen quite neutral.
Bright and bold, a feature like this is sure to be a focal point in your home. You can achieve a similar look with mosaic tiles or by carefully applying paint. With such a busy look, be sure to keep the rest of the kitchen quite neutral.
2. Slip bright colour behind open shelves
Anyone can do this – just remove the doors from your upper cabinets and paint the backs a bright hue. Match the wall colour, as shown here, for a seamless look.
Anyone can do this – just remove the doors from your upper cabinets and paint the backs a bright hue. Match the wall colour, as shown here, for a seamless look.
3. Add eye-catching chevrons
A simple chevron pattern looks especially fresh and fun in vibrant turquoise and white. The yellow pots on the stove here really pop against the blue and white tile, and the palette would work equally well with turquoise pots against yellow and white tiling.
Check out our guide on how to add a kitchen splashback
A simple chevron pattern looks especially fresh and fun in vibrant turquoise and white. The yellow pots on the stove here really pop against the blue and white tile, and the palette would work equally well with turquoise pots against yellow and white tiling.
Check out our guide on how to add a kitchen splashback
4. Stick on custom wallpaper
White measurements on a black background look refreshingly clean and simple … and they’re useful, too! There are many types of decorative wallpapers available; simply search the web to find ones to suit the look you want to create in your kitchen. You can also use temporary wall decals to create a similar effect that you can chop and change at your whim.
White measurements on a black background look refreshingly clean and simple … and they’re useful, too! There are many types of decorative wallpapers available; simply search the web to find ones to suit the look you want to create in your kitchen. You can also use temporary wall decals to create a similar effect that you can chop and change at your whim.
5. Go for a magnetic wall
Stainless-steel refrigerators are so common these days, but why clog their beautiful exteriors with magnets, notes, postcards and children’s art? Instead, install a giant magnetic board in your kitchen. Here, the sleek metal acts like a huge blank canvas just begging for creative personalisation.
Stainless-steel refrigerators are so common these days, but why clog their beautiful exteriors with magnets, notes, postcards and children’s art? Instead, install a giant magnetic board in your kitchen. Here, the sleek metal acts like a huge blank canvas just begging for creative personalisation.
6. Feature blocks of wallpaper
Traditional wallpaper is so unexpected in the kitchen, and it’s a treat to see an interesting pattern on the walls instead of flat paint. Wallpaper on a single feature wall will also help a stark kitchen appear more cosy. Many wallpapers are not as delicate as you might think, but if you use one near the stove, it’s best to protect it with a sheet of Plexiglas or a specialty finish.
Considering wallpaper? Here’s how to get started
Traditional wallpaper is so unexpected in the kitchen, and it’s a treat to see an interesting pattern on the walls instead of flat paint. Wallpaper on a single feature wall will also help a stark kitchen appear more cosy. Many wallpapers are not as delicate as you might think, but if you use one near the stove, it’s best to protect it with a sheet of Plexiglas or a specialty finish.
Considering wallpaper? Here’s how to get started
7. Mix colour and pattern
Why stop with colour or pattern when you can have both? This creative kitchen mixes it up with a a patterned wallpaper behind the lower shelving to complement the warm pink of the upper shelving and walls. A stripy floor rug brings an element of fun into this retro room.
Why stop with colour or pattern when you can have both? This creative kitchen mixes it up with a a patterned wallpaper behind the lower shelving to complement the warm pink of the upper shelving and walls. A stripy floor rug brings an element of fun into this retro room.
8. Carry appliance colour
This petite kitchen is bursting with personality – a small pink retro Smeg fridge is tucked neatly into a nook in the buttery yellow cabinets, and there’s a fun scrap-wood splashback. A lick of pink on a few of the boards carries the colour of the fridge into the kitchen without overdoing it. You could achieve a similar feel by adding a pink splashback or benchtop appliances.
This petite kitchen is bursting with personality – a small pink retro Smeg fridge is tucked neatly into a nook in the buttery yellow cabinets, and there’s a fun scrap-wood splashback. A lick of pink on a few of the boards carries the colour of the fridge into the kitchen without overdoing it. You could achieve a similar feel by adding a pink splashback or benchtop appliances.
9. Draw towards concrete
Take sidewalk chalk to the kitchen with a cement-rendered splashback and have fun creating a rotating display of sketches, doodles and lists. A concrete floor can be treated in the same way, depending on the finish used – so you can let the kids draw on the floor!
Take sidewalk chalk to the kitchen with a cement-rendered splashback and have fun creating a rotating display of sketches, doodles and lists. A concrete floor can be treated in the same way, depending on the finish used – so you can let the kids draw on the floor!
10. Zig-zag your lino
What a fun way to use plain, super cheap linoleum tiles, and this look is so easy to create. Simply lay square tiles in two colours you like in a zig-zag pattern. It can totally transform a boring kitchen.
What a fun way to use plain, super cheap linoleum tiles, and this look is so easy to create. Simply lay square tiles in two colours you like in a zig-zag pattern. It can totally transform a boring kitchen.
11. Paint a checkerboard floor Like the classic black and white checkerboard floor, but updated in soft green and blue, this floor is lovely – and it’s a fairly easy DIY project. Mark the pattern carefully on a primed floor, paint in one colour, then allow it to dry fully before filling in the next.
Click here for more info on painting hardwood floors
Click here for more info on painting hardwood floors
12. Glam up your ceiling
This cottage kitchen proves that big style doesn’t need to break the bank. Simple IKEA floating shelves, basic cabinets and a reclaimed wood island save cash and allow for a splurge on amazing pressed-tin ceiling tiles and marble benchtops. You can find new ceiling tiles in well-stocked home improvement stores, and vintage sets at salvage yards or on sites like eBay.
TELL US MORE
What creative touches would you love to add to your kitchen? And if you’ve gone right ahead and made that bold move, we’d love to see a pic!
This cottage kitchen proves that big style doesn’t need to break the bank. Simple IKEA floating shelves, basic cabinets and a reclaimed wood island save cash and allow for a splurge on amazing pressed-tin ceiling tiles and marble benchtops. You can find new ceiling tiles in well-stocked home improvement stores, and vintage sets at salvage yards or on sites like eBay.
TELL US MORE
What creative touches would you love to add to your kitchen? And if you’ve gone right ahead and made that bold move, we’d love to see a pic!
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no I don't think they tick my boxes except 5 & 6. The others are overload eyesores
Number 1 would be our favourite as well. Normally there is not much wall space in a kitchen, thats the perfect backdrop to use your tiles as medium to display art. Art is different to everyone, thats why creating your own tiles is like painting your own picture.
Using a picture of your favourite place will make the kitchen a place you love to work in.
If you're interested in wood styling of your home's deck, balcony and stairs, check out Mountain Laurel Handrail here :
http://awoodrailing.com