Jonathan Bond
The way you decorate your kitchen can heavily affect how you feel in it. Sure, it’s imperative that the design is functional. But once you create the perfect layout and obtain top-notch appliances, the decorative details give the space personality—making you want to spend even more time cooking and hanging out with loved ones in it. Whether you’re looking for a quick kitchen refresh (like new kitchen rugs!) or want to give your space a whole new atmosphere (think a European bistro feel), we’ve laid out plenty of kitchens decorating ideas to get you started. And after you’re done browsing, make sure to also consider implementing the kitchen trends that experts expect will be big in 2023.
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Window treatments can instantly elevate any space. In her own kitchen, designer Lauren Lothrop Caron added Roman shades in Darby Rose fabric by Jasper and brass accents to make the space more inviting. Dainty pendant lights and a small framed painting add extra coziness.
Show Off a Mug Collection
Food Network star Molly Yeh’s farmhouse kitchen is chock-full of genius tricks and designs—including a walnut custom pegboard where she shows off her East Fork Pottery mugs. The functional art piece also holds other tools, like a cookie cutter and scissors, and decorative objects, like a tiny vase of flowers.
If you don’t have much decor space to work with directly in the kitchen, dedicate a wall niche in a nearby breakfast nook instead. In a North Carolina beach house by designer Barie Benson, open shelving in a wall niche hosts colorful decorative objects that give the corner character.
Opt for Blues and Whites
A blue-and-white color palette never fails to bring a cheerful mood to a room. For the kitchen in a Savannah, Georgia, carriage house, designer Shannon Roberts incorporated floral wallpaper, light blue cabinetry, striped curtains, and a blue-bordered rug. A few paintings and brass accents complete the look.
To amplify the maximalist aesthetic in Isabel Ladd‘s kitchen in her Kentucky home, the designer incorporated not one but two patterned rugs. A wallpaper with an intricate pattern covers everything from the backsplash to the ceiling, while a neutral pendant light makes a statement and adds softness.
Create a Floor-to-Ceiling Gallery Wall
To craft a unique, playful feel in his studio apartment, designer Rudy Saunders created a floor-to-ceiling gallery wall that extends from the dining area through part of the kitchen. The fridge is covered with contact paper in tennis green and white stripes to prevent it from sticking out.
Cubbies built into the kitchen island of this home by designer Nicole Dohmen put books on display while keeping them out of the way. A vibrant table lamp and purple planter near the range offer an unexpected, homey touch.
Or if you’re the type of person who would benefit from seeing the covers of your cookbooks at all times so that you’ll actually use them, try simple ledge shelves. The ones here provide room for House Beautiful editorial director Joanna Saltz’s crazy cookbook collection in her New Jersey kitchen by designer Jean Stoffer.
Give It an Outdoor Bistro Vibe
Thanks to wrought iron window boxes in the skylight niches, patterned wallpaper, and an earthy palette, this deVOL kitchen feels like an outdoor bistro. The olive green Smeg refrigerator camouflages itself near the arched windows.
Cover Glass Cabinetry With Fabric
To hide the contents of muted navy cabinetry in our 2022 Whole Home, designer Whittney Parkinson used Morris & Co. fabric. The textural detail paired with small sconces and a partially mirrored backsplash add elegance.
Select a Decorative Hood
As a fairly large appliance, a range hood can easily draw attention in a kitchen.“I wanted a hood unlike anything you’ve ever seen, one that’s artistic and also functions properly,” designer Alison Victoria says of the custom cover by Mark Wentz of Americo Fabrication & Design in her Atlanta loft.
In Singapore-based interior designer Elizabeth Hay‘s kitchen, an open shelf painted in a bright green hue hosts a row of potted flowers with mugs hanging underneath it. The walls are embellished with decorative plates, while more florals in vases sit on the window sill.
Hanging pans proves to be both a functional storage solution and a design statement. Just take it from this kitchen designed by Sheila Bridges that even features silver pig statues that sit atop the rod.
Choose Statement Lighting
With a statement-making pendant light, you won’t even need other art to give your kitchen a wow factor. In this Parisian apartment by Studio Razavi, the dramatically large pendant takes center stage. Colored glassware, like the magenta carafe and striped cups, adds a pop of color to the industrial kitchen.
Mask a drab fridge with peel-and-stick wallpaper panels, as designer Anothy Dunning did with L’Amour by Tempaper in his own New York apartment. “The key to making removable wallpaper work is to find one that doesn’t look too shiny,” says Dunning.
To revive an outdated kitchen in a Nantucket cottage by designer Kevin Isbell, the floor was painted in a blue-and-white checkered pattern. Café curtails and fabric secure inside of glass cabinetry complement the fresh update.
If you have open shelving, treat the design element like it’s a gallery wall. Layer each level with beautiful ceramics, framed art, baskets, and vintage trinkets. In this kitchen by Kathryn M. Ireland, the designer also nixed cabinet doors in favor of playful fabric covers.
To amplify the character in a San Francisco kitchen, designer Lynn Kloythanomsup chose a classic red brick look. “It’s like a thin brick tile,” she explains. You can barely tell the difference, and it looks more realistic than peel-and-stick wallpaper with a brick pattern on it.
Instead of sticking with a solid slab backsplash behind your range, consider creating columns of shelving on each end. In a home by Laura McCroskey, the designer stocked shelving with spices, oils, small bowls, and a favorite cookbook for a functional and decorative display.
Make a Mini Ceramics Display
If you have a china cabinet filled with a collection of plates, teacups, and other trinkets, put a few of your favorites on display near your kitchen cabinetry for easy access. In this kitchen by French & French Interiors, patterned ceramic jars and plates are organized and within reach of the kitchen table.
Associate Editor
Kelly Allen is the current Associate Editor at House Beautiful, where she covers design, pop culture, and travel for digital and the print magazine.
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