Tips for Redecorating the Kitchen

While the kitchen is primarily valued for its function, that does not mean it can’t be stylish. Because you and your family spend a lot of time in it, a redecoration or even a complete renovation is worth the investment.

Here are some kitchen redecorating ideas to consider.

Red and white combo. Stark white kitchen walls look clean and elegant, but they’re boring. Add a splash of red to make the kitchen look more lived in. You could go for checkered patterns or have the walls painted red at the bottom half and white at the top half.

Visual flow. You could have the floors changed to match the color or texture of the countertops. For example, rustic wooden counters can be matched with wooden floors or wood-patterned tiles.

Add more life. Adding house plants in your kitchen will give it a more natural look. You can even line your herbs and spices on a window sill or counter.

Neutral colors. If you are not a fan of bright colors, adding neutral counters, cupboards, chairs, and shelving will make the kitchen look sophisticated and industrial. Neutral accents also go well with metal decor.

Color pop. If you like the clean look of white or neutral colored walls, you need to add colorful details to make your kitchen “pop.” But don’t just pick random colors because you need to coordinate the design, so just pick one or two bright colors when choosing decorations like jars, bottles, containers, etc.

Show off your china. For homes that have a large collection of beautiful china, now is a perfect to show them off to guests. Decorative plates can be lined on a rack or even framed to hang on a wall.

Rustic kitchen. If you like to add a bit of historical look to the kitchen, it is a good opportunity to show off antique pieces like baskets, pots, and bowls. Have the shelves, cupboards, and countertops changed into wood or wood-patterned alternatives to complete the look. You could also hang your copper pans and pots for display.

Go vertical. For small kitchen spaces especially in apartments, you need to add more wall shelves. You could alternate closed cupboards with open shelves if you want to display some knickknacks to maximize the space. To create the illusion of space, have the walls and shelves painted a light color and the flooring changed to neutral color.

Jade, copper, and white. If you want to wow your guests every time they see your kitchen, show off your copper utensils and equipment by displaying them against a jade green kitchen wall. Alternate this beautiful color with stark white counters and appliances and a display of live herbs.

Bold colors. If you find neutral colors boring, how about going for appliances in bold and contrasting colors. However, just make sure you don’t pick more than three colors for your walls, appliances, floor, and counters. The colors still have to be balanced.

How to Marry Design Styles with Your Spouse

Marrying someone means you need to move in and live in the same house, change your ideas of privacy, share responsibilities in running a house, and change your schedules. It can be both an exciting and stressful time for those who can’t seem to find a middle ground when it comes to decorating the home. How do you marry your design styles if you have different tastes?

Find your objective

You will need to find something in common and then slowly build up from there. For this, you will need to determine your objective when decorating a home. Do you want to focus on a theme or a color palette? Once you have agreed on the basic design objective, then you need to consider which items should go and what needs to remain?

Start with a clean slate

If you both have a ton of items in your possession, you might never be able to meet that common objective. One option that could work is to get rid of non-sentimental and unnecessary items. Start with a clean slate as they say so that you can narrow down the items you need to work with. However, you need to keep in mind that material things are part of your partner’s identity. Asking them to get rid of it because you don’t like it is insensitive and may be indicative of another problem in your relationship.

Work with neutral colors first

Deciding on the color of the walls and furniture is more contentious than you think because color is known to have an effect on the person’s mood. Instead of arguing which color is better, why don’t you agree to work with a neutral color that neither of you have strong feelings about. White or beige can be a good starting point.

Shop together

Whether you’re looking for materials to redesign the apartment or you want to find pieces to decorate the home, both of you should have a say in the matter. Look at different catalogues, browse through listings online, and schedule a window shopping if you must. Shopping together also makes it easier for you both to set a budget realistically because you get to talk about your opinions of the items. If you can’t even do that together, then you probably have other things to worry about your relationships besides decorating your home.

Apply the 80/20 design rule

The idea is to have a similar theme of at least 80% of the furniture and decorations. You can then use the remaining 20% to add personal touches from you both. This is where you can use those personal items or collections you decided to keep. That way the house has its unique style that reflects both of your choices, but it also showcases accents that highlight your unique personalities.