Are you thinking about remodeling your kitchen? Have you just renovated but aren’t sure how to accessorize your kitchen design? It’s best to envision how your kitchen will look, fully decorated, at the planning stage of your kitchen remodel. Knowing what style you’d like means it’s easier to choose cabinetry, colors, flooring, hardware, lighting, and other key elements of your design.
Make sure you consider your storage needs as part of your kitchen design planning. Storage is an essential part of the finished remodel and lays the foundation for a neat, organized kitchen that will retain its functionality and style for years to come. Without adequate storage your kitchen design harbors a lot of clutter, making it difficult to accessorize. Plan for enough closed storage for essentials that do not enhance your kitchen design style and leave space in open storage for beautiful or meaningful items that bring personality, color, or texture to your space.
Once your kitchen remodel is organized, you can get going on the fun part, adding those items that enhance your surrounding and elevate your style. Accessories should be arranged to look stylish so you can cook, entertain, and enjoy your highly functional, yet chic, kitchen remodel. Here are our top tips to accessorize your kitchen design.
Start from Scratch
In order to get a fresh take on your kitchen design, it’s important to clear out its contents. This is time consuming but worth it, to organize and accessorize effectively. Clear out every drawer and cabinet and check if you really need to keep each item. Are you needlessly storing seasonal items such as Christmas cookie cutters or popsicle molds that you haven’t used in years? It’s not only cabinets and shelving that need to be cleared. Refrigerators, freezers, and pantries should be emptied as all space needs to be re-assessed.
Countertops also hold a lot of appliances and small items that are notorious dust catchers. A sleek kitchen design should have clear countertops that only display the bare minimum, leaving ample space for work and an easy to maintain surface. Small appliances like coffee machines and food mixers can look attractive and suit the style of your kitchen remodel, so don’t feel like you have to move everything off the countertops. Arrange the items you want to display or need to have to hand so they contribute visually to your design. Start with a large item such as a jug and find the best position in your kitchen design. Try positioning items in places like shelves, countertops, tables, and windowsills until it works. Consider the color, texture, and style of each accessory. If it doesn’t enhance your kitchen design, then store it in a cabinet or display it in another part of the house.
Embrace Form and Function
When you remodel your kitchen, you invest in beautiful features such as faucets, hardware, and countertops that combine to create a cohesive style. Continue this aesthetic for everyday items you use in your kitchen design. Take old dishcloths and towels you have and store them as cleaning rags. Use only quality towels that complement your design with their color and texture. Do you leave a bar or soap at the corner of your kitchen sink? Why not put it in an attractive soap dish or get a liquid soap dispenser in a stylish material such as stainless steel or colored glass? Mason jars are always a good option for storing staples like sugar or pasta. Utilize bowls, boxes and baskets to keep things like fruit, recipe books or your pet’s toys. Consider the everyday, from containers to cleaning items, to accessorize with quality and style.
Arrange With Style
If you have a few things that you’d like to display, don’t just line them up like soldiers. Use tried and trusted design techniques instead of random placement. Make a group of up to four items with something in common, such as the same color, texture, style, or purpose. When placed together, they will take up space on a countertop or shelf, so don’t position them alongside another large item or the area will look cluttered.
Try placing smaller items into or on top of each other. A houseplant could stand on a tray, or some chopsticks could sit inside a bud vase. Put smaller items in front of larger ones and consider resting some things against the wall. Cutting boards, for example, look better on their side than lying flat. Why not keep a much-used recipe book open on a book stand? The aim is to add dimension and interest to anything you display but remember to keep it simple, so you don’t overload your countertops.
Open Your Mind
Accessorizing shelving is a great way to update your kitchen design. Open storage is still very popular in kitchen design, with some homeowners choosing to pair lower cabinetry with shelving at eye level. There are drawbacks, as shelves need to be kept clean and the items you store on them carefully curated, but the result can be stunning.
Think about the material you use for your shelving and how it works with its contents and the overall style of your remodel. Glass is modern and light-reflective, but wood always introduces warmth and works with any style kitchen design. Incorporate an industrial design element with steel or powder-coated metal, which would bring an eclectic feel to a kitchen with a softer aesthetic. Also be mindful that the shelf material works with the hardware on your kitchen cabinets as well as the cabinet finish, so consider whether you want them to match or complement each other. When it comes to shelving styles and what you put on it to accessorize your kitchen design, the sky is the limit.
Hang On
If you decide on open storage, then more wall is exposed in your kitchen remodel. Think about what you’re going to put in this new space to create walls with visual appeal in your kitchen design. Wallpaper is a great way to liven up the area behind shelving and can also be covered with glass for a custom backsplash. There are many exciting materials emerging for backsplashes that can reach all the way to the ceiling. Paired with a designer hood, the cooking area becomes a stunning focal point in your kitchen remodel.
If you want to bring interest to a bare wall space, then consider hooks or pegs to store everything from utensils to towels. Why not hang pots of herbs for a fresh yet functional addition to your cooking area? If you have a favorite picture, use it to introduce a color theme to your whole design. Hanging an oversized mirror or placing smaller ones on a shelf also opens up your kitchen remodel, giving the illusion of space and increasing light. You could keep mirror and picture frames simple and streamlined or go for intricate designs to make them a statement accessory.
Shine Bright
Layering lighting means your kitchen remodel is ready for any eventuality, whether you’re preparing food or relaxing with friends. Dimmer switches and colored LEDs let you create ambience or illumination in every part of your kitchen design.
Your light fixtures are also an important element of your kitchen remodeling style and can create a focal point or subtly accentuate your chosen style. The current trend of oversized pendants shows no signs of going anywhere. Ideally, place one over an island for a touch of drama. Why not introduce a floor lamp in a corner that needs warmth?
Candles never fail to make a space feel welcoming, whether it’s a scented one during the day or votives dotted on a shelf in the evening. A candelabra or group of different sized candles work perfectly as a centerpiece when entertaining. Whether you choose glass chandeliers, shades in organic material or pops of bright color, or bold metal pendants, lighting accessories have the potential to transform your kitchen design.
Enhance White
Classic white kitchen designs are effortlessly stylish and easily accessorized by almost any additional decor. As most colors pair with white, you can change up your accessories as often as you like, refreshing your room’s style. You can even accessorize a white design with white objects when you vary the textures, so your accessories stand out.
Decorating with neutrals in organic, textured objects gives a calm and chic feel to your white kitchen remodel. Wicker baskets, rattan shades, and wool throws all bring warmth and style to a white kitchen design. Black is always an excellent pairing with white, for a timeless monotone look. The current trend of black matte hardware is still strong and checkered tiles give a kitchen remodel a retro look.
Accessories can also work to segregate different parts of your kitchen design if you keep individual colors to specific areas. You might put green accessories around your island and blue in the living area to create a distinct environment with its own unique feel.
Add Personality
The style that you choose for your kitchen design is an expression of your taste, but how you accessorize it injects personality to make your room one-of-a-kind. Custom storage solutions are the ideal way to keep your kitchen stylish and low maintenance, but there is always room to bring in freestanding furniture for an eclectic touch. Upholstered seating, upcycled chests, or a vintage bar cart can all transform a room, depending on the look you want to create.
How you dress your windows is another way to upgrade your kitchen remodel. Roman blinds or drapes in organic fabrics are a modern way to bring texture to your design. Keep it neutral or introduce a splash of color but tie them in with other soft furnishings for a pulled-together look.
Finally, choose your favorite flowers and plants to decorate your kitchen remodel, from the floor with large pots to the ceiling with hanging planters, or sitting on an island and trailing from shelves. If you want to try an artificial plant there are many impressive options out there, but just remember to keep them dust free. Choose pots that suit your style and add color, pattern, or texture.
Everything you add to your kitchen remodel is an accessory, so think carefully about what it adds to the space and how it works together with other accessories. Try to keep a theme for a unified look, arrange everything with thought, and keep surfaces clean. Your kitchen design will be a functional but welcoming place, full of style and character. For more design inspiration check out our gallery and contact us today at Guthrie Kitchen & Bath Plus, LLC to discuss your dream kitchen remodel.
