Here are 8 kitchen decorating tips to get you started:

Lovely Kitchen Decor

Tip 1: Start with the kitchen cabinets

Rather than spending a fortune on replacing old cabinets, there may be an opportunity to salvage them and give them a whole new look. You can achieve this by sanding down the existing layer of paint and going for a whole new color. Make sure you wipe the cabinets clean before sanding. Here is a clear guide on how to repaint your cabinets.

When selecting a color, keep in mind the entire color scheme of your kitchen. If you have many stainless steel appliances, the trend has been moving away from lighter pale color schemes to darker, more saturated cabinet colors.

Tip 2: Upgrade your cabinet knobs

Changing the knobs on your cabinets is an easy and very effective way to upgrade your cabinets without replacing them. There are tons of sites online that allow you to browse through thousands of different shapes and sizes, ranging from ultra modern to country in a variety of metal or wooden finishes.

Tip 3: Paint the walls

Here is where you have an opportunity to be creative in a subtle way. Since there isn’t as much wall space as in other rooms, you can use the area available for painting to produce creative color combination that work to soften the kichen as well as bring out the cabinet colors. It is generally recommended to take a very close look at the color base of the cabinet color you chose and find a color for the walls in the same paint family. Don’t forget to repaint your trim around the windows and door frames. Here is a wonderful article with some great color combination ideas.

Tip 4: Replace your old curtains

Although a relatively simple step, replacing your current kitchen curtains with new ones can bring new life into your kitchen. There are many different curtain styles and textures specifically designed for kitchens which can do wonders for complimenting your new cabinet and wall colors.

Tip 5: Lighting

Kitchen lighting is an area of decor where you can really be creative. A popular trend is to have pendant lighting over your kitchen island, but you can add in track lighting, chandeliers and any number of lighting solutions depending on the look you’re going for. The style of lighting you’re going for should really be thought through since it can make a very powerful decor statement on its own, whether by its design or the type of light it produces.

Elegant kitchen design

Tip 6: Fun with Shelving

One little tip for shelving is to not be afraid of having open shelves in the kitchen. Placed strategically, sometimes having items exposed can automatically create decor accents. Don’t be afraid to experiment, especially if you’re used to very traditional cabinetry.

Tip 7: Trendy kitchen stools

Thanks to stores such as Ikea, there is an incredibly large supply out there of kitchen stools to match any color, style, or trend. If you have many steel appliances in your kitchen, you can try for bar stools that combine a bit of metal with synthetic leather to give a modern yet homey look.

Tip 8: New accessories

Little decor accents are a great way to bring a kitchen to life. Look into options such as adding a trendy wine rack, country style vases with beautiful flowers, small plants, old, warm-colored paintings, new spice holders, or pottery. These items can be picked up either second hand or from home decor stores and can be wonderful color accents. The goal is to use these items wisely; having too many accessories will only create clutter rather than adding life to the kitchen decor.

Kitchen Accents