Styling Your Kitchen: Make Your Kitchen Feel Homey

Your kitchen is the heart of your home. By selecting kitchen styles that reflect your unique dynamic, you can transform a generic, utilitarian space into a warm family gathering place. From cozy kitchen ideas to home décor tips, we can help you make it happen.

Starters for a Homey Kitchen

Kitchen styles change, just like fashion. Although an immaculate white kitchen was once on-trend, contemporary designers consider it impractical. It is difficult to maintain, not to mention monotonous. If you plan to use your kitchen rather than just admire it, try a more down-to-earth approach.

For example, create a spicy color scheme with earth tones like clay, cinnamon, and sage. If you prefer, head in a different direction with trending colors like sunny yellow, white, and sky blue. More fresh color combinations currently trending include:

• Natural greens in a palette from emerald to sage
• Warm grays mixed with brown and black
• Earth-friendly shades of natural wood, wheat, and terra cotta

Painted cabinets and matching woodwork are a great way to make a personal color statement in the kitchen. A change in backsplash, curtains, or accent pieces can help pull it all together into a cohesive yet creative look.

How to Style Your Kitchen Counters

Next to cupboards, countertops in your kitchen claim the most surface space, so start with counter materials that are both durable and enduring. For example, butcher block counters, especially for a working kitchen island, will be a stylish mainstay for years to come.

Veined stone countertops, such as real or faux marble, bring a substantial earth-friendly vibe to your cooking space. Granite counters, equally beautiful and tough, are still in vogue, too.

Once you have decided on the countertops that are right for your kitchen, accent them with a melange of textures and tones. A few well-placed kitchen counter accessories add personality to the otherwise sterile expanse of space.

Achieving a Balance of Kitchen Counter Accessories

When it comes to styling your countertops, the smartest approach is minimalist. Unless you have miles of counter space, you’re going to need most of it for food preparation.

However, you should keep certain essentials near to hand for those times when you’re elbow-deep in dinner prep, such as:

• Cooking utensils in an attractive holder

• Chef’s knives

• Decorative olive oil spray bottle

• Essential spices in decorative jars/rack

• Recipe box with card holder

Small pots of fresh herbs, a bowl of fruit, or a houseplant are all homey touches that make your kitchen a warmer, more inviting space. If you have enough space, canisters for flour, sugar, and coffee add color and style to your countertops.

Whenever possible, though, use your cupboards to store small appliances you don’t need every day, such as your food processor and waffle iron. Otherwise, they take up precious counter space, collecting dust you don’t need.

Thoughtful Homey Kitchen Additions

If you want your kitchen to be the family gathering spot, make it a multi-purpose place. Reserve room for a small desk for homework and drawing. Add an inviting easy chair near the prep space for relaxing and companionship. Place stools around the breakfast bar or kitchen island for quick snacks and conversation groups.

If the whole family takes part in cooking, hang a personalized apron for each person on a nearby set of hooks. If you have small children, make sure there is a portable stepstool where they can watch the cooking and help when possible.

Overall, keep comfort and coziness in mind. Consider adding some soft cushions to stools or ottomans. Have plenty of cotton dish towels on hand in the colors and patterns that coordinate the best. Make sure you have music on tap, too.

Home Styles Kitchen Island Ideas

Kitchen islands remain a popular component of contemporary kitchens. Options include free-standing, workstation, and seating/storage only.

A free-standing kitchen island is the most versatile option. The main requirement is enough space. Portable islands come in an array of sizes. Be sure to choose one that allows about 42 inches of clearance all around. That way, your family won’t experience traffic bottlenecks at mealtimes.

A built-in island is a smart addition when you are building or remodeling your cooking area. You have the opportunity to add a sink and/or stovetop to the island. This plumbed and wired workspace nearly doubles the cooking capacity of your kitchen. Incorporate a breakfast bar with a countertop extension, and you have an inviting hub for family interaction. Additional storage is another great advantage of incorporating the latest home styles kitchen island ideas into your cozy gathering space.

Adding a second island is one of the kitchen ideas currently trending in contemporary design. This could be a family seating area adjacent to the food prep and storage sections of the kitchen. This extra island space can be a multi-use area. It’s ideal for homework, household accounting, and family night board games. Comfy padded stools and greenery will add to the allure of island seating.

Lighting Your Kitchen for a Warm Glow

Appliances, countertops, islands: kitchen styles change as the years go by. Gone are the days of a single ceiling fixture for an entire kitchen. Lately, it’s all about task lighting for a warm, homey kitchen glow.

By lighting each space, you are extending a personal invitation to sit down and spend time together. Task lights are ideal for illuminating one or more spaces where people tend to sit, work and eat. Thus, you might position a small pendant light above each seat at the breakfast bar to help delineate the seating.

Overhead lighting is still a good idea in conjunction with an overall array of lights. Contemporary designers often mix and match styles to answer the varied and specific demands for lighting. An unmatched yet pleasing collection of lighting adds interest while eliminating dark corners. You might even say it accommodates your family’s eclectic style.

Consider replacing those outdated can-style ceiling lights with a modest chandelier. Enlighten the corners of the room with glowing wall sconces. Use brighter pendants above workspaces like the stove and food-prep areas. If you have open or glass cupboards, add small LED lights for heart-warming backlighting.

If possible, have your wired-in fixtures on dimmer switches so you can change the mood from bright and focused to a less eye-opening glow. Add a lamp, artful track lights, and light strips under cupboards. Work with your electrician to arrange the various switches in an intuitive way so you won’t be fumbling in the dark.

Cozy Kitchen Ideas for Flooring

For new homes and remodeling projects, you can’t beat radiant in-floor heating for cozy warmth from head to toe. Even if you’re not tearing out old flooring, you can still make kitchen floors cozier with a few simple strategies:

• Add plush area rugs throughout your kitchen/dining area.
• Install a second layer of flooring for a warmer effect, such as wood planks atop tile.
• Consider installing easy-care, wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the kitchen or in select spaces for a softer, more luxurious effect.

Remember that color plays a large role in the feel of the room. If you choose a new wood floor or carpeting, pick up the warmer tones in your kitchen color scheme.

Wall Art and Décor for a Homey Kitchen

Wallpaper can change the vibe of your kitchen almost instantly. For example, if your gray-tone kitchen seems too severe, add wallpaper in a delicate floral pattern or a bold geometric one. If you only want to tweak your existing color scheme, consider wallpaper behind open shelving or in other small areas.

The wall art and décor accents you select for your kitchen can simply embellish an established decorating theme. Alternatively, they can take the room in an entirely new direction.

For example, if you love the modern farmhouse style, key into a crisp blue and white color scheme. Add vintage or contemporary accents in similar colors, such as a reclaimed pickle crock filled with dried lavender and wheat stalks.

Conversely, if you are dealing with a stark black and white kitchen canvas, the addition of bold abstract artworks with splashes of red, yellow, and green would really liven it up. Add pots of herbs and red kitchen counter accessories for a warmer, cozy effect.

For a more contemporary result, incorporate wall art that reflects your family’s aesthetic. If you enjoy farm life, for example, decorate with paintings of livestock, farm equipment, or produce. If you’re more into hiking the great outdoors, think forests, mountains, and botanical prints. The more you blend in family favorites, the more inviting the kitchen will be.

Appliances for a Cozier Kitchen

The appliances in your kitchen command a majority of space. Therefore, don’t overlook the various choices when you’re creating a homey atmosphere.

While classic stainless steel appliances remain the gold standard of the contemporary kitchen, you also have choices in terms of color and style. For example, a retro fridge offers great colors as well as intriguing profiles.

If you don’t plan on replacing your stainless appliances, though, take heart. They need not reflect a stark, colorless kitchen. With some creative decorating, you can leverage the cool steel mystique for a homey yet contemporary result.

Try the following to enhance your appliances:

• Keep them bright and spotless with frequent cleaning.
• Add family elan with decorative magnets for posting photos and artwork.
• Use colorful ceramic trivets on the stovetop for hot dishes and stirring spoons.
• Use stove, fridge, or dishwasher handles as holders for decorative kitchen towels.
• Pick up the silver tones of your appliances in your art and accessories.

Anytime Kitchen Additions for a Homier Feel

Some kitchen counter accessories are right at home every day, any time of year. They go a long way in making a kitchen feel like a special place for friends and family.

A vase of fresh flowers never fails to add color and sweet fragrances. Roses from your garden, wildflowers from the fields, or flowering spring bulbs are all welcome additions to a homey kitchen.

A bowl of seasonal fruit on the countertop near your backdoor is an attractive accent. It’s enticing, too. Having fresh fruit available for grabbing on their way the door out makes it easier for your family members to eat right.

Keep a wicker basket filled with wrapped bagels, protein bars, trail mix, and the like on the counter for quick breakfasts. Add easy snacks if you like, such as packages of nuts, dried fruit, or pretzels.

Set out pitchers of milk and juice in advance to tame the breakfast rush. Have a tray near the coffee maker with brew pods, cocoa mix, stirrers, sweetener, and napkins. Don’t forget a favorite mug for each member of your crew.

Cozy Plus Homey Equals Family

Once you have curated your homey kitchen with some of the ideas above, make sure you have reserved a space for your very own comfort zone. Whether it’s an armchair, desk space, or an artist’s nook, your own space will set the tone for the family kitchen of your dreams. Once you’ve nailed it, they will come.