How To Decorate A Kitchen By Making Small Changes

How To Decorate A Kitchen By Making Small Changes

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a house; it is where meals are cooked and where family converge and hang out. There are many ways to add decorations to a kitchen and make it inviting and warm. Here are some tips on how to decorate yours!

Method :

1 Declutter. If you are like many people, you may be guilty of too many details. Take an honest look at your kitchen. Is it too cluttered? You can easily sidestep this problem by taking a few things away or simply rearranging your storage system to keep the extras from view. A new kitchen may emerge just from this one step.

·         If you have no choice but to display all of your appliances and dishware for a lack of storage, you're going to have to get some! Buy a cart, bring an extra piece in, or invest in some attractive bins and containers.

2 Use color to make it cozy. If you stick to whites like a piece of rice, you risk ending with a kitchen that seems hospital-like and cold. Add a few accent colors that are bright and cheery to make it seem warm, lived in, and loved.

·         Choose certain spots for your color. The seating? The lighting? An area of the countertop? In addition, do not feel pressure to stick to just one -- different hues of the same color work well together -- and remove the pressure to find the exact right tone.

3 Add fresh flowers. Plants and flowers add lively decoration to any room and are good for the environment. Add a functional decoration to your kitchen by creating a window box with fresh herbs, or replace fresh-cut flowers in a kitchen table vase every few days to keep it looking new.

·         Make sure they match your theme! A simplistic, neutral kitchen would benefit nicely from a simple Easter Lily or two while a kitchen with more pizzazz might look better with a bunch of carnations or daisies. What flower fits your kitchen's personality?

·         Herbs are not grown in factories, you know. To kill two birds with one stone, grow them yourself in your kitchen window! What a cute little way to spruce up your kitchen and jazz up your meals.

4 Jazz up your fridge magnets. For those of us that don't have a massive budget to install gold-flecked countertops lined with rubies, a fun way to spruce up your kitchen's ambiance is to spice up your fridge! There are loads of fun choices available that you can cater specifically to your personality.

·         Sometimes it's the little things in life. Buy a whole bunch of magnetic letters and leave your roommate a nice message about how you drank the last diet Coke, or even put magnets on the back of photos from favorite vacations. If it sticks, it's a possibility.

5 Use texture to your advantage. When you have one look going on in your kitchen (probably smooth and flat), it can look one-dimensional and blah. To add an extra zing to your cooking space, work in texture, too.

·         Go for textured containers, textured linens, and textured wall hangings or curtains. A little bit here and there will go a long away against the smoothness of the countertops, the table, and the cabinets.

6 Add unexpected pieces of furniture. Long gone are the days when the kitchen was just the kitchen. Now, the living room is the dining room, the kitchen is the common area, and the dining room could even be for show. While you don't have to embrace the lifestyle, consider jazzing up your kitchen with no-exactly-meant-for-the-kitchen pieces.

·         A china cabinet, armoire, or credenza is a good way to start expanding the look of your kitchen. If you have a great piece, make it the focal point. Voila, instant theme! Add bookshelves, a bench, or other multi-purpose pieces to seal the deal. After all, this is your kitchen.

7 Change the linens. One way to give the whole room a cohesive theme is to choose one pattern for your curtains, tablecloth, and hand towels and create a matching set of linens. The only hard part of this is committing to just one!

8 Switch decor seasonally. Give your kitchen a celebratory feel by changing out linens, curtains, or dishes for special holidays. Rotate these items, which all complement the personality of your kitchen, with the changing seasons to add seasonal colors and elements.

·         This has one extra (albeit teeny) benefit: with the seasons, you can give it a good cleaning. Kitchens are the rooms that get dirtiest, and if you schedule four annual overhauls, your appliances, dishware, and linens will stay good as new.

Choose Furniture for Safety + Comfort

You'll spend many hours in your child's room, so of course you'll want to make sure it's an enjoyable space for both of you. Here's how to pick the perfect furniture pieces.

Unless you're heading into a major renovation, chances are good that the biggest investment you make in your child's room will be the furniture. If you want to find pieces that look great, last for years and fit your budget, it pays to shop carefully. "The very best piece of shopping advice for any parent or prospective parent is to think about longevity," says Pam Ginocchio, co-founder of Project Nursery. "Furniture can be expensive, so try to pick things that can adapt as your child grows, like a crib that converts to a toddler bed, or a dresser with a removable changing-pad topper, so you can still use it post-diapers."

Cribs and beds

The crib is the only piece of baby furniture most new parents have to buy. Safety standards have changed significantly, and today's cribs are a far cry from the ones on the market just a few years ago. "Don’t be tempted to pick up a vintage crib at a yard sale or use the one you slept in as a baby," warns designer Barbara Tabak of Decorating Den. For safety reasons, new cribs have stationary sides, not drop sides, and sturdier mattress supports; slats are also closer together.

Changing tables

You don't have to spend a fortune on a changing table. Any large dresser can double as a changer with the addition of an add-on changing pad. If you are buying a dedicated changing table, consider one designed with a removable topper, so you can convert it into a dresser after your baby’s out of diapers.

Chairs, rockers and gliders

You'll spend hours in your baby’s room, and a comfortable chair is an essential convenience, not for the baby, but for you. A rocking chair is the traditional choice; however, rockers are seldom as comfortable as other options, like the more recently popular glider.

Before you invest in a glider, think ahead, says Susanna Salk, designer and author of Room for Children. "So many parents buy a glider for the nursery, and that's great for when you’re rocking a small baby to sleep. But fast-forward eight months or a year and you'll find a regular armchair much more comfortable for nursing a heavy baby or snuggling with your toddler while you read a story." Choose an armchair or an elegant, upholstered glider and you’ll have a piece you and your child will enjoy indefinitely, not just for the first year.

Deciding to buy a crib isn't difficult, but deciding which crib to buy can be. You'll find a nearly unlimited range of styles available, at all price points. "We’re seeing a trend toward traditional styling in nurseries," says Ginocchio. "Not ornate, but just classic and timeless." Of course, which look appeals to you is a personal decision. Just make sure it's a style that you won't grow tired of in a few years, especially if you choose a crib that converts to a toddler bed and then to a full-sized bed.