9 Charming Ways to Vastly Improve the Look of Your Kitchen

(Guest Writer: Michael Murdy, Founder of Robust Kitchen)

Kitchen aesthetics can feel like a constant work in progress. Even after you think you’ve perfected the look of your kitchen, styles get old, and the eyes naturally yearn for something fresh and new.

Thankfully, there are lots of simple ways you can alter and vastly improve the look of your kitchen. After years of organizing and reorganizing our kitchen, we’ve found there to be nine major upgrades that make orienting the kitchen quick, easy and fun. We encourage you to put your own twist on it.

Enjoy!

1. Add Hanging and Countertop Plants

Photo © Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash

The first question you should ask yourself when sprucing up the kitchen is, “are there enough plants?” Plants are the fastest and most effective way of bringing life into the kitchen. You know why? Because plants are living! Plants introduce bright and vibrant colours and can make the dullest of rooms stand out. When in doubt of your kitchen aesthetic, add some plants and watch the transformation.

Also, if you feel like you’ve overdone it with your potted plants (or simply don’t have any more countertop space), hanging plants can help fill the void of space just above eye level. In our experience, putting them close to the windowsill can really bring the room together.

2. Add an Indoor Herb Garden

Photo © Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

There are two reasons why you’d want to bring a herb garden into the place where you prepare and eat your meals. One, they are easily maintainable and add character to the kitchen. Secondly, there is nothing better for the home cook than having easily accessible fresh herbs on hand. It will brighten your kitchen and expand your palate.

If you’ve never grown herbs indoors, we recommend starting with basil, parsley and rosemary. These three herbs are beautiful, can be added to tons of recipes, and can easily be grown year-round.

3. Fill the Space without Cluttering

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If you take away only one thing from this article, this should be it. Too often we find kitchen counters that are either filled with unnecessary clutter, or completely empty. We think it’s important to find a healthy medium of what fills your counter space.

We recommend finding cooking items that you use often and storing them in creative ways. For example, if you use olive oil frequently, get a rotating bottle table to host your different oils. This will create more convenience for you while you cook, whilst adding a charming array of colourful bottles to add to the look of your kitchen.

4. Add Kitchen Artwork

Photo © Andrea Rico on Unsplash

Kitchen wall neglect is a quality we see quite often. A lot of people believe art in the kitchen to be tacky, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Hand-picking some nice kitchen or food-related art can add a host of benefits to your kitchen layout.

Just look at the wall photos above. They add vibrancy and create instant happiness in the beholder, and who doesn’t want to feel elated while in the kitchen?

5. Add a Countertop Wine Rack or Rotating Wine Table

Photo © Agnali of Pixabay

Not all of us drink wine, but if you do, there are some impressive ways to store it while adding something unique to your kitchen. Wine racks come in all shapes and sizes nowadays, and you can find a size to fit just about any accommodation.

If you need to fill a lacking space in your kitchen, we highly recommend finding a quality wine rack that goes nicely with your colour scheme. Rotating wine tables are also a trendy kitchen addition. Just make sure you have the space for it before making a purchase.

6. Display Your Fruits and Vegetables

Photo © JillWellington of Pixabay

Just like plants, fruits help bring out the natural liveliness of the room with their vibrant colours. While plants flood the kitchen with green, fruits offer a contrast of competing reds, blues, and yellows. The attractive colours of fruits in the kitchen can also be a constant reminder to get our daily fibre in.

7. Add a Portable Kitchen Island

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If you have that uncomfortable, empty space in the middle of your kitchen, we highly recommend filling it with something useful. We can think of no better addition than the portable kitchen island.

Kitchen islands fill open space while providing you with a completely separate work station for cooking. Who doesn’t need more room for chopping? Nowadays the styles are endless. Find one with a colour scheme that matches your kitchen and you’ll see how useful these portable workstations can be.

8. Add a Matching Clock

Photo © Scroft_1 of Pixabay

Besides telling the time, clocks can add a certain sophistication to a kitchen. Available in all shapes and sizes, a wall clock can contribute to the ambience of the room without taking up any precious space.

It’s always a good idea to offer some contrast to your kitchen that isn’t completely related to your overall theme but fits your style seamlessly. Find the perfect one for you that will bring everything together.

9. Add Pan/Utensil Hangers

Photo © Dinh Ng. on Unsplash

If you’d like to clear out some cabinet and counter space and start filling up some wall space, pan/utensil hangers can solve both your problems. Storing your kitchen equipment on the walls both fills the room with kitchen art while creating some extra space in your drawers and cabinets.

We must admit, the kitchen layout must be right for this addition. Make sure you have the wall space and that the pans and utensils will be easily accessible. We’ve found that this can make things harder if not thought out thoroughly.

In Conclusion

We believe it absolutely critical that you be content with the look of your kitchen. Most of us spend a lot of time here, and creating a style that is both convenient and appealing to the eye is a must.

The ultimate goal is to have a kitchen you can approach with a satisfied smile every day. The steps outlined above, in our opinion, are the easiest and most effective ways of pulling it off.