A kitchen remodel needs to be both highly functional and aesthetically pleasing. It should be an improved version of the old design to make your life easier and more enjoyable. The layout, storage, and appliances you choose all contribute to increased efficiency to meet the demands of the modern household and a multi-functional kitchen design. In addition to a functional space, your kitchen must also be a space where you’d like to entertain or just relax.
The ideal kitchen remodel still needs something only you can provide, which is the personal touch. Accessorizing your kitchen design with carefully chosen accessories brings it alive. Investing in adequate storage takes care of potential clutter, so whether you’re accessorizing with statement pieces or functional items, your kitchen can retain a sense of calmness.
Use a combination of fixtures and changeable displays to accessorize your kitchen, and above all have fun when undertaking this part of the kitchen design process. How do you mix and match these design accents while keeping a look cohesive and polished? Here are 8 tips to accessorize your kitchen design.
1. Envision the Future
When designing your kitchen remodel, imagine what the end result will look like. Envision the color scheme, textures, and style you’d like to encapsulate. Starting with a blank canvas is the best way to picture a different look for your space. Remove everything from your cabinets and surfaces, and take this opportunity to declutter by disposing of, recycling, or donating items. It’s now easier to see what works and what could be changed, in terms of layout and design features.
Once you have decided on this and the style you’d like for your kitchen, the various elements of your design will fall into place. What would you like to keep in closed storage and what would you like to display? What about hanging copper pans on a rack or putting handcrafted bowls on a shelf? Your accessorizing scheme could center around one item such as a designer lampshade or chair. A solid piece of inspiration keeps you on track so you can accessorize with confidence and vision.
2. Don’t Desert Your Island
Islands have become fundamental elements of kitchen design. Aside from being workstations, islands are places to gather around, store essentials, and display your favorite things. When organizing a display, group items with a common theme, such as beverage preparation supplies. You could place a cocktail shaker, mixing spoons and a bottle opener on a wooden cutting board, ready to slice lemons. Or group a vase, candle, and a succulent plant together on a chic metal tray. Framed photos, recipe books, shells, or other vacation mementos all express who you are and can be arranged for a small but effective display that won’t overwhelm the island. Containers should tie in with the style of your decor and complement your overall kitchen design.
3. Show Off Your Shelves
Open shelving is a dream to accessorize, but it is important to also consider the material for your shelves to ensure they suit the style of your kitchen remodel. Raw wood with live edges is perfect in a rustic kitchen design, whereas glass reflects light and opens up a dark space. Why not tie in your shelf or its brackets with your cabinets’ hardware?
When you are arranging the contents of your shelving, avoid placing things alongside each other in a line. Try different groupings to get the right look and put smaller items in front to create depth. Work with commonalities such as color, texture, function, or style so there is a sense of considered aesthetics. Don’t stop at books or ornaments. Perch pictures on shelves instead of hanging them and dot both trailing and upright plants around your kitchen design for a natural touch. Keep shelves and their contents clean and organized to avoid clutter. If you’re putting regularly used essentials such as tableware or cooking utensils on shelves, ensure that they are stylish enough to display as part of your kitchen design.
4. What’s Up With Your Walls?
Open storage has really taken off, especially in terms of replacing upper kitchen cabinets with shelving. While open storage creates interest and color, there is still an expanse of wall behind it. How are you going to decorate it? Go bold and embrace Pantone’s color of the year– a violet blue shade, for a restful yet playful feature wall. Wallpaper is another excellent choice behind shelving but also can serve as a unique backsplash with a glass cover.
Backsplashes are taking center stage in today’s kitchen remodels. They come in a wide variety of materials and heights, even sweeping up to the ceiling for a dramatic effect. Tiles are also available in more materials than ever and are increasing in size and shape. Darker grout is proving popular in areas where there could be water or oil splashes, and the backsplash is a prime location for this trend.
Hang art and mirrors for color and to reflect light. Wall rails also let you hang anything from herbs to pots or cups, depending on your style. Decorating your walls, in a coordinated way, draws the eye upwards, giving a feeling of spaciousness to your kitchen remodel.
5. Highlight Your Style
One of this year’s big trends is statement lighting fixtures. Look for oversized pendants or designer wall-mounted lights in unusual materials to make an impact on your kitchen design. Whether you hang one, two, or three pendants over an island, they will highlight that area and make it the focal point of your kitchen remodel.
If you don’t want to go large, then look at a trending material. Brass, matte-black metal, or an organic texture, such as rattan, will up the ante in the style stakes. If you choose a metal lighting fixture, then coordinate with other hardware in your design. Pay attention to sockets and light switches so they too can be in the same metal and transform your kitchen remodel.
Install dimmer switches, especially smart controlled ones, to adjust your lighting levels in specific areas at any time. Lighting can be used to highlight accessories but also be an accessory itself, so plan your lighting scheme at the design stage of your kitchen remodel.
6. Let Loose
While streamlined storage is becoming increasingly popular, accessorizing is important to bring personality to any kitchen design. Custom, tailor-made storage is undoubtedly the best way to prevent clutter in your kitchen remodel, but it also gives you space to add pieces of freestanding furniture that express your personality. Why not juxtapose a vintage bookcase, antique hutch, or upcycled armchair with sleek kitchen design storage? Inject color and texture with blinds or soft furnishings. While you should choose what you love, maintain the integrity of your new kitchen design and opt for high quality, well-crafted items that fit the space well.
7. Think of White as Your Blank Canvas
Who doesn’t love a pristine, white kitchen design? It can be a classic look or a minimalist triumph. The best part about a white kitchen remodel is that you can easily change its appearance with accessories.
Two-toned color schemes are popular, with white and navy leading the way for a coastal look. Try navy cabinets with white countertops, white cabinets with a navy island, or install upper white cabinets and lower navy ones. Introduce warmth in an island, walls, or floors with terracotta or coral shades or try jewel-like red or green tones. Then carry these feature colors through to your chosen accessories, from soft furnishings to decorative displays.
Try establishing different areas with accessories in specific colors. Use an accent color to indicate a designated area, such as a dining space, in an open plan design. Black is the classic accompaniment to white and works well in hardware and checkered tiles. If you don’t feel like contrasting tones, you can focus on different textures while retaining a white color scheme. Organic materials in natural, sun bleached tones make chic accessories without being jarring in a white kitchen design.
8. Counter Active
Make the most of your countertops by storing items that are functional but add to the aesthetic value of your kitchen remodel. Keep liquid soap in stylish dispensers and get rid of old dishcloths and towels. Invigorate your countertop in the way you arrange items such as cutting boards, standing them up in order of size. Try a beverage bar by keeping essentials for liquid refreshments together. Start with a coffee machine and you can always work up to a fully stocked cocktail bar or wine refrigerator, complete with a designated dishwasher and sink area.
Emulate your kitchen design’s chosen style in your countertop by carrying on themes from other parts of your kitchen remodel. Whether it’s a bright color, a highly textured material, or a vintage look, keep it going in the objects you choose to store on your countertop. A with any surface, keep items as curated and clean as possible to maintain the intended style of your new kitchen remodel for years to come.
Your new kitchen design can be taken to the next level with the help of some carefully planned accessories. At the start of the process, choosing a style that you love makes it easier to bring all elements together in a cohesive fashion. Stay true to your style and once you are familiar with all its components you can coordinate your look with ease and flair. Make sure you have a theme that draws everything together as decor can quickly become cluttered unless items are purposefully arranged.
A multifunctional, modern kitchen remodel allows you to cope with all tasks and eventualities. It also enables you to accessorize effectively to create a stylish, personalized space without overwhelming your dream design. Check out our kitchen design gallery and contact us at Solstice Kitchen and Bath to start planning your new kitchen remodel.