For a lot of people, the kitchen is the heart of the home, and its appearance should reflect this. Even small changes can do a lot to refresh the room and make it a more pleasant environment to cook, eat, and catch up with friends and family.
Here are five ways to jazz up your kitchen and make the space more inviting.
1. Replace old kitchen equipment
If you’ve had the same kitchen equipment for a while, a change can really brighten things up. You can find a range of new microwaves online, plus update things like kettles and toasters to modernise your kitchen. This is a good chance to replace any equipment that might be in danger of wearing out, so you’ll be able to cook without worrying that something is about to stop working.
You could also consider replacing old furniture, like kitchen chairs.
2. Add some colour
When was the last time you painted the kitchen? A splash of colour can freshen up the room, and you could also replace items like tablecloths and placemats to match the new colour scheme. While you’re decorating, you might also want to take the opportunity to retile the splashback, so that the entire kitchen has a great new look.
Lighter colours such as white or pale blue can do a lot to open up the room, creating the impression of extra space and making the kitchen seem light and airy. On the other hand, dark or bright colours can be eye-catching, so it really depends on what you prefer.
3. Rearrange the furniture
Even simple things like changing the kitchen’s layout can do a lot to revitalise the room. For example, if you keep your table in your kitchen, why not move it closer to the window to enjoy the sunlight?
4. Add some open shelving
There are so many benefits to open shelving: it makes the room look bigger, plus it makes it easier to find everything you’re looking for, as you won’t need to go searching through cupboards.
With that said, you don’t need to go to the trouble of having brand new shelves installed. While this is certainly possible, a lower-cost option is to remove the doors on some of your cupboards, creating a spacious, open-plan effect. Once the space is opened up, you can rearrange things and experiment to find out what kind of layout works best for your kitchen. You might not use every shelf for storage, which means you can use the extra space to hold decorations, such as flower vases or decorative plates and bowls, or other home décor such as lamps.
5. Houseplants
Having houseplants in your kitchen is a fun way to decorate, as they can make the space feel more colourful and alive, especially over the winter. Plus, they might be less effort to maintain than you think – succulents such as aloe vera require minimal watering. Or, if you don’t want to commit to looking after a plant, having a vase of flowers on the table is a quick and easy way to liven up the kitchen.