Tag Archives: freshen up your kitchen

Silver Hues in the Kitchen

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Silver is the choice for metal surfaces in the kitchen. Cool silvery hues like stainless steel, chrome, and nickel continue to be popular finishes for ranges, hoods, sinks, faucets and hardware in the kitchen. The influence of commercial kitchens with their stainless steel surfaces can be the source for this popular metal in today’s residential kitchens.

 

Stainless steel appliances set the tone for all other metals in the kitchen. When your largest appliances like the fridge or stove are stainless steel, they demand that other metals in the kitchen coordinate with them.  Of course you could add other metallic finishes to the room like oiled bronze or brass, but using silvery finishes with stainless steel gives the room a more unified appearance.

 

Silvery chrome and nickel work well with stainless appliances and sinks.  Chrome and nickel come in a number of finishes including satin and polished.  The more shiny the finish, the more the metals will stand out and sparkle in the space.

 

Silvery metals also work with any number of cabinet and floor choices. Dark wood cabinets and floors get a pop of sparkle with silvery chrome or nickel pulls.  The silvery pulls are like sparkling jewelry against the wood, like a sparkling bangle or necklace is against a little black dress.

 

These metals also look great with glass front cabinets and marble counters veined with grey.  Using silver against grey and white is a sophisticated look for the kitchen. It is also a great look for a bathroom.

Bringing Color into the Kitchen

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For kitchen design the reigning option for cabinets has been white or wood for years. We are starting to see more colored cabinets showing up in contemporary kitchens and even traditional kitchens. For contemporary kitchens with just upper cabinets we’ve seen the lower cabinets painted or finished in soft to bold colors.  If you are redoing your kitchen cabinets, you may want to look into adding color to your cabinets. If you are not doing a major kitchen remodel this year or in the foreseeable future you there are other ways to bring color into the kitchen.

 

Maybe you are tired of your existing kitchen cabinet color. You could consider painting them a soft yellow or navy to update your kitchen without doing a major remodel. Upper cabinets could be done in white and the lower cabinets in a soft shade of color that works with your counter tops and flooring.

 

If you love your kitchen cabinets, add color to the kitchen with accessories and counter top appliances. Depending on the style of your kitchen you might want to have one or several colors as your accent colors. You can carry the wall color onto towels and runners, or choose a color that contrasts to your walls and floors.

 

Counter top appliances are another way to add pops of color to the room. Most counter top appliances come in a range of colors these days as well as the standards of stainless, black and white. Even a tea kettle is a place to bring color into the kitchen.

Fresh Accents in the Kitchen

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Kitchens like any other room in the home can be given extra pizzazz with colorful and bright accents. The hard surfaces of the kitchen can make it feel sterile or cold. The wood cabinets, stone counters, tile back splashes, stainless steel appliances and tile or wood floors are all beautiful but hard. Hard surfaces make clean up easier and are typically more hygienic—two important qualities to have in the kitchen.

 

Fresh accents can breathe life into the kitchen. Because a kitchen’s focus is food and eating, decorative accents can be food and food themed.  This modern kitchen features a tall tile backsplash with a contrasting border stone counter tops and sleek appliance. The bowl of fresh fruit and a row of small vases filled with herbs and flowers breathes life into the kitchen. Just a bowl of citrus or apples can provide color and texture to break up all the hard surfaces in the room.  A bud vase next to the sink or on the window sill will add a fresh accent that might even brighten up the tedious task of doing the dishes.

 

Colors and patterns from food and floral accents in the kitchen can be used to inspire other accessories in the room. The color of runner in front of the stove could be inspired by a bowl of fruit, a box of garden vegetables from a local farm or bouquet of fresh flowers. Tea towels and dish cloths can also be chosen to coordinate with these fresh accents.