Kitchen Decorating

I’ve spent many years of my life living in and loving the city of Chicago, where interior spaces are relatively small and people can’t wait for the warmer months (40 below, no thank you). As soon as summer hits, folks flood the parks, beaches, and rooftops to host picnic after picnic. Picnic baskets aren’t hard to assemble—in fact, they’re pretty straightforward despite their loosey-goosey nature. You just have to think about what you may need in a pinch.

The look of the kitchen is changing — already granite countertops and dark wood cabinets are starting to look a little late 90s. If you’re thinking of renovating or building a house (or just like looking!), here are five of the top trends for modern kitchens. And the best part? Some of these are things you can do right now, without spending much money at all. White and WoodIt’s modern, but warm — the best of both worlds.

There is one show-off of a tool that I deeply believe everyone should have in their kitchen.

Time to really own your morning coffee routine.

The brand is best known for its colorful, retro 1950s-style refrigerators.

During an incredible visit last week to the White House (for a sneak peek at the new Obama state china service), I swung by the kitchen and snapped all the photos I could manage while hearing about the upcoming State Dinner from the two talented women who are in charge of all things culinary for the Obamas. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchen of most famous family in the nation (which was much more compact than expected!

A friend and apartment dweller recently asked us for small play kitchen suggestions for her daughter’s Christmas present. We tried talking her into some DIY ideas, but she is more the DI-Buy type. If you’re in the same boat, here you go – fifteen small play kitchens (under 31″ H) so your kids can play “dorm room” and “flop house” too. My Portable Cooker by Wonderworld ($55.

No matter where you are and what you are doing, there’s always a way to hack something in your kitchen so that you can prepare almost any dish. While a rice cooker isn’t really made to be used as a slow cooker, it can double as one if you don’t have anything else that will do the job.Recently, I had bought a gigantic pork roast that I planned on cooking. Currently I live in Asia, and our apartment doesn’t have an oven.

When I started Apartment Therapy as a design service in NYC in 2001, I quickly noticed that if I helped someone to improve their home, but their refrigerator was empty, progress halted. In other words, no matter how lovely I was able to get a home to look, if my clients didn’t come home to cook and eat, everything got cold and dusty.

One of the many things you can do to transform your kitchen is to change your countertops. If completely replacing them isn’t an option for you right now, updating your existing laminate with countertop coating is a great way to achieve a new, fresh look without breaking the bank. Countertop paint is great for homeowners and renters alike.

Are you thinking about remodeling your kitchen? Here are 15 clever details you might want to consider adding. They’re all elegant solutions that make life in the kitchen just a little bit easier, and we wouldn’t blame you one bit if you want them all. Built-in, pull out cutting boards. From Residence Magazine via Nordicspace. Even better, a pull-out cutting board right about the trash bin, to make sweeping away scraps super-easy. By Gary Wafford.

Open kitchen shelving is a charming little minx. She’ll talk you into bringing her home, swaying you with the promise of beautiful displays of glassware and ceramics. “It’s bohemian and cool,” she’ll say. But after too long, she gets comfortable and starts to look, well, messy. The secret to keeping the spark alive in your open-shelf romance? Working hard every day to make sure that your shelves and the things on them are well-styled.

The floor usually isn’t the design element that first grabs your attention in a kitchen, but these rooms are the exception. Bold, busy patterned floors mix with a variety of decor styles in these examples. What they all have in common? They totally steal the show! Shown above: Bold blue and white floors grab your attention the moment you walk into the kitchen of Anne & Steve’s Relaxed, Eclectic & Casual Home in Cape Town.

Once considered an ultra-modern decor choice, waterfall counters are popping up in a variety of kitchen styles these days. They add a sleek, minimal look to any kitchen design while helping to hide appliances and protect wood cabinets. They’re often easier to clean. And’ if you really love your counter material, you can you can show it off more of it when you pick waterfall style.

If we saw these while scrolling through Instagram, we'd be quick to double tap.

When I make pie, I use my grandmother’s pastry blender and rolling pin, but one thing she did not pass down was her cast iron skillet slick with a history of family feasts. Instead, I received my cast iron pan five years ago—a new Lodge pan, fresh with the factory seasoning. Even with a factory fresh seasoning, the surface never felt smooth; it always had a pebbly texture. I’ve worked with enough cast iron pans that I knew the pan was supposed to be slick enough to fry an egg.

Ever since Lucy Ricardo accidentally baked the world’s biggest loaf of bread on a 1952 episode of I Love Lucy, kitchens have been at the center of virtually every TV family’s story. In honor of TV’s love affair with the kitchen, HomeAdvisor, the marketplace that connects homeowners to home improvement pros, has carefully rendered the floor plans of some of your favorite TV hearts of the home.

Bye bye, bad track lighting.

Kitchen islands are not really polarizing—if you have the room, you probably want one. But bathroom islands? Now there's something new to covet.

If you live in a small space, chances are that your kitchen is also equally diminutive. As you can see, my particular kind of tiny rental kitchen is of the single wall variety, with a paltry two cabinets width of counter to speak of. While that (and the single outlet) mean I have to cull the clutter and keep appliances elsewhere when not in use, even when the counter is cleared, that’s not a ton of space to work with if you’re trying to cook a meal.

Fun fact: You don’t need to be a professional chef to take advantage of some of the smart tools used in restaurant kitchens. And no, we’re not talking about $200 knives or fancy sous vide machines. We’re talking about the inexpensive, everyday sort of stuff that’ll make your time in the kitchen neater, easier, and just a tad bit better. See, many of the gadgets and tools that professional chefs use in restaurant kitchens can be just as useful to us casual home cooks.

If you’ve been to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in midtown Manhattan, you’ve probably marveled at its permanent collection, which includes some of the most iconic and immediately recognizable works, ever — there’s the melting clocks of Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory, the soft-focus pastels of Claude Monet’s massive Water Lilies triptych, and everyone’s go-to poster from their freshman year, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

Upper cabinets are starting to disappear from kitchens, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. It all started with the open-shelving phenomenon, and now, in some cases, it has morphed into this total lack of anything structural above the countertops. On the one hand, it is visually beautiful. You can really go to town with tile—think an uninterrupted, ceiling-high wall of subways or a bold geometric backsplash. But on the other hand, where exactly are you supposed to put your stuff?

I have a small kitchen. And most days, it’s cool. I have accepted the fact that I’m not going to have a proper place to make meals (or eat them frankly) until I move out of New York City. That hasn’t stopped me from dreaming about the future—and looking at oodles of kitchen porn to serve as inspiration for my someday reno.

For all the talk around wood versus plastic, there’s very little talk about the SIZE of cutting boards. And this is one case where size really does matter. One of the biggest mistakes we see time and time again? People opting for cutting boards that are too small. A too-small cutting board is not only awkward to use, but it can also be unsafe! We’ve all done it before: You’ve pulled out a little guy, thinking you just have to mince some garlic.

#Ihavethisthingwithtiles, and it’s sort of unfortunate because I’ve never actually picked any of my own. I fell in love with subway tiles nearly a decade ago, and I was crushing hard on those matte patterned cement tiles that popped up a couple years ago. I’m even into faux “wood” larger scale ceramic tiles and teeny tiny, mesh-backed penny tiles. And I’m not mad at a fish scale or arabesque shape either.

Kitchen design has kind of been the same for a few years now—subway tile backsplash, splashy pendant lights, as big of an island as possible, and maybe some open shelving for good measure. Cabinet color has started to shift a little bit from all white to a little more bold in some instances, but it hasn’t fully taken off yet.

The only thing better than a stylish kitchen utensil is one that didn’t cost you an arm and a leg. Luckily, IKEA is brimming with inexpensive, Scandi-style kitchen essentials that probably cost less than your fancy morning coffee. From wine racks to colanders, here are 13 go-to kitchen wares at IKEA for under 10 bucks.

Every once in a while I come across an organizer that seriously makes my heart skip a beat. It’s rare, so when it happens I have to take a minute to tell you guys about it. Earlier this year, I waxed poetic about this $10 flatware organizer for narrow drawers, which I’ll still talk about to anyone who will listen. And just a few weeks ago I came across this wire under-shelf basket … in copper! Yes, I’ve seen under-shelf baskets before.

Available in a dizzying array of colors, materials, patterns, sizes, and shapes, tiles are the incredibly versatile and durable decor tool that’s been adorning interiors for thousands of years. Whether you’re looking for fresh inspiration or overwhelmed by all the choices available, these 10 one-of-kind rooms narrow in on unbelievably bold and unique looks you can achieve with tile. In Daniel and Diego’s small Buenos Aires, Argentina home, they went BOLD in the bathroom.

When taking on a home improvement project as major, time-consuming, and expensive (!!!) as designing a new kitchen, the last thing that you want to do is make a few choices now that you end up regretting later—especially if that ends up meaning you wasted money. To help identify the biggest money-wasting no-nos to avoid, we consulted a few kitchen design experts. Having been around plenty of renovations, they had some good live-and-learn lessons and what-not-to-dos to share.

I’ve been cooking for most of my adult life, and I’ve never actually been completely sure just what that drawer under the oven is for. It seems like a good enough place to store baking pans, but that also feels like wasted space, or that it should actually be for something besides storage. I’ve never really used that drawer for anything.

When it comes to buying furniture, some pieces stay with you for a year or two, and some for a lifetime. But when it comes to buying furniture on a budget, more can fall into the former camp. And while some inexpensive options might be required to get started while you save up for more investment pieces, it’s also nice when those inexpensive pieces can grow with you.

Every kitchen needs a KitchenAid mixer. Yes, they are a bit pricey and take up a decent amount of space, but they are so versatile. You can make cakes, cookies, pies, dough, and so much more using your mixer, especially if you get the KitchenAid attachments. Not only can you get a lot done with this mixer, it really stands the test of time. People can have their mixers for decades, as long as they take good care of them. KitchenAid is celebrating a big anniversary in 2019.

Sneaky homeowners used to fill bowls with fake apples, grapes, and bananas—but don't you dare take a bite.

Minimalism and functionality are two key elements that can take a hum-drum, cluttered kitchen and turn it into a beautiful space to cook and entertain in. As I mentioned in this Scandinavian-style house tour round-up last month, perhaps the greatest feature of Scandi-inspired style is that it can be interpreted and used in so many different ways.

There’s something about a well-designed kitchen that makes me want to abandon my takeout-loving ways and transform into the type of person who hosts dinner parties on the regular and whips up delectable meals with ease. Or at least someone who plays the part on Instagram. And nothing piques my interest more than a light, airy kitchen with a few pops of pastel. Coincidentally that seems to be exactly the aesthetic of most popular Instagram influencers. The secret to their style?

I admit it: I am a kitchen appliance junkie. I have been for more than a decade, since I fell in love with cooking. I want to buy nearly everything that comes on the market, but actually only buy the ones I know I will use on a regular basis. I make sure that the ones I do buy are the best value for the money no matter how inexpensive or expensive they may be. And then I love them to no end. I have a few high-speed blenders (because is one really enough?

I pride myself on the fact that I have never dropped my phone in a toilet or spilled coffee on it. (My poor laptop is another story. RIP, Lisa’s MacBook!) And I tend to do everything in my power to keep up those bragging rights. But as someone who cooks a lot, following recipes (from Kitchn!) on my phone, it’s not always easy to keep my phone safe. Which is where this plastic bag comes in. I oddly got the idea while treating myself to a manicure.

The trend of tiny living is well, huge. Whether it’s municipalities looking to solve affordable housing crises, or individuals looking to live a simpler life in the woods, tiny homes seem to be the answer to nearly every question these days. Now the tiny living phenomena has inspired equally tiny, yet incredibly functional and beautifully designed, kitchens for modern living.

Some of you may remember this post I wrote, asking you if I should break down and get one of those ugly-as-sin kitchen mats, even though they offend my eyes. (If you haven’t read it, I’ll wait while you do!) Despite the popular advice to just break down and do it, I’ve been hemming and hawing over the decision for months. And I’m glad, actually. Because I’ve just come across something that is a million times more attractive than the typical kitchen mat.

The “stranded island test” is a good way to think about the products you use that you really, truly love. I asked the Apartment Therapy editors what one small appliance they’d bring along if we were all whisked away to an island in the middle of nowhere (where electric outlets may or may not exist, but that part isn’t supposed to matter).

Last spring when my mother was in town, she offered to help me make an epic month-long supply of freezer meals. While preparing for the task, I came across a recommendation for a kitchen tool that I’d never seen or heard of before. Now they make me happy every time I have an occasion to use them. They’re so delightfully handy, I’ve even given them as gifts.

Thanksgiving is arguably the star holiday of the cooking world. And, apart from the oven, there’s no other kitchen feature that gets more play during this time of year quite like the island—whether built-in or freestanding. Before you gather around yours this year, take a moment to appreciate how this modern day kitchen staple came to be the status symbol that it has become (because it hasn’t always been that way).

When I started my hunt for the perfect tiny New York apartment, I knew that it would probably come with a tiny kitchen, too. I got lucky: my kitchen actually has a full-sized fridge, and it even has an oven. (Yes, there are people in New York who are paying lots and lots of money to rent apartments with no oven.) And while my kitchen is small—it only has two and a half feet of counter space—I saw others that were even smaller.

Earlier this year, we predicted what would be trendy in the kitchen for 2017, from rich, muted hues, warmer finishes, New Bohemian style and more. We’re now more than halfway through this year, and I find myself looking back at 2017’s designs. I’ve seen many of the trends predicted above come true, but I’ve also noticed a color trend emerge for the kitchen that I didn’t expect: mint green!

The debate between open shelving and closed cabinets in the kitchen divides many people. Some find the look charming, but hate the practicality of it. Others think it looks messy, but wonder if they’d use their stuff more if they could see. And many other opinions in between abound. So I asked some folks who live with open shelving in their kitchen every day to share the real truth. Kristina Browngardt is the co-founder of Wilder Design Co.

For most renters, all decorating efforts come to a screeching halt in the kitchen. Whether it’s dated countertops, offensive wood finishes, or lighting that you’re pretty sure was initially installed for a crime scene investigation, most kitchen eyesores require major permanent solutions — or so we thought.

The backsplash has a huge impact on the look and feel of your kitchen, which makes it even more of a pity that so many rentals have such ugly ones. But the good news is that, even if you’re renting, you don’t have to content yourself with what you’ve got. Here are nine good-looking, affordable, and totally temporary ways to transform your ugly (or maybe just boring) backsplash.

What’s your style? Maybe you’re someone who has trouble encapsulating that in just a few words. You know what you like when you see it, but the things you’re drawn to are all across the decor spectrum, not fitting perfectly into any one aesthetic. You’re a mixer. You like the unexpectedness of bringing together disparate and contrasting styles.

We’ve talked a lot about rental kitchens being “you-get-what-you-get-and-you-don’t-get-upset” zones because we’re typically limited in the changes available to us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have kitchens with good functionality and great style; we just need to be creative! Check out this cheery kitchen from our home tours that showcases do-able and stylish ways to improve your rental scenario.

Last year while shopping with a friend for kitchen countertops, I saw and fell for a small piece of blue-and-white polished stone that reminded me of photos of Earth taken from space. Blue bahia granite, as I learned, is quarried in Brazil and is “legendary for its beauty” (although its “stunning blue colors can be a little hard to incorporate into a kitchen,” at least according to one site).

Fall always has me turning toward dark, moody spaces, and this autumn I’m especially drawn to dark kitchens. While black (or dark gray or navy) might be an unusual color choice for the kitchen, it’s also, as you can see here, an incredibly stylish one. Maybe these eight spaces will be just the thing to bring you over to the dark side.

Project by: David Katz of Katz Architecture Location: New York, New York Blessed with beautiful 1920s bones, this gorgeous kitchen just needed to blossom from its cramped IKEA cocoon into a gorgeous custom butterfly. The owner, an architect themselves, turned to David Katz to help this kitchen reach its full potential.

Project by: Julie China of Idea Space Architecture + Design Location: Maplewood, New Jersey The wood paneling, formica countertops and dated finishes of this New Jersey kitchen are nothing uncommon to older homes, but they were no longer working for a family of four. Designer Julie China of Idea Space Architecture + Design came on board to open up the space and give it a welcomed refresh.

Though it may not be your dream material, black and white tiles can be a very affordable choice when you need new flooring in your kitchen. Need proof? These eight rooms look fantastic with black and white floors. From simple spaces to bold, accessorized rooms, let these kitchens and their checkered floors inspire your own home. As you look through these examples, pay attention to the tile size and layout orientation; you’ll see a surprising variety of looks in these rooms.

The vintage kitchen features that came with your house or rental—old appliances, dated fixtures, interesting floor materials—aren’t always the choices you would have made if you had designed from scratch. But if you don’t have the money to renovate (or you rent and can’t) or don’t want to renovate, choose to work with your vintage features, not fight against them! These sixteen kitchens get it right.

Many a beautiful kitchen have been built on a foundation of pretty normal, neutral cabinetry. But if you ever have the opportunity to renovate a kitchen from scratch and add in something really spectacular in the realm of cabinetry, it’s like a shortcut to great style. Above: I’m sorry, but how cool is this oversized-pegboard-style upper cabinet area in this tall Amsterdam schoolhouse-turned apartment, from Dwell? We can see this evolving over time to be used exactly as you need.

Gisbert Pöppler via Dustjacket Attic Kitchen cabinets: they’re necessary, but let’s face it—they aren’t always the most interesting pieces of furniture. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case! Here are imaginative kitchens that make use of large, antique pieces of furniture in addition to regular kitchen cabinets. They’re drama-filled, glamorous, and practical. Read on to find out why you may want to give this trend a try.

You don’t have to remodel to add a lot of extra counter space and storage space to your kitchen — all it takes is a kitchen cart. These little workhorses are a great way to make a small kitchen more workable, or just help you get the most of your space no matter what size it is. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite kitchen carts (and islands), in a range of prices to suit pretty much any budget. This hardworking IKEA cart is perfect for smaller kitchens.

A few months ago I decided to paint my laminate countertops as a temporary solution to a very ugly, very burnt orange problem in my kitchen. I was a little hesitant to do so since our actual counter space is minimal and sees a fair amount of traffic, but forged ahead because the price and risk (those countertops are coming out this fall either way!) were low. Here’s how they’ve fared… They have unfortunately acquired quite a few battle wounds!

IKEA’s new kitchen cabinet system hits the stores on February 2nd. To help you plan your dream kitchen, as promised in our earlier inside scoop post, we’ve got need-to-know details ahead of time. Here’s inside info on everything from price to measurements, features to finishes, along with plenty of photos. Let the new kitchen designing and dreaming begin!

Important Update: We’ve got all the finalized details on the new IKEA kitchen! Click here for our new post filled with photos, prices and tons of info on sizes, finishes and features. I’m sure you’ve heard the not-so-secret rumor that IKEA is transitioning to a new line of kitchen cabinets in 2015 and it’s all true – it’s definitely happening and the new system, called SEKTION, is on its way and will be in US stores soon.

A lot of the open shelving we’ve seen falls into one of two categories: simple floating shelves, or cabinets sans cabinet doors. But that doesn’t mean yours has to. Take a look at these ten inspiring examples of unique open shelving… and then maybe get inspired to build your own. Above: how beautiful are is this brass and glass shelving unit? The whole kitchen is gorgeous, of course, but it’s really the shelves that steal the show.

Welcome to the most chaotic, most used, most loved room in my home, my kitchen! Now, this kitchen certainly isn’t the biggest I’ve lived with (That award goes to my first place in Houston. It only had one cabinet, but technically the kitchen was 12 by 15 feet!) or fanciest I’ve ever had (That would be my first kitchen in NYC.

A tiny kitchen (in my opinion) is one with a small refrigerator, a sink and a stove, with little to no counter space. I’ve had plenty of tiny kitchens in previous apartments and despite their coziness, I always dreamed of the day I would have something a bit bigger — in case I might want to make two pies for the holidays that year. However, I would give that dream right up for the chance to cook a meal in one of these stylish kitchens.

Today, I’m sharing some great insider info found in our comments section. Drew wrote: I worked for IKEA for four years—one as a kitchen planner, three as an interior designer. If you buy an IKEA kitchen, specifically the Akurum fitted line that the rest of the world outside the US calls Faktum, you can get a great product. The question is what’s your time worth to you?

Just like suitcases with wheels, recessed power outlets are one of those “I can’t believe it wasn’t around ’til now” inventions. But even if you know they exist, you might not know how to use them. Here are five places around any home, apartment or loft where you should install this space-saving electrical hardware.Recessed outlet hardware has a faceplate that is set deeper into the wall than a regular outlet.

Small spaces are often tricky, and given how much gear goes into the kitchen, it’s undoubtedly one of the most difficult areas to keep compact, functional, and stylish. Here’s some inspiration to help you infuse your tiny kitchen with character and convenience.Obviously the aesthetic possibilities of the kitchen can range just as widely as that of other rooms.

With three kids, I can’t keep a tablecloth clean for more than a few hours, and my adorable Orla Kiely for Target tablecloths are completely stained with various food splatters. I need a tablecloth that can be wiped clean but doesn’t look like a cheap, plastic picnic table cover. The answer to my problem? Laminated cotton!I just read a great article about this wonder fabric over at Oilcloth Addict.

The 1940s were a tumultuous time. It is impossible to understand those years outside of the context of WWII. The war not only defined the decade but from a design perspective, split it virtually in half. During the first half of the decade, new design was halted, as supply shortages and rationing demanded that all available resources — material and otherwise — be directed towards the war effort…Socially, the decade featured a similar split.