Show Notes
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://mydecorator.com.au/2021/05/19/3-ways-to-add-personality-to-a-white-kitchen/
When it comes to kitchens it’s understandable that a lot of people tend to go with white, this is because it’s timeless and won’t date. Kitchens are a big investment, we spend a lot of time in them and they need to be very functional but we think they should also look good. The argument for why people put in white kitchens is because it’s a neutral base, but sometimes with neutrals, they can look bland and lack personality. So how can you add some personality to your white kitchen (or any kitchen), we are going to chat through three ways below.
Colour
One of the best ways to add personality is with colour. The key here is to use a colour that already exists in your home, ideally in the room that is next to your kitchen. You may have a wallpaper or feature wall in a beautiful rich cognac, why not paint your wall that is at the end of your galley kitchen this colour, then add some cognac to your benchtops with a beautiful rich muted textured stone vessel also in cognac that holds a range of timber utensils to pick up the warmth from the cognac too. You could also repeat this colour in other items in your kitchen as well.
2. Decor
Why should our kitchen look like a kitchen? Consider adding a select few non-kitchen items into your kitchen to meld your living areas and kitchen together. Place some coffee table books on your island, a vase of your favourite fresh flowers, an oversize sculpture that usually sits on your hall table, on your kitchen benchtop instead. Add some indoor plants, or hang them over your island cascading down to create a statement. Lean some art against your splashback, or sit it on a mini easel and rotate it out from time to time with different pieces. Add a mirror against one wall and place a multitude of varying height pieces including plants in front to add some dimension and intrigue to your kitchen. Sit a Persian rug on the floor, this will not only look great but will also be softer underfoot when cooking not to mention hide a multitude of spills and soften any drops that may happen, preventing possible breakages.
3. Lighting
There is nothing worse then a poorly lit kitchen, but in saying this i’m not for one that is over done in the lighting department either. We think it’s important to have two types of lighting in a kitchen, task lighting and mood lighting. The key factor that can be used to tie these together is warm lighting, especially when it comes to mood lighting. I know when I’m cooking dinner in my kitchen I well and truly need to see what I’m doing, so my task lighting is on for this but at the end of the night when the dishwasher is running and I’m sitting down relaxing I want to look across and see some mood lighting, that lights my kitchen enough to be able to poor myself a drink and just adds to the evening wind-down ambiance that I like to create across all the zones in my home. I like to bring in mood lighting with a lamp that I sit on my kitchen benchtop that splays light up the wall, I also sometimes turn my rangehood light on too. I also like to place some candles and my oil burner on my benchtop as well. This works very well in open-plan living spaces in particular.
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