Liven Up a White Kitchen with Color and Style

If you have a white kitchen and it seems a bit boring, change your attitude and change your accents. Your white kitchen provides a blank canvas upon which you can add accessories with color and any style that suits you. Because any color goes with white, redecorating when you tire of one theme is as easy as changing your accessories. Here are some tips on making your white kitchen more dramatic.

All text copyright Relica. Photo from Flikr - "white 4" courtesy of thekitchendesigner .org.

Accent the Cabinetry

If your cabinets are also white, white washed or a pale wood tone, you can add some pizzazz by adding colorful bright hardware. Choose a bold accent color that you wish to use elsewhere in the kitchen, such a cobalt blue or sunny yellow, and find cabinet door hardware with the same colors for a coordinated effect that moves from cabinets to wall art and countertop accessories.

Live Plants Soften and Soothe

The light airiness of an all white kitchen is the perfect backdrop for green plants that add a layer of softness and life to what may be otherwise sterile space. Plants generally love the moisture and warmth of the kitchen and look beautiful gathered in colorful pots on a sunny windowsill; plant a variety of savory herbs to snip when cooking. If the soffit above your upper cabinets is open, this is another ideal location to soften hard edges with tumbling greenery. In this case, the darkness of the space and inconvenience of trying to water plants would be a disadvantage, so choose realistic looking faux plants for the top of your cabinets and intersperse them with other accents such as brass urns, birdcages, glass bottles or any accents that fit your decorative scheme. Realistic decorative metal leaf decor can add dimension to your walls that underscores your green and living motif.

All text copyright Relica. Photo from Flikr - "white 7" courtesy of thekitchendesigner .org.

Texture and Color

Of course adding any accent color to your white kitchen and repeating it will make it more lively and dramatic; there’s no need to stick to one accent color, either. For instance, bold blue, green and yellow can be used in harmony, or a choose from a more muted palette of eggplant and sage green.

However, you can add more dimension to your kitchen décor by going beyond color and repeating texture. Chances are your kitchen has a lot of hard smooth surfaces – countertops, laminate surfaces, appliances, flooring, etc. Add texture to soften things up and make the kitchen more inviting: Choose a natural fiber area rug in the dining area, for instance, and repeat texture in placemats or a table runner, baskets for the wall or soffit and decorative home wall art made of wood or wrought iron that has a natural rough finish.

Add Color and Style Definition to the Backsplash

If your backsplash is painted white drywall, use this space to add color and style. Beautiful ceramic or glass tiles can bring in any attitude you desire, from Mediterranean to modern. Since a backsplash area is relatively small, you may be surprised at the affordability of this project. Or install interlocking beaded board paneling for a cottage look; paint it in your accent color and seal with marine grade polyurethane. Wall paper or a bold color painted in the backsplash can also add a decorative punch to this highly visible wall space.

All text copyright Relica. Photo from Flikr - "Kitchen" courtesy of Peter Baker.