Bring Some Summer Into Your Kitchen
Summer brings fun, freshness and some great opportunities to relax. Your kitchen should do the same! Whether it’s 90° outside or 9° below. But when the lighting isn’t right, it can be difficult to function, let alone relax. Here’s some ideas on how to capture that summer sunshine, no matter what the season.
Open Things Up
If you’ve been stowing everything away out of sight, you may have noticed your kitchen feeling closed off. Imagine, never needing to remind your kids to close a cupboard door. It can be a reality if you just take off the doors. You may even find you’re able to put up some additional open shelving. An open kitchen feels bigger and more inviting.
To draw even more participation, put together a baking or beverage station. Flours, sugars and spices can be stored in decorative glass containers with seals. Feature colorful plastic cups for the kids and crisp glassware for the adults. When you keep everything right there, it’s easier to put things away and keep it organized.
Endless Inspiration for the Floor of Your Dreams
GET DESIGN BOOKPut Away the Dishes
Sometimes the best way to make things roomy is to have less stuff. It’s easy to accumulate too many dishes. By scaling back to the pieces you really like, you’ll enjoy each meal a little more and have fewer dishes to wash. Most people find that they can get by with about half of what is sitting in the cupboards and the space is more valuable — you now have room to put away appliances! — than the plates you never use.
Bring in Some Light
Gone are the days when just one overhead light was sufficient in the kitchen. When you have the summer sun at your fingertips, open curtains to let in the natural light. But clouds can roll in, even in summer.
By incorporating some layered Kichler lighting your kitchen becomes a bright and inviting place.
When it comes to lighting, think in terms of layers. To layer your lighting, start with the base overheard light, which you probably already have. Add in accent lighting to add depth, and task lighting to brightens up your island and counters, and make meal preperation more enjoyable.
Let Some Color Pop In
Bright colors like reds, oranges, yellows and pinks offer a spark on a dreary day, and while your stainless steel appliances look pretty sleek, they can seem a bit industrial without a little color to offset them. Jazzy colored plates can change things up, but so can some things you might not consider, like serving utensils. Try these retro-inspired and colorful utensils by Superior Servers, as recommended by Housebeautiful.com. They also show a bright pink Pie Kitchen Timer. This timer is too bold to get lost like those little white timers.
You can also add color to your wood floors! If you have a dark wood floor, like Walnut hardwood flooring, put a colorful accent rug in front of the kitchen sink or under the breakfast bar.
Get a Little Fruity
Whether it’s fresh-squeezed lemonade, the smell of a sweet orange, or limes for a margarita; nothing says summer like some citrus fruit. Keep a few of these in accessible baskets to keep that warmth in the room. Even when you can’t find fresh, a bit of decorative fruit can keep also invite that warmth, just make sure it stays far enough out of reach so no one mistakes it for the real thing.
Keep Growing
Summer may be the best time for growing herbs outside, but inside they can stay fresh all year. They can go on the windowsill, or you can make a creative display and let your herbs become art.
Fun With Floral
Light-colored fresh flowers like mums and daisies also offer a splash of amazing. In the summer, grow these flowers yourself or pick them up at your local farmer’s market. In colder months, put a simple bouquet on your weekly grocery list and enjoy your fragrant summery centerpiece while you unpack the groceries.