How do I add interest to my kitchen? 7 design experts reveal their top tips

Even though a brand new kitchen is beautiful to look at with its sleek, spotless surfaces and shiny tiles and backsplashes, there is still the feeling that something is missing. It doesn’t matter how stunning your new kitchen is if it has no personality.

What ways to give a brand new kitchen personality and charm? Top professionals in the field of kitchen design share their recommendations here.

HOW DO I MAKE MY KITCHEN MORE INTERESTING?

If you’ve been keeping up with kitchen design trends, you know that this is no longer a soulless utilitarian space. More likely, you want to make it look like a living room. If that’s the case, you’ll need to incorporate all the kitchen styling advice you can find with your best kitchen cabinet ideas. Here’s what the experts in the kitchen have to say about it: Can you suggest some ways that I can spice up my kitchen?

1. CHOOSE SHAKER-STYLE CABINETS FOR A LOOK THAT NEVER DATES

Annie Tullett, Tom Howley’s kitchen designer, is adamant that traditional Shaker kitchen ideas remain current and invariably enrich a room’s personality.

The spare, functional lifestyle of the Shakers of the 18th century is the inspiration for the classic style of their kitchens today. The Shakers, with their large trestle table islands and benches, essentially combined the kitchen and dining room functions in a single space, serving as the prototype for today’s open-concept family kitchens.

Since they are based on Georgian architecture, which the Victorians adopted, the Edwardians and modernists, “Shaker kitchens” are built to last. In conclusion, Shaker isn’t a fad; it’s here to stay.

2. ADD TEXTURE AND DRAMA WITH DARK, NATURAL MATERIALS

With the right kitchen countertop ideas and cabinetry, dark colours and textures can take a kitchen from drab to the divine, says Caesarstone’s head of design Mor Krisher. He explains, “Black or dark kitchens aren’t always sombre or austere, contrary to what people often think.”

Dark hues can indeed be either striking and dramatic or comforting and reassuring. They each have their distinct personality thanks to the myriad subtleties, tones, and textures they contain. They can be simple or complex, bold or understated, industrial or classical, conventional or cutting-edge.

If you want to avoid an all-white kitchen and are looking for a place to start, a black countertop is a fantastic choice.

3. BRIGHTEN WITH BACKSPLASH TILES

Compared to using flat or plain materials and finishes, kitchen wall tile ideas are a great way to add eye-catching texture and colour and, by extension, interest to a kitchen.

Using tiles as a backsplash in a kitchen is a beautiful way to showcase and highlight their design, material, and finish. Highly reflective gloss tiles are a great way to create a sense of space and openness in a room and a beautiful way to add a splash of colour, as noted by Diane Hyde of Craven Dunnill Jackfield.

4. INSTALL STATEMENT LIGHTING

Creative lighting solutions that serve the dual purpose of being functional and aesthetically pleasing are essential for making a kitchen more inviting.

Kitchens require functional lighting. Under-cabinet or recessed lighting is a common choice, but you should also consider how the room looks and feels when it’s not in use.

The island is a common gathering place for family and friends, so think about using a pendant or low-hanging lighting there. Niki Wright, a co-founder of lighting design studio lights & lamps, advises not to be afraid to use “living room” lighting in the kitchen, such as a floor lamp in a corner or a table lamp at the end of a countertop.

5. ADD MORE THAN ONE TIMBER TO THE SCHEME

According to Jen Ebert, Homes & Gardens’ Deputy Digital Editor, “introducing timber to a room, whether through wood kitchen flooring or wood kitchen cabinet ideas, is a great way to add interest to a space.” But if you want to turn up the personality, try using two different kinds of timber instead of just one, which can make the room’s finish look a little flat.

You can see how introducing timber is like developing a colour scheme in the kitchen above by interior designer Cortney Bishop, with one species taking centre stage and the others serving as accents.

6. ADD INTEREST TO A KITCHEN WITH LAYERING

“Layering in interior design takes many forms, all of which are useful for adding interest to a kitchen,” says Sarah Spiteri, Editorial Director, Homes & Gardens. As the author puts it, “this can be with kitchen flooring, with kitchen rugs layered over a handsome material beneath; with myriad kitchen lighting treatments, which can create pools of layered light around the room; with open kitchen shelving on which to display your most beautiful china and cookware; with kitchen art ideas; and with kitchen curtain ideas, which can add pattern, colour, and cosiness, plus tie the entire scheme together.”

7. ADD AN UNEXPECTED SCULPTURAL LIGHTING DESIGN

Lighting designer and Maison Maison founder Suzanne Duin recommends going with a “statement light design,” which she defines as “something quirky, unexpected, and colourful”, to serve as the room’s primary point of interest.

“If that seems too challenging, use what you have in your kitchen right now. A large rattan pendant, for instance, will bring a sense of comforting, familiar tactility to a classic kitchen. The same goes for a kitchen with a statement lamp on the island or the back countertop. Kitchens can be instantly mellowed and made to feel less industrial with the help of directional diffused lighting cast across a work surface.

HOW DO YOU ADD PERSONALITY TO A WHITE KITCHEN?

Although white kitchens are always a safe bet, an all-white scheme, especially if it’s modern, can feel very flat. Using unique materials for the countertops, backsplashes, and flooring in a white kitchen is a great way to give the space some character. Then, incorporate eye-catching light fixtures and select patterned fabric for your bar stools or dining chairs. Your window treatment can complement the counters and backsplash, or vice versa. In a white kitchen, layers are essential, as is the use of more than one shade of white for cabinetry, walls, and ceiling.