These kitchen design tips will help you make your kitchen functional and beautiful. Your kitchen design affects your daily life in a big way. These carefully curated tips will help you whether you are designing a custom kitchen or are working with what you have.
I’ve been lucky enough to grow up with my parents, who compliment each other so well when it comes to form and function. My mom is a fantastic cook and also has a great sense of design. She is amazing at making spaces feel beautiful and homey. On the other hand, my dad is like a pro organizer and cleaner (not actually, but he is seriously good).
Using everything that I learned from them these tips are sure to help you with your kitchen design.
You do not need a huge budget or a brand new kitchen to make your kitchen a space that you love being in.
And if you are lucky enough to have a larger budget, this will help you allocate your money in a smart way.
This post is all about kitchen design tips! Let’s get started.
1. Make your kitchen layout work for you
It’s important to start with the functionality and flow of your space. Having a kitchen layout that feels intuitive to you will make small, everyday tasks so much easier. In this tip we’ll go over some of the easy ways that you can create an intuitive flow throughout your kitchen.
- Plan out your kitchen with your appliances in mind. Having space for your fridge, microwave, oven, toaster, coffee maker, and whatever else you like to have on hand is important. The things you use every single day should be very easy to access and get to.
- Place your trash and knives near the sink. Having the trash accessible from where you are when you’re standing at the sink is super convenient. It makes peeling vegetables, cracking eggs, and other things that produce waste easy and keeps things clean. I love having a magnetic knife strip on the wall next to the sink as well, so that all of your knife options are visible when you’re picking out what you need. It also makes clean up easy, because you can put them back after a wash.
- Use your drawers wisely. On your lower cabinets, use the topmost drawers for silverware. Make sure that your silverware drawer is next to your dishwasher, to make unloading easier. (Side note: your dishwasher definitely needs to be next to your sink!) Place your pots and pans in lower cabinets near the stove. If your cabinets have drawers, this is awesome! It will make it easier to find and take out what you are looking for.
- Treat cabinet space as prime real estate. This is where things that don’t need to live in the kitchen need to move somewhere else. Especially if you use your cabinets as your pantry, food needs to be the priority.
Figuring out the layout for your kitchen can be exhausting. But what’s more exhausting is the frustration you will feel if your time being is wasted in a space you use every single day. Take your time and plan out a kitchen layout that works for you.
2. Make it easy to walk around in your kitchen
If you have more than one person in your house, like most of us do, this is for you! It needs to be easy to move around your kitchen with multiple people in it.
Having wide walkways is so helpful with this! Be detail oriented about anything that could get in the way of the flow of traffic. Keep those walkways wide so that people in your family can stay out of your way. If you’re anything like me, this is a major priority for you ๐
Be mindful of how you want to use your island. At my house, we use ours as our primary landing spot for eating. Depending on the size of your space, you will want to designate your island for eating. If you have room for a separate dining table that is close by, you could use that instead. It’s all about your personal preference and your space.
This awareness of how people can move through your kitchen will help create flow in your space and make it easy to do all of the cooking, eating, and cleaning you need to do.
3. Select colors and materials that patina and age beautifully
Colors and materials are very fun aspects of kitchen design. I love so many different colors and materials โ way more than anyone could include in one kitchen.
Everyone has some level of control over the colors in their kitchen. Of course, some have more control than others. With the colors you can choose yourself, try to select colors that feel exciting but also timeless. This can be a hard balance to strike. Seeking out inspiration on Pinterest helps so much with figuring out how colorful you want your kitchen to be. You can find more kitchen design inspiration here.
With materials, there is less that you can do if you are not completely redoing your kitchen. If you are redoing your kitchen and can pick out what materials you’re using, it’s important to realize that the materials in your kitchen are going to get beat up! They will be heavily used and well loved. This can be a good thing if you choose materials that age well and patina.
There are a lot of things in a kitchen that are really hard to change once they’re done โ for example, your countertops. Carefully select a material that you love the look of, and that will age well.
Let your inspiration guide you with your kitchen. Try not to feel too restricted by what you think a kitchen is “supposed” to look like. You’re the one who is living in your home every day. The most important opinion is your own! And I can assure you that there are different designs and styles out there for everyone. If you are gravitating towards green cabinets like the ones in the pin above, for example, don’t shy away!
Follow your inspiration and curate around it.
4. Be intentional with the little things in your kitchen
This list of kitchen design tips would not be complete without talking about the little things. The little things are your utensils, dish rack, knife strip, hand towels, knobs, and soap. There are definitely even more that I’m missing! All of these little aspects of your kitchen come together and create a vibe in your space.
Remember that nothing is trivial in your kitchen. This is a space that deserves so much love! You use it every single day, and taking the time to curate it so that it gives you a feeling that you love will bring you joy for years to come.
I love looking on Pinterest for ideas about how to make little moments in my kitchen special. From what teapot you use to your mug collection, it is so much fun to browse through ideas of how to make your space your own. Follow the Garland Collections Pinterest for more inspiration.
5. Layer in art that you love
Would it be a Garland Collections blog post if I didn’t talk about art? Seriously, having art in your kitchen is so nice. I think more is more in this case. Especially since there are not a ton of places for art in most kitchens, add art anywhere you can.
Here are some beautiful examples of art in kitchens that I can’t get enough of.
I love how these mini little frames look stacked with one on top of the other. These are so cute and could fit into a little sliver of wall space, which is very convenient.
Tucking a painting into some wall space like this is so thoughtful and creates a moment in this kitchen. I also love the contrast of the modern looking marble and the old fashioned frame.
And if you feel like you have no space for art in your kitchen, you can always place art nearby! Creating a vignette like this right outside of your kitchen is a great idea.
Art will add character to your space and make it feel like it is truly your own. Finding artists locally or on Etsy is a great way to find unique art that resonates with you. Another way to add art to your space is to frame sentimental cards or drawings from your loved ones. If framing is at all challenging for you (I know it can be for me) then make sure you check out my blog post all about framing your wall art.
I have a Pinterest board dedicated to Art Inspiration, so look at that if you need somewhere to start. You will be so glad that you took the time to add art to your kitchen. It makes such a big impact on the space.
Your kitchen is the heart of your home, and it is worth every minute you spend on it. From the colors that you use to the teapot on your stove to the art on the wall, every little part of your kitchen can come together to bring personality and love into your space.
That’s it for this post all about kitchen design tips! I hope that something gave you an idea of how to make your kitchen work better for you.
For more inspiration, follow Garland Collections on Pinterest and on Instagram. And don’t forget to join the Garland Collections email list by scrolling to the bottom of this page.
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To get access to all of our blog posts, you can click here. Enjoy learning more about how to get the best art in your home and design your home to make it your happy place.
