Home & Garden

Twitter

(BPT) - The kitchen is famously the go-to room of the house where family and friends gather to spend time together, so it should be a space that you enjoy hanging out in. If your kitchen's décor is starting to look a little tired, you can always freshen things up by adding modern and functional touches. Here are five ideas - from simple to complex - that can transform your kitchen from tired to top-notch.

1. Color your world

Adding color doesn't need to be expensive or time-consuming. For instance, small appliances are to kitchens what throw pillows are to couches. Look for small, countertop kitchen appliances with a color you love and put them on display. Get creative with colorful art. Dress up your floors with a colorful runner. Paint something - an accent wall, a nook, woodwork, or if you're an experienced DIY-er, cabinets. You hold the palette, so go ahead and make your statement.

2. Warm up your countertops

If you want to add a bit of natural warmth to your kitchen, consider butcher block countertops from LL Flooring, which offers an array of beautiful options.

"There is nothing like the warmth and durability of wood to add timeless style to your kitchen," says Jennifer Meska, design expert at LL Flooring. "Classic styles like American Walnut are one of the most highly sought-after domestic hardwood choices."

Adding to the benefits of butcher block, the close grain of the wood provides a smooth, scratch-resistant surface that's easy to clean.

3. Make a cozy, intimate seating area

Because people tend to congregate in the kitchen, invite them to stay awhile by installing a modern seating area. Get creative with counter seating, or carve out a cozy nook in a corner. Banquet seating or a bench at a window-side table can give your kitchen an inviting atmosphere. Our lives are busy, and kitchen seating is a multitasking hero. Seating that's both comfortable and functional allows you to spend time with children as they study, or socialize with guests while cooking a meal.

4. Shed a new light on it

Updating your light fixtures can make a night-and-day difference in the mood of your kitchen. The easiest to install is pendant lighting that you plug into the wall. Hang a hook from the ceiling and swoop the cord over it and voila, you've got modern lighting. When in doubt, recessed lighting is always on trend. Installing it with a dimmer switch may require professional installation, but the end result is worth it. Need a quicker fix? Make a statement by replacing outdated fixtures with decorative track lighting, a lightbar over the kitchen island or an artistic chandelier.

5. Put a spotlight on your kitchen floor

Fresh flooring can greatly revitalize your kitchen, instantly sprucing up any dull décor with a timeless product that is resilient, waterproof, durable and attractive.

LL Flooring offers hundreds of waterproof styles to choose from, including the new CoreLuxe Americana collection, a line of extra-durable vinyl flooring in natural wood hues that are sure to enhance your décor. "Each of the Americana floors brings the natural colors and hues of the great American outdoors into your home with on-trend design and do-anything performance," says Meska.

Breathing new life into your kitchen can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. Start small and go big, or start big and accent with small touches of color. Make it yours, and make it inviting.

• < Prev
• Next >