Your white kitchen cabinetry is timeless and elegant and provides you with a beautiful canvas to incorporate various styles and colors. However, if you are like most homeowners, you are not an interior designer and probably aren’t sure where to begin.
Luckily, you do not, in fact, need to be an interior designer to create a beautiful and luxurious kitchen that highlights those white cabinets. Here are a few simple kitchen design ideas for any homeowner with white kitchen cabinets.
Choose Elegant, Fun, or Bright Colors
White cabinets and white kitchens are trendy because they provide homeowners the opportunity to create a luxurious-looking kitchen without breaking the bank. If you want to incorporate and introduce color to your all-white kitchen, there are several opportunities available.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to add warmth and color to your white kitchen is with a well-planned paint color. Be aware that if you have a small space, using a darker color can make your kitchen look even smaller than it actually is. Bright colors are an excellent option for your smaller space.
However, if you are considering putting your home on the market in the future, painting your entire kitchen a unique color that you love might not attract potential buyers. Instead, choose a fun color that you can easily cover with a fresh coat of neutral paint.
A single, brightly colored accent wall is another great option. The painted accent wall will act as a focal point in the room, which can also make your kitchen look much bigger than it is.
If you aren’t ready to commit to a new paint color, you can incorporate color into your white kitchen in other ways. For example, you can purchase brightly colored hand towels or throw colorful throw rugs on the floor. Appliance manufacturers are experimenting with bright hues, as well.
You can now purchase a stove, dishwasher, refrigerator, and pretty much all smile appliances in a variety of colors. If you have stainless steel appliances but still love the idea of using an appliance to add color, opt for a brightly colored small appliance instead.
Introduce Fabric for Luxe Appeal
If your dream is to have your kitchen shot by photographer Reid Rolls or have an article featuring your kitchen penned by William Waldron, then you need to include luxurious fabrics somewhere in your white kitchen. The most accessible place to add texture and contrast through the fabric is with window treatments.
Rayon and polyester drapes are excellent options for kitchens because the fabric is easy to clean and will give your kitchen a high-end look without breaking your budget. If your kitchen is smaller, choosing the floor to ceiling drapes that are the same color or a similar color to the walls will make the room look more expansive.
If your room lacks enough natural light, choose sheer curtains to ensure enough light enters the space to make the kitchen look more open and inviting.
All the small details in your white kitchen can have a considerable impact. For example, choose bar stools or dining chairs with eye-catching fabric or purchase a brightly colored tablecloth to incorporate both color and texture, which can offset your white cabinetry.
Add Open Shelves
Another modern and hot kitchen trend, open shelves are actually a great option if you have a white kitchen and want to incorporate more color into the space. Floating shelves can look expensive, but only if you organize your small kitchen appliances and wares correctly.
For example, group together similar items, such as glasses, plates, or bowls. Using containers to house dry goods, coffee grounds, and other food items is a simple, tasteful way to style your open shelving cabinets.
The only two real downsides to floating shelves are that you also need to purchase organizational containers, from bins and baskets to jars, much of your food, or else the food boxes and jars will often look messy. Get ready to purchase additional cleaning supplies, too, because you will need to keep the open shelving cabinetry very clean.
Focus on the Kitchen Island
A kitchen island can provide you with the additional counter space you desperately need in a smaller kitchen. In addition to enjoying the utility, you can also add a little extra style and life to your white kitchen by focusing on the island.
For example, you can add a small prep sink to the island, swap out the existing marble tiles, or laminate island countertops for a wood butcher block top. For a small white kitchen without a lot of extra floor space to spare, you may need to purchase a custom kitchen island.
Suppose you are purchasing a new storebought or custom building a new island. In that case, you can create a cohesive finished look by adding the same hardware or Carrara marble kitchen counters to the island that are featured in your all-white kitchen.
Hang Artwork
Art is an inexpensive way to express your personal style. When it comes to adding style and panache to your kitchen, the right art can help you express your style and make your kitchen redecoration look expensive without breaking your budget. Choose the artwork carefully because the colors can act as an inspiration for the rest of the space.
For example, you can use the color of a painting in the kitchen to choose complementary marble counters or wood flooring. Take note of a unique color in the art and use it when purchasing the kitchen hardware, the paint for the walls, pendant lights, and the floor tiles.
Look beyond typical painting and consider other forms of custom kitchen artwork. For example, a painted wood sign can be a fun and unique way to add a pop of color and contrast to otherwise ho-hum white kitchens.
Pay Attention to Kitchen Lighting
When it comes to adding drama and beauty to all-white kitchens, you should never underestimate the importance of choosing the right kitchen light fixtures. This is especially true if white kitchens do not have enough natural light. An improperly lit all-white kitchen without the proper lighting can look dull, dingy, and dirty.
In addition to upgrading the main ceiling light, you can incorporate additional light into the room in several other ways. For example, an ornate wall sconce can make your white kitchen look expensive without breaking the bank.
Under cabinetry, lighting is another option that will add extra illumination to your white kitchen without taking up wall space.
Remember, no matter what size your kitchen is, adding enough accent lighting and illuminating the room properly will make the space look lighter and airy and, most importantly, make the space look much more significant.
Read Our Blog Post About Modern Light Fixtures
Deep Clean Your Space
A white kitchen is a white-hot trend. However, if you want to enjoy the benefits of a beautiful white kitchen, you need to purchase the right cleaning supplies and clean the Benjamin Moore painted or tile walls, wood floors, and the rest of the room often.
Here are eight tips to help you keep your kitchen spic and span.
Pay attention to the most minor details
From cleaning the baseboards to scrubbing stains off the ceiling, do not overlook the importance of keeping every inch of this all-white room clean.
Clean your countertops correctly
If you have natural stone countertops, avoid using acidic cleansers, including cleaners that have lemon or vinegar as an ingredient. Instead, opt for an all-natural cleaner that is formulated for use on modern natural stone.
Don’t forget to clean the cabinetry
Your white kitchen cabinetry is the star of your kitchen, so make sure to keep the cabinet doors clean. A mixture of white vinegar and baking soda is a simple, natural way to remove grease stains from light-colored cabinetry.
Polish the hardware
That mixture of white vinegar and baking soda is another simple, natural way to keep the kitchen pulls and knobs clean and shiny too!
A simple trick to clean your sink
While you have that white vinegar and baking soda handy, combine the two ingredients into a simple paste. Work the paste into the stains on your chrome sink and rinse it off with cool water. This is a simple and easy trick to remove even the most stubborn stains.
Cleaning tiled walls
Both modern and traditional kitchens often feature wall tiles. To clean your tiled walls, all you will need is a simple mixture of dish soap and plain water. An old toothbrush is a great tool to eliminate stains from any grout lines.
Make the room smell fresh
Sometimes, the best way to make any room, including the kitchen, feel clean is to ensure it smells fresh. Burning a candle, hanging dried herbs from the walls or cabinetry, and simmering lemon peel in water on the stove are all easy ways to make the room smell fresh and fabulous.
Keep your floors clean
The kitchen is often lovingly called the heart of the home, which means there will always be a lot of foot traffic. Keeping the floor clean can be tricky, so instead of constantly mopping the floor, place mats at every entrance to the kitchen. Encourage your kids and guests to wipe their feet often, which can help avoid dragging dirt, mud, and debris into the space.
Add Greenery
A white kitchen can often seem cold and impersonal. Add a few plants if you genuinely want to warm up the room and make the space feel more inviting and charming. Certain varieties of plants will thrive in this room, including spider plants, ivies, and ferns.
Low-maintenance herbs, including parsley, lemongrass, mint, oregano, and cilantro, will all thrive in this room. You can either place potted plants on windowsills or in hanging baskets in windows or on the side of your cabinetry.
Avoid plant varieties that are toxic or will grow too large, or will attract insects, including types of orchids, elephant ears, Arcea palms, succulents, or banana plants.
However, in the end, if you have black thumbs but still love the idea of adding greenery, you can always head to your favorite furniture and decor store and buy a few fake plants!
Some Final Thoughts
Your home’s beautiful white cabinetry will never ever go out of style and is a fantastic canvas to create a unique living space. However, if you opt for all-white, there are several ways you can add the smallest details to express yourself in this space.
From adding a splash of color through a thoughtfully placed throw rug to hanging textured drapes or updating the island, there is any number of tricks you can utilize that will make the room look luxurious, expensive, and one-of-a-kind!
