Modern kitchen design – how to decorate your kitchen

We’ve all rediscovered the joy of getting creative in the kitchen, and whether it’s making cupcakes with the kids or going full-on cordon-bleu for that dinner party with friends, our kitchens have regained their rightful position as the true ‘heart of the home’. Practicality may be one of the key requirements of every modern kitchen, but how your kitchen looks is just as important.
Home décor ideas include the kitchen, so it’s important to make sure that your kitchen is as beautiful as the rest of your home. To help you, we’ve put together a few ideas on how to decorate your kitchen, whether you have a large space with plenty of room or a small kitchen where every inch counts!

Jazz up your cupboards and drawers

Your unit drawers and cupboard doors are constantly on show, and they also tend to suffer from bangs, knocks, and scrapes. One of the easiest ways to revive any modern kitchen is to refresh these with a new look. Kitchen cabinet décor can be as simple as new handles and hinges to give them a brighter look, through to complete replacements that transform your kitchen. Replacing cupboard doors and drawer fronts means that you keep your old units but change the bits that are on constant show. If you’re on a budget this is good news – changing doors and drawer fronts is much cheaper than ripping out the entire unit and replacing it.

Modern kitchen décor ideas

How you decorate your kitchen will depend on several factors:

• The décor of your home – there’s no point in going for a traditional ‘country cottage’ style if the rest of your house is modern minimalism. Pick themes that can be echoed throughout your house including in the kitchen such as Arabic calligraphy in your kitchen tiles, or colour pops that pick up on the tones in your dining room or living room.
• Practicality – decorative kitchen accessories don’t just have to be ‘pretty’: they can be functional too. A set of beautiful copper pans are not only a chef’s delight, but they look amazing as well. Pick knife blocks that display your blades safely using clear Perspex rather than wood (which can also attract dirt and germs), or turn a dull spice rack into something special with elegant little jars. 
• A family space – the modern kitchen isn’t just a place to cook meals, it’s where the family gathers together at the end of every day. Make sure there’s a space in your kitchen décor for the kids to express themselves, such as a corkboard where they can add their latest art class masterpiece. Or involve them in the decorating process and let them choose the pops of colour that you add to brighten up your space.
• Cost – if you’re setting up your first home then budget is going to play a big part in how you decorate your kitchen. If you want to keep spending down then start with simple yet effective things such as kitchen table décor, which can be something as simple as a vase of flowers or a table runner. Then build your décor around these key design features.

Modern small kitchen ideas

If you have a small kitchen then the last thing you want to do is clutter it up! The trick to making a small kitchen look larger is to keep work surfaces clear and use light, bright colours to give the effect of a larger space. Try using clever tricks such as mirrored cabinet doors to reflect light into the kitchen and make it appear larger. Use recessed lighting rather than hanging lights to give the illusion of height and space, and pick clever storage ideas to keep countertop clutter down to a minimum. 

Make a feature out of key elements in your kitchen such as a premium quality Espresso maker, or choose French copper pans and use wall hooks to keep them out of the way but on display.
No matter what your budget or your taste, whether you have a large family kitchen or a compact space lined with simple white tiles, you can use clever kitchen décor ideas to make your kitchen look amazing.