Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Tips from Kit - 2007
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Give Your Kitchen a Quick Makeover
By Kit Davey
If you're unhappy with your kitchen, it's possible to make dramatic changes without moving a wall or spending much money. Let's look at a few quick simple changes that require elbow grease. :
Declutter
Remove any appliance from the countertops which you don't use on a daily basis. Go through every cabinet and drawer, removing items which have not been used for a year or more. Give these items to charity, or add them to your garage sale pile. Go through the loose papers hanging from your refrigerator and toss outdated notices, straightening and tacking down the edges of the remaining items. Better yet, remove all loose papers from the refrigerator or your bulletin board and transfer them to a small-sized bulletin board mounted on the inside of your pantry or another of your cabinet doors. Remove any items stacked on top of the refrigerator. Store cooking tools, pot holders and knives in drawers---not on the countertop.
Organize
Make sure that your cooking supplies are near where they will be used: the pots and pans near the stove, the silverware by the dishwasher, etc. Invest in organizing racks and pull-out shelving to increase storage.
Clean
Even a beautifully appointed kitchen can look tired and dingy if dirt is allowed to accumulate. Take a hard look at yours: Is the backsplash spotted with spaghetti sauce? Is the area around the light switch grayed? Are the pans under the burners coated with an unknown substance? Make a list of the grungie areas in your kitchen and commit 10 extra minutes every evening to making them squeaky clean.
Decorative Touches
Countertops
Now that you've cleared off your countertops, it's time to accessorize with a few items that fit the room's color scheme and style. Look through your cabinets for buried treasure. Try displaying:
- a painted ceramic teapot with matching sugar and cream bowls.
- an antique metal sign, a brightly colored plate, a fruit label or other piece of art on a plate stand or leaned up against the backsplash.
- a miniature topiary or small herb garden.
- a collection of herbed vinegar bottles.
- a sculpture piece.
Linens
Purchase a new set of colorful dish towels or, trade one of your old sets of towels for one of your friend's.
Floor Covering
Can you get by with laundering your present area rug or is it time to spring for a new one? Try an unusual floor covering such as an antique prayer rug, a sisal or jute carpet, a welcome mat or a hand painted oil cloth.
Shelving
There's always an area large enough to accommodate a small wall-mounted shelf---over the eating area, the kitchen window or doorway. Use it to display a favorite collection: colorful plates, teacups, antique glass bottles or books. If you can fit a tall, narrow book shelf or baker's rack in your eating area use it for your cookbook collection and to display a few valued possessions.
Window Treatment
If privacy is not an issue, try no window covering at all. Replace outdated curtains with pleated shades, mini-blinds, rice paper or bamboo rolling shades, or shutters. Make your own simple curtains and tie backs from sheets, fabric scraps or dish towels sewn together. Create a natural valance by hanging bundles of dried herbs over the top of the window frame. Or, suspend a colorful antique stained glass window in front of your existing window.
A few of these simple touches can make your kitchen more attractive and functional. Check your cabinets for treasures, make a shopping list and give that dull kitchen some pizzazz!
Kit Davey, Allied Member, A.S.I.D., specializes in redesign, design consulting, staging and professional organizing. Call her at(650)367-7370.
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