Once your kitchen has new or refurbished cupboards and new countertops it is time to choose the floor. Good quality tile, wood or linoleum in shades from the counter top colours is a guide remembering the light content of the room.
Large kitchens can handle large sized tiles, large linoleum patterns or wide wood planking. Galley kitchens look great with oblong shaped tile, narrow planking
or linoleum with small patterns or just plain. If you have an eating area in the kitchen, vertical narrow wood strips with chair rails is a nice touch on the walls completing the look with wide floor mouldings.
The wood can be painted white or if the kitchen is bright, it can be matched to the wall colour. A decorative sideboard or small utility table is handy for storing place mats, napkins, tablecloths, salt and pepper shakers etc.
Pick a nice chandelier - eclectic, modern or traditional - to add interest and elegance. Avoid the inexpensive halogen "saucer" style lights, as they are hot to the touch. The kitchen and the utility room are the rooms that don't require window treatments. However if privacy is an issue, good quality roller shades come in great materials and design now or roman shades, which look classy raised or lowered but are more costly. Finish off the room with botanical prints above the chair rails.
The Utility Room This is an important functional part of your home and deserves attention too.
Empty the room completely. Paint the room a cheery colour like yellow, robin's egg blue or even mauve. This should be done right away and the flooring (linoleum or tile is best in grey, beige or light greens) installed so the washer and dryer don't have to be moved twice and the area above the top of the new cupboards is easier to paint before they are installed.
Chances are the room needs total organization and planning so start from scratch.
If the room size allows, install a utility sink beside the washer and dryer. Put a cupboard above the washer and another set on the opposite wall or perhaps a broom closet. Leave the bottom of the lower cupboard on this wall open to store the laundry basket when not in use. Add another smaller basket for cleaning rags.
Leave the ironing board up against another wall (with an outlet) hang a floating utility shelf above for the iron and water bottle to fill the iron. Your detergents, cleaning agents, buckets, etc. can now be stored out of the way. Perhaps you can install an emergency fire extinguisher in a corner area and a first aid kit nearby in the cupboard.
Keeping handy items like flashlights, candles and picture hooks in the utility room will avoid frustrating searches through the drawers in the rest of the house. So, a simple room but an important part of your routine caring for your clothes and a depot for household maintenance. Finish off the room with decorative pots on a window ledge perhaps with herbs and an interesting a picture.
CAROL PINKERTON CAROL PINKERTON IS A RETIRED INTERIOR DECORATOR. SEND HER YOUR HOME DÉCOR QUESTIONS AT [email protected]
