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5 Ways to Revive a Worn-Out Space with Award-Winning Kitchen Design

Home / 5 Ways to Revive a Worn-Out Space with Award-Winning Kitchen Design

If your kitchen is looking tired, it might be time for a face-lift. You may be wary or hesitant to remodel the entire room, but there are ways to update without completely dismantling everything.

In truth, fantastic, award-winning kitchen design doesn’t always start from scratch. Sometimes, a room just needs some polishing to shine with its full potential. If your kitchen is a diamond in the rough, you may be able to reveal its inner beauty with some relatively simple interior design.

5 Simple Tips for a Kitchen Refresh from Auckland Interior Designers

1. Add More Lighting

A kitchen with only one light source is probably under-lit. Instead, you need various types of lighting to truly illuminate the space for various tasks.

Under-cabinet lighting banishes shadows and helps you see your chopping and mixing better. Pendant lights or accent lights over the island or sink brightens these spots and highlights them. Finally, sufficient overhead lighting will flood the room with a warm glow. (Sometimes this means you need more than one overhead light, especially if you have a large kitchen.)

If you’re lacking one of these lighting components, consider adding them in for a bright workspace that doesn’t feel like a dark, dated cave.

2. Auckland Interior Designers Recommend Doing Simple Cabinet Updates

If your kitchen cabinets are screaming that they came straight out of the ‘80s, this doesn’t mean you have to rip them out and start over.

Instead, do some cosmetic work to lift them into the modern era. Painting the cabinets is a quick way to banish an old, unattractive wood stain that has seen its heyday. If your kitchen is dark and small, a bright, crisp white can help lighten the mood.

Additionally, consider new cabinet hardware. If you want a more modern look, go with something sleek and simple in a pretty finish, like chrome, nickel, or brass. If you want your cabinets to blend better with the other finishes in the room, choose a metal for drawer pulls and knobs that matches the sink fixtures, accent lighting, or other metal design elements.

If you need help choosing a new cabinet color or matching hardware, consult a kitchen designer. They’ll give you a range of ideas that will work with your existing space.

3. Get Organized

If your kitchen is cramped and cluttered, invest in a better organization system. Purchase wire shelving, racks, and baskets that can fit in your cupboards and hold more dishes, pantry items, and cookware. Separate everything by use (serving bowls all together, plates, glasses, mugs, etc.).

If you’re still lacking storage, add some. A spare corner in the kitchen is a good spot for a tall rack or a bookshelf. Store seldom-used items on the top shelf, and regularly-used items within easy reach. Buy matching bins or baskets that fit your shelf dimensions in order to hide items that you don’t want to look at every day.

4. Highlight a Collection

Maybe you have an heirloom collection of dinnerware or fine china. Maybe you collect vintage stemware. Or perhaps you collect teapots. Instead of hiding your collection away in storage, let it take center stage. Interior designers in NZ regularly use this trick to add personality to a room.

Install open shelving in your kitchen in order to properly display your favorite items. If you have a very large number of items, consider only keeping a few pieces out on display at a time and rotating them regularly.

5. Hang It Up

When thinking about storage, go vertical. There are unique ways to store items you use daily by hanging them on blank wall space, which conveniently keeps them in easy reach.

For instance, hang a pot rack over your island, above your sink, or over your cooktop. Install hooks on the underside of your upper cabinets in order to store and display your favorite mugs. Hang up a spice rack and keep all your seasonings in pretty glass jars with decorative labels. Install floating shelves near a breakfast nook and keep bowls and glassware displayed there. (If you’re worried about dust, display them upside-down and stacked.)

Vertical storage is only limited by your imagination, and it can help your kitchen contain a surprising amount of stuff.

As demonstrated, award-winning kitchen design doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to take what’s there and turn it into something beautiful. If a room has good bones, this can be a piece of cake.

If you want expert advice and design planning from award-winning interior designers in NZ, trust Mal Corboy. We specialize in luxury, high-end design for kitchens that wow.

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