11 Fool-Proof Ways to Add Character to Your Kitchen

“People light up when you ask them about their kitchen memories,” says Grace Mitchell, designer (@astoriedstyle) and host of HGTV’s design series One of a Kind. “They’ll say, ‘Oh, my grandma had this funky little sink or she had this cabinet that held all the candies and was painted yellow.’ So with every project, my first question is always, ‘What do you want to be memorable to someone when they visit and see your kitchen?’ It’s about creating the home that you want to be representative of your life.” In every kitchen Grace designs, no surface, from floor to ceiling, and no detail, no matter how small, is overlooked as an opportunity to bring personality or tell a story. “You want your kitchen to feel like a warm room that connects to the rest of your house. All the little pieces come together to make a kitchen that is unique and interesting.”
Here is Grace’s playbook for breaking the all-white kitchen rut:
Head to the Salvage Yard
On any given weekend, you’ll probably find Grace rummaging around at Fort Worth’s Old Home Supply or some other local salvage supplier. “Repurposing vintage finds is a great—and green!—way to have something in your kitchen that no one else has,” says Grace. Sometimes that reuse can be more straightforward, such as retrofitting light fixtures for a new application or having an old sink reporcelained.
Other times, it takes a little more creativity and elbow grease, as with this industrial-table-turned-island, which Grace had a hole cut in for the sink.
Take a Chance on Color
“Life is too short to live in a white box,” says Grace. “I ask clients, ‘When you where young, what crayon did you always pick first out of the Crayola box?’ If you loved cornflower blue then, you’re going to love cornflower blue today… and tomorrow. Don’t worry about hating it in 10 years. Enjoy your home now!” To keep it balanced, Grace pairs bold cabinetry with quieter, primarily white, marble or quartzite countertops. If you opt to paint the cabinets yourself, load your sprayer (preferred over a brush for a smoother and more durable finish) with a satin finish cabinetry enamel.
RELATED: 40+ Pretty Kitchen Paint Color Ideas for Your Next Room Makeover
Add the Jewelry
Just like with fashion, the design details in a kitchen are as important as the foundation. Whether a midcentury starburst, an elongated pull, or a retro jadeite knob, the hardware helps make each space unique. Grace is also a big proponent of mixing, not matching, and often chooses different styles and finishes of pulls for the wall cabinets and the island. “It gives that ‘I found this piece of furniture and put it here’ type of collected feel like you have in other rooms of you house,” she says.
Bring the Outside In
“A blue or green paint color brings a botanical element to the kitchen that I think is really romantic,” says Grace.
Install a Statement Backsplash
While colored cabinetry usually warrants a white backsplash, white or muted cabinets mean it’s full speed ahead on a backsplash with splash. For Grace, no material is out of consideration. She’s done backsplashes in everything from stamped stone (in her own kitchen) and mosaic tile to painted beadboard and DIY. For the kitchen above, she even used washi tape to tack up gardening-book botanicals on a painted wall, then covered the art with an acrylic panel.
RELATED: 40 Pretty and Practical Kitchen Backsplash Ideas
Say “See Ya” to Stainless
“Why choose fingerprint-y stainless steel when colored appliances are so fun and memorable?” asks Grace. “You can build a whole interesting kitchen around a uniquely colored fridge or range.” Big Chill and BlueStar are two of Grace’s favorite sources for bold appliances. In a kitchen with colorful cabinetry, she often chooses white (not stainless) appliances, which she favors for their vintage vibe, and if she’s going for chic, she’ll opt for black appliances “because it looks so rich and deep,” she says.
Turn Family Heirlooms Into Art
Special collections and mementos add personal character to a kitchen. In the “party pantry” of an avid entertainer, Grace used serving utensils to create a unique wall display (artfully installed with a glue gun at 2 a.m.!). She paired it with another of her favorite tricks: a custom ceiling paper created from a commissioned drawing of said utensils. She’s done the same with love letters, children’s art, family photos, and even a menu from a family’s first restaurant. For other projects, Grace has mounted mementos in clear acrylic trays and boxes from the crafts store and covered a fireplace surround with a collection of colorful vintage plates.
Can the Can Lights
Grace opts for a set of pretty flush or semi-flush mount ceiling lights and then two or three large-scale fixtures over the island. “There is a really neat drama that you get from oversize island fixtures. If you think it might be too big, it’s probably perfect,” she says. She also considers how the kitchen will be used day and night and adds task lighting—such as a pendant over the sink, sconces mounted on the sides of cabinets, and LED strips inside glass cabinets—accordingly.
RELATED: 40+ Kitchen Lighting Ideas to Brighten Your Cook Space
Don’t “Phone In” the Vent Hood
“Stainless vent hoods just feel so cold,” says Grace. Instead, she approaches the hood as an opportunity to inject personality, usually with wood or tile. For the latter, she’ll have her cabinet installer build a wood box surround for the vent and orders a little extra of the backsplash tile to have carried across. (Be sure to order trim pieces for a finished look.) Grace also always has her eyes open for unique salvaged pieces she can repurpose, such as a scalloped copper piece (shown here) that she had cut to size.
Rethink the Sink
“I love a good white farmhouse sink, especially with pretty apron detailing, but I love a colored sink,” says Grace. “One of the first times we filmed the show, I said, ‘I want to do this show so I can bring back the colored sink.’ ” For this vintage-feeling kitchen, Grace reporcelained a salvage sink in the perfect shade of jadeite, but you can also special order color finishes from manufacturers such as American Standard and Kohler. Another bygone favorite that Grace thinks should make a fast comeback: built-in drainboards. “They are genius!” she says. And what to pair with that sink? A charming bridge faucet, of course. Preferably in an unlacquered brass or polished nickel finish.
Be Creative With Your Storage
“I’m a big believer in only having things you love—and actually use—in your kitchen,” says Grace. Whether you want on display or tucked behind closed doors, adding design elements like statement shelves, glass-fronted cabinetry, and small-scale pantries help keep those things handy and organized. As well, having the things you love on display adds even more of your distinct personality to your kitchen.
Jennifer Kopf is the Executive Editor of Country Living. She also covers antiques and collecting.
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