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White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}

by | Jul 21, 2009 | Decorating Inspiration, Details, Kitchens, Style Tips, Takeaway Tips

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White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}

image: House Beautiful

Kitchen Ideas

Frustrated with looking at magazines for kitchen ideas because you don’t know how to recreate the look on a budget? I think there is a lot to learn from glossy magazine photos! Creating a beautiful room isn’t about copying the entire space, buying expensive appliances, or installing marble counters on top of custom cabinetry. It is about finding doable details that contribute to the look. It just takes a little practice.

A room doesn’t have to be an exact duplicate to have the same feeling. Come along with me and see what I see when I look at some of my favorite white kitchens! Here are my five take away tips!

Take Away Tip #1

The contrast of the white counters and cabinets with the black stools and lanterns really make this kitchen special. A simple patterned valance gives just enough softness at the window (above).

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}House Beautiful

Take Away Tip #2

The unexpected pop of color in the cabinet gives this white kitchen some added pizazz. Throw a striped rug near the sink, spray paint your current knobs black. and you have recreated the feeling for less!

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}This Old House

Take Away Tip #3

This kitchen gets a lot of its personality from painted black window panes, black open shelves and a striped rug on the floor. You can do this!

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}House Beautiful

Take Away Tip #4

Recreating this kitchen exactly would set you back a pretty penny. But you can capture the ambience with a couple of woven stools to mix things up and the unexpected framed oil painting above the sink.

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}House Beautiful

Take Away Tip #5

Again black chairs give added weight. For a lot of personality, show off a collection of white dishes on open shelves and above cabinets. Hanging your pots and pans in plain view is pretty and practical. Spray paint your chandelier white!

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}

White Kitchens I Love {5 Take Away Tips}

Photos: House Beautiful (click here to see HB’s Kitchen of the Year!)
& This Old House

43 Comments

  1. I'm Julia

    So true! The pop of color inside the cabinets is my favorite from these… I’m seeing my beige and white things against a pale aqua or turquoise background.

    I’m Julias inspiring blog post..Whatcha’ readin’?

    Reply
  2. Trish

    I love white kitchens! Those are all beautiful pictures!

    Reply
  3. lylah ledner

    I’m just impressed that you write so well while on drugs :- and come up with such great posts….hey…if for some crazy reason you’re still in portland recouping…i come this next saturday….

    LOVe the white kitchen post…truly, i’m impressed…:-) you’re awesome…

    lylah ledners inspiring blog post..Window Gardening

    Reply
  4. Laura Zarrin

    I am loving these white kitchens. I plan to do that to my kitchen at some point. Thanks for the post.

    Laura Zarrins inspiring blog post..Learning new things

    Reply
  5. Kate at Centsational Girl

    I’m addicted to white kitchen photos – these are beautiful. I did my kitchen in white cabinetry with white marble countertops, but added contrast with butternut colored island with a walnut wood top. White brick pattern tile and stainless appliances too.

    Love the tips you gave – you have a great eye !

    Kate

    Kate at Centsational Girls inspiring blog post..Art Photography GIVEAWAY!

    Reply
  6. Tracy

    Great tips and pretty kitchens! I’ve had a white kitchen for about 8 years now and can’t imagine going back to anything else.

    Tracys inspiring blog post..Shopping with Kitty

    Reply
  7. Matt

    I like the kinda zig zag layout the 3rd kitchen has

    Matts inspiring blog post..Portable Solar Powered Fridge

    Reply
  8. Gail McCormack

    Hope you’re feeling better Melissa!

    Loved this post, I’m yet to get to my kitchen, I’m still working my way around my loungeroom, I think a few of your trips will help me with my loungeroom, I guess they don’t just have to be for the kitchen – thankyou!!

    Gail McCormacks inspiring blog post..Painting the house

    Reply
  9. janice

    Be still my beating heart! I think I should start sending you the money I save by not buying so many house magazines these days; I get my fix here and at your friends’ houses!

    I have a tired, white kitchen; this post has given me just the boost I need to love it back to life and restore its twinkle. Thank you!

    Hope you’re recovering nicely – we need you hale and hearty. ;)

    janice | Sharing the Journeys inspiring blog post..Holidaying at Home: The East Neuk of Fife

    Reply
  10. Kristen

    White kitchens really are beautiful. I love the green paint inside those cabinets. It seems like a great way to add a little fun to the room.

    Kristen @ Beautifully Imperfects inspiring blog post..Home Again

    Reply
  11. Astrid

    Thanks for posting those photos. I must say I’m love with white kitchens. They look bright and happy to me.

    Astrids inspiring blog post.."Big Rock Candy Mountains"….

    Reply
  12. Chele

    Great tips! Thanks Melissa! :)

    Cheles inspiring blog post..Mid-Week Shout Outs

    Reply
  13. Annie

    Thanks for this post! I am re-doing my kitchen right now and I wanted to do white but hubby was skeptical. These photos will help me convince him. :) I am planning white cabinets, open white upper cabinets, white subway tile and a black island. Hmmmm!

    Annies inspiring blog post..True or False?

    Reply
  14. Suzann

    GREAT tips!! LOVE white kitchens.

    Reply
  15. Debbykay

    So lovely! Love the freshness and inspiration of a white kitchen!

    Debbykay at Rose Cottage Gardens and Farm

    Debbykays inspiring blog post..French Dreams at Chateau Dumas

    Reply
  16. black eyed susans kitchen

    Melissa, I agree about the magazines. I may not like the entire room, but I will often come away with a usable idea or two. Sometimes the articles just make me think outside the box. I love the look of a white kitchen, but know deep down that I love color more. Hope you are feeling better.
    ♥, Susan

    black eyed susans kitchens inspiring blog post..ONE COLLECTORS OPINION

    Reply
  17. Kathy

    Hi Melissa, I hope you are healing quickly but enjoying the rest! I have a white kitchen and LOVE it. My husband designed and built our house, including the kitchen. I had the choice of cherry wood cabinets or white “farmhouse” style. So glad I chose white. It still makes me happy after four years. ~Kathy

    Kathys inspiring blog post..Renewed

    Reply
  18. Thea

    I have your run of the mill ,average, white kitchen. Seriously, pretty blah! But NOW with your tips, I see so much potential!! Thanks for sharing! Now the fun begins…hunting for new treausres to make it my “happy place!”

    Reply
  19. Heather Odeh

    I love these kitchens too! My biggest regret about my kitchen is that I have dark wood cabinets! White is so much prettier. I would have had to pay about $3000 more for them and yet right now I would be so much happier. I love the idea of painting the chandelier white! I have that exact chandelier and I am gonna do just that when I get a chance. I love beadboard too! My island is beadboard and white and so is my backsplash. I love white and black!

    Heather Odehs inspiring blog post..

    Reply
  20. Tricia - Avolli

    These images and ideas are fabulous…you hit a bull’s eye. Another idea that I have for all white kitchens is to add a piece of furniture in a natural wood such as pine. It will add a warmth and depth to an all white space.

    Tricia – Avolli

    Reply
  21. Jeanne

    Oh, to start my morning in any of those bright cheerful kitchens!

    Jeanne @ Inspiring Ideass inspiring blog post..Book & Art Print Winners!

    Reply
  22. mary

    I love, love, love white kitchens! I want to do white! But I’m afraid of little hands on it. Great tips! Thanks.

    marys inspiring blog post..What I’ve been doing

    Reply
  23. Inca

    I Loved this post. I would love to see more in this vein. I still have to develop the ability to stop being jealous of those glossy pictures and learn how to pick up the tips that I could use to ‘get the look’. Perhaps seeing more posts like this will help me get there.

    Reply
  24. teresa

    Melissa- great tips-
    I learn so much here- love it. Not sure how you keep up with everything, feeling the way you do right now.
    Hugs-
    And thanks for having such a great place to come visit in the morning.
    Happy Day

    teresas inspiring blog post..Busy at Blissful-

    Reply
  25. Claudia

    Good day to you!! What great ideas.

    I have been on a white kick for some time now — so Summer .. so fresh. Love it.

    TTFN~~Claudia ♥

    Reply
  26. Vee

    You are keeping yourself mighty busy, Melissa! Love this post and found lots of things that I can apply. I’m still thinking about the black kitchen that you featured awhile ago, too.

    Vees inspiring blog post..Old Photos

    Reply
  27. Pam

    This was a fabulous post for me. I want to paint my kitchen out white and have been looking for inspiration so it doesn’t end up looking sterile. I so love a white kitchen. I already have the black and white toile Roman shades up, so the first picture, especially, spoke to me. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Pam

    Pams inspiring blog post..We’re Baa-aaack!

    Reply
  28. Julie Size

    Love the black window muttons!! Wow did that stand out.

    Reply
  29. Gina

    I love these great ideas-it is easy to get discouraged sometimes when looking at magazine phot0s, so these tips are great. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  30. katiedid

    I always love a white kitchen! The first is my fave with the blue floors and green inside the cabinets. LOVE the horizontal siding!

    Reply
  31. cindy

    Awesome. I have this tall pub table that I bought at a garage sale. In my eye, it looks like it should be white! The two stools that I have to go with it were blond and I just painted them black last year. Looking at your photos…I think it’ll really work to leave them black! Thank you….and I have some other thoughts now…from the pics!

    Reply
  32. The Nester

    Excellent post!

    You are so right! We can be SO inspired by those magazines! I love your take aways. This blog truly is inspiring.

    Reply
  33. Shannan

    White kitchens are so beautiful! And I loved your tips. (Although truly, are there people out there who do not love to read design mags? Perish the thought!)

    Reply
  34. laurie

    I would never have thought to paint the window panes black. I love that! Thanks for all of the ispiration and the tips. laurie

    Reply
  35. Heather

    I love these “take away” tips. You should do those a lot or have a series or something. Those simple things that I know I ‘noticed’ but didn’t know how to incorporate in your simple ‘take away’ tips were perfect.

    Reply
  36. Jackie

    I love this site. The take away tips are fabulous. I like simple and you make it so easy for me to get really good ideas on how to stage houses to sell in Real Estate. I am finding myself going to your site more and more even though I am very busy. Thanks for all the good tips.

    Reply
  37. Aimee

    Great ideas Melissa! I’m drooling over these kitchens! Hope you feel better very soon. Take care!

    Reply
  38. Custom Cabinetry

    Good post indeed! Thanks for sharing such nice information.
    Custom Cabinetry

    Reply
  39. joanie

    I love white kitchens too, and those you featured are all outstanding. Thanks for the take-away tips. I’ve learned a lot from my visits to your blog.

    Joanie
    .-= joanie´s last blog ..Caregivers’ survival, part II =-.

    Reply
  40. leigh

    We are moving Dec 31st from a 5 year old house to a 25 year old house that needs lots of work. I love all your advice on kitchens, because I’ll tackle it first! I’m digging through the archives!!

    Reply

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