How to Make Your Kitchen Cozy

Name something warmer and more welcoming than a lived-in kitchen. We love visiting homes of our family and friends who know how to cook because it’s likely they have a kitchen that is full of personality. If you want to inject a bit more warmth into your kitchen design, we have a few interior design tips and tricks for accomplishing the look.

Our first interior design tip is to add texture and color by placing a runner rug in front of your kitchen sink or stove. The addition of woven fabric is a nice juxtaposition to all the steel and stone of a kitchen’s typical components and the pattern is a good opportunity to bring in a color palette that soothes. You can also pick and display kitchen hand towels or oven mitts to add a little pattern and color.

Another interior design tip we love is styling some of the prettier cookware on the counter or open shelving (if you have it) instead of in the drawers. Get a crock to style and store your wooden spoons, add little hooks for looping your oven mitts and dish towels on, and get beautiful canisters to store the ingredients that you frequently use. It does double duty as a pretty display, plus it makes them easy to access. Cake stands are a fun addition as well, as they add levels and make a beautiful display, as are a stack of cookbooks with bookends on both ends.

Some of the more permanent ways to style your designer kitchen for a warm and cozy feeling is by adding fresh plants in the windowsill or swapping out your hardware for ones with patina or leather pulls.

Browse below to see our best kitchen design tips in action, and get inspired to create a warm and welcoming space all your own.