Kitchen Decorating Idea: Framed Prints

This kitchen decorating idea has been in my mind for a while.  I wanted to add a cozy touch with some framed prints that would add warmth, personality, and more detail to our kitchen.

Our kitchen makeover involved removing the upper cabinets, painting all of the walls and lower cabinets, and installing open shelves.  We have since added new appliances and this room functions quite well for our family.

But I had a nagging kitchen decorating idea that kept coming to mind about the corner of our open shelves.  It felt empty, but I was also struggling with functionality of our knife block, cutting boards, and utensil holder.  I tossed around a plan and then decided to get going on it.

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THE BEFORE

It’s totally functional and a sweet corner, but I wanted to add some cozy warmth.

〈STEP BY STEP TO PAINT KITCHEN CABINETS〉  〈HOW TO SAND HARDWOOD FLOORS〉

{We removed our upper cabinets and installed these open shelves.  Click HERE for that makeover!}

THE PROCESS

I had three goals for this kitchen decorating idea.  The first was to get the knife block off the counter.  Our utensil jar needed to be switched out as well.  It was no longer wide enough to hold all that I needed.  And the last change to the space was to add some warmth and coziness with a few framed prints.

The first thing I did was to decide on the layout in our kitchen.  Using two thrifted 8×10 frames and a new bamboo magnetic knife holder, I played around with different layouts and settled on this:

James hung this magnetic knife holder and I can see that this will be a great solution to saving counter space.  It also makes them more accessible since we do a lot of cooking.

THRIFTED FRAME MAKEOVER

These two 8×10’s fit perfectly in the space.  I knew they wouldn’t “match” and I actually preferred for them to be slightly different.

Using gel stain, I was able to add more warmth and dimension to these frames.  The first color I used was nutmeg, but that didn’t change the tone much.  After putting a coat of java on top of the nutmeg, I knew that was too dark.  So, I put another coat of nutmeg on and then wiped off the excess.  {I did a similar project HERE!}

〈GEL STAINED THRIFT STORE FRAME〉

Whenever I go to a thrift store, yard sale, or a library sale, I always look for art books.  I used one of those books for this kitchen decorating idea and added two prints to the newly stained frames.  {I’ve used pages from this book on our back porch, the full bathroom, and my daughter’s bedroom.}

BEHIND THE SCENES

KITCHEN DECORATING IDEA

I absolutely love how this turned out!

The functional beauty of the knife and utensil holders combined with the newly framed prints has my heart pitter-pattering.

This utensil holder works much better for us.  It is heavier and therefore doesn’t topple over, has cork on the bottom that grips the counter, and goes quite well with the woods and whites in our kitchen.

I had been thinking about this project for a few months and kept putting it off.  Today, I am so glad that I decided to make it a priority.  Adding a little bit of cozy warmth has pulled this corner together.

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• A Farmhouse Painted Kitchen Cabinet Makeover
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