Six Ideas To Inspire Your Signature Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It’s the room where we cook, where we spend time with our families and the room where lots of memories are made. The kitchen should reflect your personality and style – but kitchen renovations can be very expensive, so many people put them off and make do with kitchens that just don’t quite feel like home. I find that there are lots of ways that you can make your kitchen more exciting and inviting, whether you’re going for a top-to-bottom renovation or just sprucing things up with a little paint. From small to large, here are some of my favorite ways to dress up a kitchen:

Paint an accent wall. You don’t need to paint your whole kitchen to give it a new look. Painting one wall in a bold color or covering it with a funky wallpaper can really brighten up a space without being overwhelming. If you just do one wall, you won’t have to worry about matching everything in the kitchen and replacing cabinets and appliances, since an accent is supposed to stand out!

Display your cookware. We all have a lot of pots, pans and other cooking tools in the kitchen, and most of the time we hide them in drawers. Put your favorite – and most well used – tools on display to give your kitchen a lively and energetic look. From magnetic knife racks to heavy-duty pot racks that you suspend from the ceiling, changes both small and large can bring some new life to your kitchen by getting tools out of the drawers and onto the walls. A pegboard wall can be easily installed to hang lots of tools, if you want an even larger display.

Add a backsplash. Watch any DIY show and you’ll see how much a colorful backsplash can transform a kitchen. Many older kitchens have no backsplashes or minimal ones. You can add or replace a backsplash without changing out the rest of your kitchen, bringing new colors and textures into a space. Solid-colored porcelain tiles can give a kitchen really clean lines, while funky glass tiles can give a more contemporary look.

Lights off on old fixtures. We tend to look what the light from our light fixtures shines on, not the lights themselves, but changing up old lights can really make a kitchen look sophisticated. It’s easy to change out fixtures most of the time, and you can find vintage pieces that fit a retro style inexpensively at flea markets, or designer-inspired pieces that give a modern flair to a previously plain-Jane kitchen.

Upgrade your appliances. A set of new appliances can be a splurge, but it is well worth it to completely change the look of your kitchen. A sleek set, such as LG Studio’s new line, can reinvigorate your kitchen. Their streamlined look is modern, yet timeless, and every piece in the collection offers a high degree of performance that will keep any cook well-satisfied for many more years of family dinners, holiday parties and Sunday brunches.

The final idea is a contest. LG Studio announced its partnership with renowned decorator and product designer Nate Berkus for its high-end LG Studio kitchen line earlier this year, and Nate and LG Studio have teamed up to help homeowners with their kitchen design and remodeling questions. They are also offering one lucky person a chance to win a complete kitchen makeover, with a Nate designed and remodeled kitchen that incorporates LG Studio appliances! The contest is a bit less DIY than some of my other design ideas, but the payoff is huge.

Nate and LG Studio have teamed up to help homeowners create their signature kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the home, but for many, it’s one of the most difficult rooms to design. His expertise and insight will provide consumers with useful feedback to help them create their most beautiful kitchens. The LG Studio Signature Kitchen with Nate Berkus focuses on a kitchen web series in which Nate responds to kitchen remodeling and design-based questions from his and LG’s social communities in the form of personalized videos, some of which were shot during a live event at the LG Studio Kitchen in Manhattan last week. Nate also filmed five exclusive videos offering insight and expertise on various design trends, including achieving a well-appointed kitchen, summer in the kitchen, layered design, entertaining in the kitchen, and technology in the kitchen. Visit LGStudioKitchen.com to watch Nate in the kitchen sharing his expert design tips and insights! 

“My Kitchen Needs Nate” Contest 

Beginning June 19 and extending to July 31, consumers are encouraged to enter the “My Kitchen Needs Nate” contest in which the winner will receive a Nate Berkus designed and remodeled kitchen that incorporates LG Studio appliances. Contestants are asked to shoot a video of themselves in their kitchen, noting the personal inspiration point they want Nate to incorporate in his design and why they’re excited about LG Studio’s line of appliances. LG Studio and Nate will choose the winner based on the following criteria: compelling design opportunity, quality of LG Studio appliance-based answer and visibility of kitchen space. Once the renovation is complete, renovation episodes, tip videos and images capturing the renovation will be posted to LGStudioKitchen.com and shared across LG and Nate’s social properties. 

Readers may submit video entries at LGStudioKitchen.com for a chance to win a new kitchen renovation, designed by celebrity designer Nate Berkus and furnished with LG Studio appliances.

Does your kitchen need Nate and the LG Studio line of appliances? Send LG Studio a video and tell them all about it. Make sure to include the following:

• You are the star. Make sure you’re in your kitchen and that LG Studio can see a 360° view of it.
• Tell LG Studio your story. Describe for them the design elements that matter most to you. NOTE: They’re going to see a lot of videos, so make it great!
• Tell LG Studio what you love so much about LG Studio appliances 
• Enter the My Kitchen Needs Nate contest for a chance to win a new kitchen renovation, designed by celebrity designer Nate Berkus and furnished with LG Studio appliances

www.LGstudiokitchen.com