Details #3 - Fabrics and Fibers

This is the third of a five-part, first week of the month series with The Decorating Diva. Each of the five Details editions will focus on a single room detail that can make a huge difference in the success of that space's style.

Last month we looked at faucets. This segment focuses on fabrics and fibers. Never underestimate the power of terrific textiles to enhance the look of a room. To see what I mean, try to imagine the chandelier in this kitchen with naked bulbs.

Kitchen designed by Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS

Such an unfinished look would totally detract from the otherwise pulled-together room. Fabrics can quickly, easily and often inexpensively update a room. Consider replacing your oven mitt and dish towels, your tablecloth, place mats and napkins. You can get yourself "new" kitchen chairs by slipcovering them. You can minimize an unappealing floor with a throw rug. You can dress up a basic light fixture by adding shade covers to your bare bulbs. You can even swap out the shades seasonally.

Here are some great fabrics and fibers to consider for your kitchen, even if you're not planning a major redo. Small touches can make a big difference!

Outdoor rugs like this Crewel Floral from Ballard Designs offer easy-clean Sensible Style for your kitchen!

Soften the look and feel of your kitchen chairs with a new cushion, this Tempo pad is from Pierre Deux

Coordinate your window covering to the style of your room, as this London Fabric Shade from Smith+Noble so beautifully does for this kitchen.

They're going to get seen at some point, so pick out pretty oven mitts. This Marseille style from Williams-Sonoma has coordinating dish towels, too.

Give your old chairs the slip! A great camouflage like this Dining Room Loose-Fit Slipcover from Pottery Barn gives you a new look for less.

Dress up your breakfast nook with new napkins and placemats from World Market's Krishna Medallion Textile Collection.

Or go contemporary with these texture-rich, neutral Z Gallerie Hyacinth Placemats.

Here are three essential points about kitchen textiles that you should consider:

* Are the table linens or chair slipcovers you're considering machine washable? If they're dry clean only, they may not fit your lifestyle.
* If you're updating your window coverings, keep in mind the amount of privacy and light control that you require, as well as the overall style of the room.
*If you're adding a throw rug, be sure to include a nonslip pad underneath to minimize the chance of a slip or fall.


Enjoy the entire Details series!

Details #1 - The Lighting Edition
Details #2 - The Faucet Edition
Details #3 - Fabrics and Fibers
Details #4 - The Hardware Edition
Details #5 - Finishing Touches

Sensible Style - Easy Color Updates

Sensible Style launched in July 2009 to answer your questions about kitchen design and remodeling. This time around, we’ll look at updating your space with color. One of the most common questions readers ask is how to incorporate color into a kitchen without dating it. Unless you’re completely committed to a beloved blue or red, and resale is not an issue, you may not want to change all your cabinets, countertops or appliances to that hue. Here are some ways to add a hot color without a major investment.


Fabrics

One of the easiest and most affordable ways of adding this season’s hottest colors to your kitchens is with dish towels, accent rugs, table settings and pot holders. If you want to make your kitchen sunnier, add a pop of yellow to your black and white kitchen with one or more of these items. Or add a burst of orange if you’d love an energy boost each time you walk into the room! Or go soft with one of the season’s woodsy neutrals.

A detail as small as dish towels can update your kitchen. These, from NapaStyle, are both attractive and organic.

Paint

Paint is another easy, affordable way to incorporate the latest colors into your kitchen. It’s especially inexpensive if you’re providing the sweat equity yourself. Some of the hot paint colors that work great with popular cabinet finishes include…

* Deep plum or cool grey with blond maple cabinets
* Watery blues with cinnamon cherry or painted white cabinets
* Spring or seaweed green with black or dark oak cabinets.

Note, too, that paint doesn’t have to be limited to your kitchen's walls. You can also paint your ceiling and the inside of glass-fronted cabinets for a color surprise.

Paint adds instant impact to a room. Here, Valspar’s Seaside Retreat adds a cool, coastal note to a white kitchen.

Countertop Accessories

Canisters, spoon rests, utensil crocks and even cutting boards can be swapped out for colorful components, giving your kitchen an instant and very affordable update. You can find traditional or contemporary styles in the latest shades, and donate them easily to a charity’s thrift shop if you want to update again in a few years.

Add color and charm to your kitchen with Sur La Table’s new Italian Ceramic Spoon Rests.

Serveware

You can certainly add color to your kitchen with new dishes, glasses, bowls and trays. If your kitchen features open shelves, glass-front cabinets or built-ins, this is a great way to color-kick the space with ease. When choosing dish colors and styles that will be open to the room, consider coordinating them with the permanent elements in the room.

Update your space with new dishes, like CB2’s new Petal Green Dinnerware set.

Countertop Appliances

Choosing non-neutral countertop appliances is your next level of color commitment! Not as pricey as a range or refrigerator, but not as inexpensively replaced as a canister set. Be sure that you love the color you’re selecting, as you’re likely to own that appliance for a number of years. Consider, too, whether your chosen color will look good on your counters, an easy one if your tops are black or white.

Colorful countertop appliances can add a kick to your kitchen’s color quotient. Just choose one you won’t kick yourself for in a few years. KitchenAid’s Empire Red Artisan Stand Mixer, available at Williams-Sonoma is a classic, (and easy to match to other brands' red models, too.)

Window Coverings

Window treatments are another way to add color to your kitchen. If your windows are a standard size, this can be an affordable update with in-stock retail or online offerings. If you need a custom size, this will be a costlier investment. Many kitchens have windows over a sink or doors to a patio. Adding an updated shade to these areas can brighten the space without a major color commitment. You can add accents in the same color in your table settings both indoors and out to extend the color in your space.

These Woven Waterfall Shades from Smith + Noble add a soft color note to a black and white kitchen.

Cookware

Cookware can be a major long-term investment, and should be chosen for its performance and durability, above all. That being said, there are delicious colors to choose from in this category and if you store your cookware on a pot rack or open shelving, it can spice up your palette as well as your palate.

Colorful cookware, like this Azure Blue Dutch Oven from LeCreuset, available at Williams-Sonoma, can add a burst of flavor to your kitchen’s décor.

Visit the Sensible Style box on the right column for links to all the posts in this ongoing series.

Sensible Style - Small Makeovers, Big Impact

Sensible Style launched in July to answer your questions about how to get the most out of your kitchen.

Since this is Makeover Month on Kitchens.com, we'll focus on kitchen makeovers. Not the kind that take months to plan and execute and thousands of dollars to cover. This posting will show you small, reasonably quick and affordable ways to make over your kitchen.


Get a handle on it

If your cabinets don't have knobs or handles on them, adding hardware will liven them up enormously. I recommend handles for drawers and knobs for doors, but you can do all one or the other. Think of cabinet hardware as jewelry for your kitchen and dress it up! You can choose a brushed nickel, chrome or pewter finish to coordinate with stainless appliances. Bronze will look beautiful on painted white or black cabinets. Glass can give you a lovely retro look. Black is a nice choice, too, especially if you have black appliances and want a rustic look.

Rustic knobs on these American Woodmark Townsend Oak cabinets enhance the kitchen's arts and crafts style.

Crowning achievements

I love the look of crown molding on cabinets, even contemporary ones. To me, they look more finished that way. Of course, you have to have space between your ceiling or soffit and cabinet tops to accommodate crown. You also have to choose a style that works with your cabinetry. If your door style is contemporary slab, a bullnose or square molding will accentuate, not muddy, its contemporary aesthetic. If your doors are traditional raised panel, a classic crown will look elegant. Transitional, Shaker door styles coordinate beautifully with cove or angle moldings.

If your cabinets extend all the way up to a soffit, you can paint or faux stain the soffit to match the cabinets and put your crown at the ceiling. This will make your cabinets look taller, your kitchen ceiling look higher, and really pull an upscale look together.

Traditional door styles, like the Richmond Cherry by American Woodmark shown here, look pretty, but naked, without crown molding.

Island fever, bar shopping

Upgrading your countertops can cost thousands of dollars for an entire kitchen, and often also involves changing out your sink, faucet and drain, as well as dealing with backsplash damages. Get an easy, affordable update by just changing the top on your island or raised bar.

The new top should coordinate visually with the surrounding ones to give the space a pulled-together look. If, for example, your surrounding laminate tops have flecks of gray, you could opt for a solid gray quartz top for the island or bar. If they're solid white Corian, a recycled glass top with bright colors on a white background can look great. Maybe you've got wonderful oak floors, but less-than-wonderful, old, chipped white tile tops. A dark wood top on your island or bar in the same color family as the floors will become a rich focal point.

An island or bar can get topped in a different material, like the Vetrazzo recycled glass shown here, adding a dramatic, yet well-coordinated, focal point to a kitchen.


Light the way

Many of the older kitchens I've redesigned have big ugly, cracked plastic light boxes or one dated fixture in the middle of the ceiling. Removing that light box or replacing that fixture is a quick, relatively easy way to update the look (and functionality) of your kitchen. There are numerous lighting options for kitchens, including pendants, chandeliers, pot rack lights, island fixtures, track systems and recessed cans. (This Gold Notes guest post by lighting designer Vicky Lodge could be useful for you in considering new kitchen lighting.)

Enhance the style and functionality of your kitchen by replacing outdated light fixtures with new versions, like this monorail system from Tech Lighting.

Fabulous faucets

Don't underestimate the aesthetic power of a good-lucking faucet to give your kitchen a style boost. There are hundreds of looks and price ranges to choose from, both contemporary and traditional. There are also water-saving opportunities with some new models. While you're faucet shopping, look for one that works with the overall style of your kitchen. Also consider getting a companion soap dispenser if you have an extra faucet hole to cover. (Getting the soap bottle off your countertop is an added aesthetic upgrade!)

This Kohler Simplice faucet in its new Matte Black finish can give your kitchen a mini makeover. The coordinating soap dispenser gives you added convenience with more style than a bottle of dish soap on your countertop.

Backsplash bling

A pretty backsplash can really jazz up your kitchen, and doesn't have to cost a fortune either. There are myriad options, from ceramic to bead board to stainless steel to tin ceiling tiles. Choose one that amplifies the style in your kitchen, rather than introducing a new one.

A gorgeous backsplash, like this one designed using Crossville Tiles, can become a fabulous focal point for your kitchen.

Small appliances, big impact

Can't afford to replace your major appliances with stylish stainless ones? Change your countertop appliances instead. Blenders, toaster ovens, coffee makers, toasters and other small appliances come in stainless, too. Another option is to bring in a kicky color, like red or turquoise. You won't have as many choices, but you will have a cheerful kitchen to put them in!

Stainless steel or colorful countertop appliances, like this Cook for the Cure Kitchen Aid pink stand mixer, can up the style quotient in your kitchen.

Softer side

Don't forget about your kitchen fabrics either. New window valances, pot holders, aprons and dish towels can style up your space in a low-cost jiffy. Coordinate all the fabrics in patterns and colors that work together well, and that work with your kitchen's style, too.

These shades by Smith + Noble coordinate beautifully with the styles and colors in the kitchen.

Visit the Sensible Style box on the right column for links to all the posts in this ongoing series.