Create a Kitchen With That "Wow" Factor
Design tip from Lisa Hoyt, ASID
Lisa Hoyt Design
858-395-4958
Lisa Hoyt is a full-service interior designer. Her design company focuses primarily on residential projects and specializes in kitchen and bath, window coverings, selections for flooring, furniture, accessories, fabric, finish and paint, as well as outdoor landscaping and patio design.
We’ve all seen them: kitchens that are perfectly nice, well organized, easy to get around in, but for some reason look ho-hum. Here are a few ideas that can be incorporated into a kitchen to help give it a “wow” factor:
- Use stone for the main countertop, but choose a different material — such as stainless steel, reclaimed wood or marble — for the island countertop.
- Opt for stone on all countertop surfaces, but use a stone that has been ground down and reworked on the island countertop for a different look.
- Install dark, monochromatic granite for the main countertop surface, but choose lighter granite, with interesting grains that create the idea of movement, for the island countertop. You can also do this in reverse to add a bit of pizzazz to the kitchen.
- Create a finished look with molding. Include island and upper cabinetry corbels, large cabinet top crown moldings around the room’s periphery and/or fluting or trim moldings in a variety of places, such as the fascia of cabinets.
- Add interest to island cabinetry with furniture legs and feet.
- Install bead board on the end of the island where a cookbook shelf has been added or to the recessed wall under the countertop where the stools are placed. Bead board also adds sophistication, texture and interest when installed inside the back walls of cabinets with glass doors.
