Kitchen Color Schemes,
Decor And Design

Farmhouse, contemporary, retro, practical…

You may love cooking and spending time in your kitchen at home but I don’t know anyone who wants to spend much vacation time there so labour saving equipment is the order of the day.

Tell us about your fabulous kitchen color ideas!

I have lots of friends for whom the kitchen is very much the heart of the home and who love nothing more than spending time cooking for their families at home.

When it comes to vacation time though, they consider themselves 'off duty' and, when they are not eating out, the most they can manage is to pop a pizza in the oven.

When equipping a vacation property rather than your home you need to keep in mind that your guests are not likely to need a dozen pots and pans and all the tools necessary to prepare a fancy banquet but they will appreciate things that make kitchen duties quicker and easier.

What do you want on vacation?

When you are looking at ideas for kitchen color schemes and equipment think about how a kitchen in a vacation property is used and how it differs from a home kitchen. If you are anything like me you want a microwave that is a decent size and power, a kettle that is big enough to make tea for everyone all at once (well, I am English – these things are important to us!), a big coffee pot (that is easy to wash up) so I can have ‘proper’ coffee with a relaxing breakfast.

I want a self-cleaning oven, a washer and dryer that I instinctively know how to operate without spending all afternoon reading the instructions and lots of ice in the freezer when I arrive. When packing for my trip, I never think to take dishcloths and dishwasher detergent with me and I expect to be provided with these things.

If you are going to the trouble of providing your guests with a dishwasher, do you really think they should go out shopping for detergent on the first day of their holiday?

I don’t, and I get very irritated when I arrive on vacation and spend the first morning in the supermarket buying dish washer detergent, washing up liquid, rubbish bags, toilet rolls, laundry detergent and so on.

Providing these things for your guest would cost only a few pounds or dollars but it really does add immeasurably to the first impression your guests form of your home when they see that you have pre-empted their needs and over-delivered in terms of the items you have provided. It is the difference between staying in a loved second home and a faceless hotel and I know which one I would like to stay in and recommend to my friends.

When it comes to kitchen color schemes, I think your base color should always be something light colored – preferably white – as your guests need to be able to see that the kitchen is spotlessly clean.

There needs to be a minimum of clutter so they can clean up easily and quickly. I think it is important that you provide a range of plastic cups and plates for any children to use or for use pool-side so parents don’t have the stress of watching over children with glasses in hand.

For kitchen color schemes we had a limited choice when we bought our new-build property in Florida and we opted for a white kitchen with a pale wood work-top. The first time we saw the house, they had installed a completely different worktop but that's another story...

As we had used blue, green and yellow in adjoining rooms, we chose yellow as our accent color and had decorative items using lemons for a spot of color. We added bright yellow drying up cloths and oven mitts and really that was all that was needed.

We didn’t like the bare gap that was left between the top of the cupboards and the ceiling so we added a few bottles of preserved fruit - one of my favorite ideas for kitchen decor accessories - as a filler. A few pictures – like these gorgeous fruit and vegetable ones here and we were finished.

I decided not to decorate this page with boring pictures of kitchen cupboards as I just couldn't resist these stunning pictures by the Italian artist Alma'ch.

If I was looking for inspiration for kitchen color schemes right now I would definitely favor a kitchen that was as light and plain as possible - probably white or pale wood cupboards and chrome handles - and then group a number of these pictures together on one wall - beautiful. When it comes to vacation properties, big impact is important and you will need aspects of your decor that photograph well and make your property stand out from the crowd when a prospective guests is looking at a lot of properties which all seem very similar.

Kitchen wallpaper and borders are worth thinking about when decorating a kitchen. Made specially to withstand a steamy atmosphere, they are easy to wipe clean so stand up quite well to wear and tear.

If you have a kitchen that needs a quick fix but you have little time or money, see whether a wallpaper border will be sufficient to cover over any areas that are showing their age.

Do You Have A Fabulous Kitchen In Your Vacation Property?

What do you think makes it great? Is it the color scheme? Perhaps the accessories?

Whatever it is, I would love to hear about it.

What it is, why you love it and what your guests have said about it. Go on, blow your own trumpet - you know you want to... :o)

Got a photo? We’d love to see it.

Want to link to a page on the internet? Perhaps your own website? Just type in the website address and I will turn it into a clickable link before adding the details to the site.

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