When it comes to creating a spacious, open look light colored walls are essential. Even in a smaller kitchen, keeping the floors and walls light colored can help you incorporate contemporary design. You can even incorporate contemporary design in a smaller kitchen by keeping the walls and floors light colored.

Appliances

Contemporary kitchens are usually filled with stainless steel or white appliances. Black appliances can also be used if you plan on going for a black and white appeal. If buying new appliances is within your means you should go for those with modern, and sleek designs.

Floors and Cabinets

An integral part of creating the modern looks is ensuring that you choose the right floors and cabinets. The floors are usually stone or tile, and often the colors used are hues such as white mixed with black or a light blue gray. Intricate carvings and small details should not adorn your cabinets, they should also be sleek. Some people decide to leave out handles or drawer pulls in order to keep the straight lines continuous in the room. Cabinets that are painted with a high-gloss white look modern and clean, and the room’s style is added to because of the shine.

Counter Tops

Contemporary style is all about uncluttered, clean lines. You can have your counter tops made of granite, marble or stained wood. When it comes to this type of decorating the best colors to use are light shades of blue gray, black, stone colors and white. Contemporary design and natural elements work well together.

Your furnishings should also be sleek and free from any intricate details. Simplicity is key, so rectangular shapes are perfect. Great materials for the kitchen table are wood, metal and glass. As long as your chairs are painted in the same color, you can used mismatched chairs.

You should keep accessories to a minimum, and there should be plenty of space in the cabinets and drawers in order to store things that you don’t use often. Your counter tops can look really messy if you have too many things sitting on top; make sure to keep away from clutter. You should give the room a focal point, like a vase that is at a bold angle, boldly colored and has is filled with a flowering branch. Wall murals and tapestries with bold abstract or geometric shapes can create interest for the walls.

Something to consider that will also further enhance the look is modern lighting. When it comes to lighting, the more the better; so, install a sky light if you van, or use contemporary light fixtures that are curvy or edged and made of stainless steel. A contemporary kitchen must be ultra modern, clean and spacious. Come up with your own original ideas by thinking outside the box and using the ideas in this article. If you want to use items you already have, you may; simply make sure that they are painted with a coordinating shade in high gloss for totally modern appeal.

About the Author…

Leon Tuberman has been part of the furniture and interior design business for 40 years. He owns and operates a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They offer a huge assortment of solid wood furniture for your living room, home office and dining room that’s built in the Heartland of America. Whether you’re looking for a dining room table for your dining room or a maple dresser for your bedroom then they have everything you need.

In feng shui the kitchen is where the heart is and it represents nourishment and prosperity so you have good energy (‘chi) in your kitchen, which is very important. Believers in feng shui feel that how you decorate and design your kitchen can influence the prosperity and health of all living in that home.

Something to bear in mind when decorating or taking feng shui advice, is that there are many different schools of thought and it is a complex practise, so some recommendations and ideas will vary from school to school and from one practitioner to another. The advice may also differ according to who lives within the home and according to the home itself.

With that being said though, there are some basic feng shui principles that apply to all kitchens.

The placement of the kitchen is particularly important. It should ideally be at the back of the house and the back or front doors should not open into the kitchen as this affects the ‘chi’ or energy of the kitchen. If the kitchen is in the front of your home and facing a front door this is believed to kill any positive energy from entering into the home and this can bring illness and misfortune to those living in the house. However, if the kitchen is in the front of the house, there are some things that can be done to help take care of this. Try hanging some beaded curtains or sheer curtains over the kitchen door.

The kitchen should face to the east so that the morning sun and positive energy or ‘chi’ can filter through and be absorbed into house in the early hours of the morning. This will also promote the element that is represented in the kitchen, this being the fire element.

Some other things to consider when doing your kitchen according to feng shui are:

•Don’t place the sink or the refrigeration beside the oven and the water element (from the sink and the refrigerator extinguishes the beneficial fire energy from the oven.
•Keep pantry doors closed at all times.
•The cabinets must be free of clutter as a disorganized, cluttered cabinet symbolizes extra problems and burdens in your home.
•Don’t place the kitchen underneath an upstairs bathroom or facing a toilet as the water and waste will destroy the energy.
•Make sure the living room, dining room and kitchen are on the same levels.
•Don’t let dirty dishes pile up.
•Don’t leave brooms or mops out store these in a closet with a closed door.
•The shape of the kitchen layout should be rectangular try to avoid having a rounded shaped kitchen.
•Don’t hang a towel through the oven handle.
•If there is a laundry area located in or next to the kitchen, do not allow dirty clothes to pile up.
•According to feng shui,filling the kitchen with fresh food will give you emotional and nutritional health, so have some fresh fruit in a bowl on the counter to help gather good energy.
•All knives and cutlery should not be seen, unless you are using it. Anything sharp represents the cutting of good energy in the home and therefore should not be on display at all in the kitchen.
•By providing a sitting area in the kitchen this symbolizes the support from your friends and family and where ever love and support is there is always good energy that is attached to it.
•By hanging mirrors in the kitchen so that their may appear that there are more burners is believed to increase wealth and finances.
•Copper pans and pots are also said to attract positive ‘chi’ or energy.
•Potted plants or herbs put out facing south or east is believed to bring prosperity.
•Colors to use in the kitchen according to feng shui are red, yellow and green.
•The stove location should face the living room or dining room when using it. In feng shui, it is believed that the frequent use of the stove symbolizes potential growth in all aspects of life.

In feng shui, it is believed, that the more your kitchen is clean, welcoming and warm, the more well rounded and healthy you are.

Platinum author Jennifer Wezensky is editor of www.BudgetDecoratingOnline.com, a popular resource on home decorating on any budget. She leads a team of top interior decorators in providing the latest trends, tips and ideas for every room in the house. Wezensky also created and manages the growing Facebook Fan Page, Decorating on a Dime.

Before starting up, clear out anything that isn’t a complete necessity from your cabinets and cupboards. Sure this has nothing to do with opening up the visual space of the kitchen, but it certainly helps you feel better when you open u a cupboard or cabinet and you don’t have any clutter.

First of All, Organize

A kitchen’s space can be decreased is the counter top is cluttered and messy. Small appliances, plants, canisters and other knick-knacks don’t necessarily take up much floor space, but they do diminish the size of the room buy making it look unorganized and cluttered. With clutter-free, open counter tops you will be able to create an airy and spacious look.

Walls and Floors

This is something you might already know, but your room can be expanded by using light colors. It’s time to make a change if your walls are dark or covered with wallpaper. Strip away your wall paper; anything that has small prints, flowers or intricate designs makes the room look smaller. When painting the room, use a coat of butter yellow or any other light paint; not only is it visually appealing, but the light color will visually open up the space as well.

Floors should also be kept light. Natural wood or pine stained in a very light shade will look really clean if you have wood floors. If you have linoleum or ceramic tiles, make sure to keep them light colored as well; preferably in a cream or sand shade.

Cabinets

New cabinets can be really expensive, therefore most people cannot afford them. Just as your walls and floors are light in color, your cabinets should follow the same rules. You can give your dark cabinets a face lift yourself and save some money. By updating the look of your cabinets, the atmosphere of your kitchen will be transformed. Sand down the cabinet’s finish, apply a couple of coats of a light shade, and some decorative hardware should be added. A coat of polyurethane can be applied to protect the paint and give it a nice sheen.

A good way to make the room look more spacious is by opening up your windows and letting in some natural light. Leave your window over the sink open without any curtains or other treatments, if you can. You can keep the airy appeal if you can’t leave them open as long as you keep it sheer and light colored.

The floors shouldn’t have any unnecessary furniture or accessories on them. If you have lots of things taking up space on the floor, move them out. You will have a much more spacious looking room by keeping your counter tops, floors and kitchen table clean. As soon as you put some of these tips to work for you, your kitchen will look as though it has doubled in size.

Avo Barsoumian has been in the home flooring and interior design industry for over 25 years. He is the owner of Carpet Wagon, a family owned home flooring company in Glendale. The carry the best in elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting. Searching for that perfect cheap carpets for your new home or laminate wood floor to redecorate your older house? Then give Carpet Wagon a call.

Start by sprucing up your home with vibrant color and adding a few new accents. The difference in your home’s look will amaze you! While this won’t cost you a bundle of money, your home will look as if you spent just that.

In the Living Room
This is one area you really want to be appealing, especially since this is the room where family and friends congregate to visit and enjoy each other’s company. If you’ve been stuck on contemporary or modern décor for years, you may want to consider doing something a little more bold. Move away from the black, beige, and tan you usually go for, and be a little daring.

You can create a look that’s fresh, energizing, and demand attention with vibrant blues, tropical greens, and luscious peaches. You might paint your walls a light shade of celery green, then contrast that color with dark forest on any baseboards, doors, and other small areas. Create some real interest with bright botanical prints and maybe even a few fruity- or tropical-scented candles. As a final touch, add a little silk greenery casually displayed in clear glass vases on a wooden coffee table, and you will have achieved a totally different look for your room.

Never be afraid to add boldly patterned throw pillows to solid-colored furniture. You can add interest and originality by mixing floral designs, stripes, and plaids. As long as the colors complement one another, the resulting look will be incredible.

Add Pizzazz in the Kitchen & Dining Room
If this area of your home looks a little worn out and drab, it may very well need some color. Just be sure to coordinate the color theme with the living room, especially if these areas run together in your home. If you’re looking for that perfect kitchen color, try citrus colors. You can also add energy to the room with some bright curtains. Try sunflower, strawberry, or another bright-hued print.

In the dining room, place a brightly colored runner down the center of your dining room table. Then place a straw basket filled with fruit there. Start by painting the walls a vibrant color and then add splashes of excitement using contrasting colors and a feather duster. Anything goes-just use your imagination! As long as the result is bright and cheery, any accent or idea you come up with will work.

In end, the point of all this is to make your rooms in your home come alive. For years, day after day you’ve been looking at the same dull and boring colors. It’s time to add some vibrancy and excitement to your home. You can create rooms that look much more interesting by combining many bright, bold colors in the décor. There just seems to be more depth there. Rather than blending together in a sea of white, accents and furniture stand out. Every area of the room will start to take on a life of its own.

Go for the gusto! Don’t hold anything back! With bright, energetic colors, you can give your home not only a brand-new look but an exciting feel as well. Those rooms with no personality will be no more. Instead, go for drama and flair. You will have a feeling of renewed energy and vitality each time you set foot in your home.

Add New Hardware to the Kitchen Cabinets
Choose new hardware, for a very simple and inexpensive way to update your kitchen cabinets. By adding new pulls or handles, you can really change the look of a cabinet. Cabinet hardware doesn’t take long to install and it’s also inexpensive. Unique handmade or hand-painted cabinet pulls will really spruce up your cabinets and add a creative touch to your kitchen décor.

Paint the Kitchen Cabinets
It’s easier than you think to paint kitchen cabinets. You may not even have to sand them before painting, depending on the style and color of your old cabinets. To get the best coverage and make the job easier overall, be sure to remove the doors and paint them on a flat surface.

The great thing about choosing a new color is that you can completely change the look of the room. By simply painting the cabinets, you can quickly take a country kitchen and turn it into a modern one. Since painting usually only takes a weekend, by Monday morning you can sit back and enjoy a kitchen that looks brand-new.

Take the Doors Off the Cabinets
Another way to instantly update those kitchen cabinets is to take the doors off some of the units. You can use this space to show off what’s inside those cabinets or showcase a collection that enhances your kitchen’s theme or style. Exposing just a couple of open cabinets can change the entire look of the room, so don’t feel that you have to take off every cabinet door. If you do decide to take doors off, however, be prepared to keep the inside of the cabinets clean and organized. And before you remove the doors, you need to be sure that you are willing to show off the items inside. For example, a collection of plastic cups will not make as wonderful of a kitchen accessory as antique china.

Replace the Cabinet Doors
A great way to update your kitchen and have cabinets that fit with the style you’re going for is to replace your kitchen cabinet doors. These days, there are many different types of kitchen cabinet doors available. For instance, you can find doors that have designs built in to them. There are also doors that have windows. If you’re going to replace your cabinet doors, you want a cabinet door that matches the theme and style of your kitchen. This will make the cabinets cohesive with the rest of the room. Before you pick out your doors, make sure they’re going to fit properly by taking careful measurements  of your cabinets.

If you’re looking to take your kitchen from old to stylish and new, try one or more of these ideas for updating your kitchen cabinets. Any of these renovations can dramatically change the look of the kitchen without costing you thousands of dollars. Once you decide which option will work best for your cabinets and your kitchen, you can start updating your look.

About the Writer…
For over forty years Leon Tuberman has helped people with their home furnishings and interior decorating needs. He is the owner and operator of popular furniture store in California. They have a large inventory of handcrafted Amish built solid wood furniture for your bedroom, home office and living room. Are you looking for a wood filing cabinet for your office or a wood dining table for your dining roomthen they probably have everything you need.