Gallery: Light, Bright Kitchens

Look! A Bright, White Kitchen

Are there many things more satisfying than working with lovely fresh ingredients in a bright, cheerful kitchen? This gallery offers a variety of ideas for creating your own bright culinary oasis. Light wall color, to start. A tough stance on clutter helps, too. White- or light-painted cupboards for an added boost. And a healthy burst of sunshine doesn't hurt, either.

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MIDDLE ROW:

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(Images: See linked posts for full image credits.)

Comments (11)

Ohmygosh. Light? In my KITCHEN?? I'm lucky if my single, overhead light isn't burned out. Oh, a girl can dream of kitchens like these...

posted by keltrue on January 18th 2010 at 11:39am
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I've seen a couple of hgtv programs that compare different houses to see which remodels have the "best bang for the buck." I'm always surprised when they say that white kitchens are actually a negative for a lot of buyers. Every house and everyone's taste is different I guess. But there really is something great about a nice bright kitchen!

posted by art on January 18th 2010 at 1:02pm
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My kitchen is soo dark and these are lovely. I'd love more natural light. I'm not sure I could maintain such a bright kitchen but I can dream! I love the clean paneling on the first kitchen cabinet set.

posted by KitchensPro on January 18th 2010 at 1:02pm
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LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

Love. I love bright white kitchens. We actually just bought a new house but white cabinets were not an option. We plan to sand, and repaint them white followed by putting in darker hardwood flooring. The kitchen from "Practical Magic" is my inspiration.

posted by twelve on January 18th 2010 at 4:17pm
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I'd like to have a bright kitchen. I have a small kitchen window with no covering but I don't want my nosy neighbors to see what I am doing. Any ideas?

posted by ithink on January 19th 2010 at 4:24am
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@ithink, they make privacy film you can cut out and apply to your window.

posted by margrietta on January 19th 2010 at 7:44am
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I really love the first kitchen. It is like a breath of fresh air.

posted by shantell on January 19th 2010 at 9:15am
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@ithink - you could also install a shelf (I purchased the glass Grundtal shelves from IKEA) either above or across the window frame and fill it w/plants. I have a bunch of herbs and vining plants to fill up the space for a little privacy. I know I saw an AT post about plants in the kitchen where someone also did this (photos, etc.).

I've also hung a framed stained glass panel/old window in front of my windows in the past.

posted by keltrue on January 19th 2010 at 9:37am
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The bright, white kitchen in our house is one of the main reasons I wanted to buy it. The cabinets are old and not that great, but the space itself is very pleasant.

White cabinets do show every speck of dirt, though. For this reason, when we redo the kitchen, I plan to use stained wood lower cabinets.

posted by heather77 on January 19th 2010 at 11:32am
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@margrietta and keltrue
Thank you for your ideas :-)

posted by ithink on January 20th 2010 at 3:59am
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I just repainted my off-white cabinets a bright white and replaced the boring pulls with turquoise glass.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldeblieux/4380094659/in/set-72157623365575983/)

I only have 1 1/2 windows (one is partially blocked by the fridge), and the bright white cabinets helped brighten everything up tremendously! I also installed a second light over my kitchen table for more illumination there.

I'm working on the whole keep-clean-of-clutter issue...

posted by LSUgrad03 on March 11th 2010 at 2:31pm
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