12 Clever (and Unusual) Ways to Enjoy Art in the Kitchen
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(Image credit: Chris Perez)
Do you have art in the kitchen? A photograph? A print? A little splash of color? We think that art absolutely belongs in the kitchen, but you don’t have to stick with traditional forms. Why not frame recipe cards, or hang kitchen hardware, or even find the beauty in tomato can labels?
Here are 12 ways to enjoy art in the kitchen, including those, and more!
Stinson Beach house by WA Design (Image credit: WA Design)
- Gallery wall: A gallery wall might be something you think to add to your living room, not your kitchen, but we love how Mary Lee’s Art-Filled Austin Kitchen fills a whole wall with art. Even a small or plain rental kitchen can be transformed into a beautiful space with a collection of prints, paintings, and photographs.
- Vintage wall charts: These old school charts have seen a renaissance in popular home decor lately, and charts of fruit or vegetable biology are especially well suited to the kitchen and dining room. See a whole roundup of Vintage Botanical Prints and Wall Charts here.
- A print on the refrigerator: Got a blank space on the refrigerator, like the empty side that faced Emily’s main work space? Do as she did and add a print to the side of the fridge. Read more: An Unexpected (and Easy) Refrigerator Makeover
- Hang art right on the cabinets: Faith Blakeny’s simple rental kitchen is adorned in all corners with art, and I like how she has her daughter’s pictures right on the (plain) cabinets themselves. See more: Faith Blakeney’s Joyful, Art-Filled Kitchen
- Make your own art with a chalkboard wall: Want to just create your own art and keep it fresh? Paint a chalkboard wall in your kitchen, like in this Shelter Island Fishermans Cottage.
- Go over-the-top dramatic with a full-length portrait: This is so drama! We love it. Mitch created this piece for an event, then brought it home and put it in the kitchen. It has a cleanable surface, and is incredibly dramatic and playful. See more here: Look! Enormous Painting in the Kitchen
- Hang kitchen hardware as art: Art doesn’t have to be a print or painting; I simply love how old stove grates were repurposed into geometric, modern folk art. See more here:
Look! Stove Grates Turned Into Kitchen Art
- Frame family recipe cards: Another style of “found” art is family recipe cards. Frame them for a dose of not just beauty but nostalgia and family history. See more about this project: Meaningful Kitchen Art: Frame Your Old Family Recipe Cards!
- Find the art in food packaging: I was so struck by this modern, simple kitchen — adorned by gorgeous tomato cans all in a row. Shop for vintage food packaging on eBay or Etsy, or look for it when you travel.
- Create a backsplash with a picture: I hung a framed print above my stove in my rental kitchen. This might seem a bad idea — won’t it get dirty? — but it actually protected the painted wall from the worst of my splatters, and the glass-framed picture was easier to clean. Read more about it here: Why I Hung a Framed Picture Over My Stove
- Paint the backsplash itself: Or, if you can make larger changes, incorporate art right onto the backsplash itself, and cover it with glass.
- Words can be art too: Last but not least, don’t forget words. We love this lit-up fluorescent set of words as a bright spot in the kitchen.
How else do you add art to the kitchen? Have a clever or unusual idea to add?