
- Country – with floppy-eared rabbits, geese, and folk art knick knacks I painted, myself (so many hearts)
- Whimsical – wild colors and a funky “anything goes” mentality
- Barnyard – pigs, roosters, cows, and more pigs because, seriously, how cute are they??!!
- Sunflowers – the name says it all, everything had sunflowers on it
- Retro – antique kitchen gadgets, vintage dishes, and colors reminiscent of days gone by
My present decorating style in my kitchen doesn’t even fall into a category. It’s free of restraints, free of limits, and apparently free of a category. That’s fine by me and the two sunflower holdouts.
My Kitchen (and entire house, if we’re being honest) decorating style for the present, and future are two-fold.
#1. Go With What Makes You Smile (The More Individuality, the Better!)
Basically the style I’ve embraced for now and for the future is one that can be summed up very simply – it’s what makes me smile. There are a few “country” items, a cool little antique kitchen gadget collection, whimsical decorations and dishes, some cows and roosters and lots… I mean lots.. of pigs.
Pigs make me smile, so they stay.
I think the average person stresses way too much about decorating. If you’re decorating someone else’s house or room – then, sure, feel free to stress right out – but if it’s YOUR own space, why stress?
Who on earth can possibly tell you you’re doing it wrong?!
I once read a woman say that she’d seen a few Pioneer Woman items she’d love to have but that she collected things from another celebrity chef and didn’t want to mix. Balderdash! Who makes these rules? In my kitchen Pioneer Woman, Rachael Ray, Wolfgang Puck, and Curtis Stone cohabitate and get along beautifully.
I believe that when it comes to designing for the future, more and more people will flock to the category-free style of surrounding themselves with colors, knick-knacks, paintings, curtains, linens, and possibly even pigs… things that make them smile.
I also believe that people today (more than ever before) realize that individuality is where it’s at. I think the mindset of “keeping up with the Joneses” is transitioning into the mindset of, “let the Joneses keep up with me!” If you want yellow place mats with embroidered bananas on your table, red rooster dishtowels, and an Italian Chef cookie jar on your counter – go for it! Here’s the most beautiful thing about it: No one else will have a kitchen quite like your kitchen.
You’re unique and deliciously original – shouldn’t your kitchen be too?!
A few thoughts:
- Use the colors that make you smile. If you love pink and red… go for it! Personally, I am wild about a wide array of colors – and the more over the top the better. I find a way to make reds, purples, and even lime green mix and mingle. Some may say I force them into it but… well… okay, they’d be right.
- There is no rule that says you can’t combine different styles. If part of you loves retro and part of you loves modern – congratulations, you have invented a new category all your own… retro-modern and I know you’ll pull it off.
- When decorating your kitchen, think of each step as finding ways to make others feel both welcome and happy while making you smile, as in ear to ear.
- Add components of your personality – this isn’t just fun, it ensures no one else will have a kitchen quite like your’s. If you’re a huge football fan, shop for your team’s salt and pepper shakers, toasters, dishes, etc. As you can see from the picture below, I’m a DIE HARD St. Louis Cardinals fan and every room of my home leaves no doubt about that. I don’t particularly, however, want to discuss this year or our bullpen. It’d spoil my appetite and mood.
Continued Below….

#2. Embrace the Seasons
Okay, in full disclosure, I work from home. My only bosses have whiskers and walk on four feet, so I have a lot more free time on my hands than most people. The extremes I go to in embracing the seasons will not be for everyone, but you’ll get the gist and will be able to come up with ideas of your own…. after all, individuality is what it’s all about, right?!
I do a full on changing of the guard when it comes to dish towels, knick-knacks, snack dishes, table settings, and centerpieces with each season or celebration. Over the years, hitting up “after Christmas,” “after Easter,” “after Independence Day,” “after St. Patrick’s Day,” “after Halloween,” and “after Thanksgiving” sales has led to a big fat collection of decorations, dishes, and towels. I store them in a spare bedroom closet and in a few hutch drawers.
At this rate, I may need a storage shed in a few years, which would be kind of cool. I’d paint pigs and sunflowers on the sides of it and dare anyone to say anything.
Embracing the seasons and having enthusiastic fun with holidays and special occasions brings more joy into your life and who possibly couldn’t use more of that? Back to sports – if you love UK Basketball (Go, Cats!), you could decorate with blue and white and lots of Wildcat decorations for the duration of college basketball. Green Bay Packers fan? Break out the gold and green for the winter months.
Embracing the seasons and everything they mean to you is yet another way to add fun and smiles to your home and life.
How could that be anything but wonderful?
Note: This blog post is a part of Design Blogger Competition organized by CGTrader. The blogger competition is a really fun and creative way to get all of us thinking about expressing ourselves through design!