Five Easy Ways to
Give Your Kitchen
Designer Wow!

by Pamela Cole Harris

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Great ideas for updating your kitchen cabinetry.

A beautiful kitchen is the heart of any home (even for those of us who spend most of our cooking time around the microwave!) Time spent together in the kitchen can bring a family closer together and make wonderful memories (although my own memories of doing dishes as a teenager are less than pleasant - something about dishwater being *disgusting!*)

Turning your plain kitchen into something special isn't as hard as you might think. Here are a few simple ideas which can make your kitchen a designer showcase.

1. To give your cabinets a special flair, use three different
stains. Use one lighter stain on the upper cabinets, one
slightly darker on the drawers and an even darker one on
the bottom cabinets. Add a little pigment in a primary
color (red, blue or yellow) to add an additional dimension
and a little *pop.*

2. To add a little flair, take out a few drawers and insert
low baskets in their place. You will probably have to remove
the middle drawer slide or side slides, but that is easily
done with a screwdriver.

3. Want to update your backsplash? Use beadboard! Have your
local home improvement store cut it to length and attach
with nails or adhesive.

4. Tired cabinet doors? Cut out the middle of the doors, leaving
a two inch edge all around. Staple fabric panels to the back
of the doors. Cover the staples with fabric trim glued with
a hot glue gun. You can use any fabric from elegant to
country, stripes to plaid, or gingham to quilted.

5. Update your cabinets with special memories. Attach frames
painted or stained to match the cabinets to the front of
each door. Fill the frames with family photos or your
children's artwork. Or highlight a special collection
such as vintage handkerchiefs or postcards.


Try one of these ideas or use them to jumpstart your own
creative imagination. Remember, there is a designer in each
of you! It's just very well hidden in some - VERY well hidden!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Pamela Cole Harris has been a writer for over 35 years (Yikes! Has it been that long? Her fun, tongue-in-cheek approach to decorating has made http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com one of the most popular decor sites on the net. She brings the same spirit of fun to cooking at http://www.thewellfedtraveler.com and running a home business at http://www.pajamabusinesses.com.

send feedback to: feedback@sherriallen.com.