Mood Board Monday: Ten Ways to Warm Up Your Kitchen For Fall

It’s my favorite time of year! A time to cozy up your house for all the cold months ahead! Figured it was the perfect opportunity to show you some changes coming to our kitchen for a little refresh. It’s the return of Mood Board Monday, folks! The whole reason I’m doing this refresh is because I want my kitchen to feel warmer, regardless of the time of year. But the fact that it’s Autumn makes it all the better for sharing. Here’s (kind of) what’s coming…

We renovated our kitchen in 2018, (see the transformation HERE) so it’s updated and current, but it’s lacking all of the finishing touches I’ve been slow to act on! I was having a bit of an identity crisis, because I LOVE warm, inviting, cozy kitchens, but when we renovated, I was all about “glam,” and the lighting I chose proves it. It’s a beautiful kitchen, but it’s ready for some magic….

10 ways to warm up your kitchen…

1. Bring in rugs! They’re soft underfoot, which makes for immediate warmth.

The colors in the Heirloom rug from Loloi are amazing! And I love that it isn’t a printed rug. It’s gorgeous quality with a small fringe at the end for bonus texture. I got this as a runner for in front of our kitchen sink. And here’s the one I ordered for under the kitchen table. I love pairing graphic, more modern patterns like this check (The Giana, also from Loloi), with the traditional, somewhat floral one above…

2. Try a lamp on your counter!

This lamp is utter perfection and exactly what I was looking for. The scale is petit which is perfect on top of a kitchen counter, and the pleated lampshade reminds me of my childhood. It’s old-school, but modern at the same time. The terra-cotta colored base looks great with our leather dining chairs nearby, and really provides a sweet, soft glow.

3. Add some branches! I’m all about clipping real branches from the backyard. But with colder months and bare trees ahead, I decided to invest in some that look so real!

4. Bring on the fall candles! This is my absolute favorite scent for fall:

5. Books! Whether they’re thrifted or new, books are my favorite thing to add anywhere. I particularly love them over our cabinets to make use of the dead space!

6. Lighting!

If you watched my Instagram stories recently, you heard me talk about wanting a round one like this. Something closed that you couldn’t see through. After a few years with the chandelier that has a ton of vertical lines, I’m really excited for a soft glow from a globe shaped light over the table. It’s big, guys. I like big lights and I cannot lie.

Two of these beauties are going over the island! I love that they aren’t super shiny and fancy! The shape is SO cool, but the finish is slightly rustic and raw and I love that about them. And they’re large! So that’s why I’m doing two lights instead of three.

7. Add art! Here are some pieces I’m considering. I love the honey colors in the first two, and that gorgeous scene in the last one is hard to resist.

8. Why not try wallpaper?

Okayyyy… let’s talk about this wallpaper. It isn’t going in the entire kitchen! I’ve been so drawn to wallpapered kitchens lately, and I love this pattern, but there’s a little bit of a sheen to it, and remember- I’m trying to de-glam the kitchen. So I’m considering using it to replace this modern abstract paper on the skinny wall nearby, and perhaps behind the open shelving as well:

It’s the perfect dose of olive green I’m loving lately. Another thing I’m considering is using it our dining room instead (I’m ok with glam in a dining room) and possibly use this paper in those areas of my kitchen instead:

I just found this paper and I love that even though they’re both nature-inspired, they’re entirely different scenes/prints. And the colors work well with each other. So, we’ll see! Stay tuned for final decisions! Either way, the point is, I think adding wallpaper completely warms up a space!

9. Add rustic architectural elements.

I’m thinking I need this in my life. It’s 30 freaking inches. Two of these corbels in the inset of my kitchen sink window? What do you think? The other thing I’ll be adding are the same beams we used in our primary bathroom!

Any time you can add wood, that’s an immediate way to warm things up. And the corbels are just a way to add interest to an otherwise ignored area of the kitchen. We don’t have any windows treatments on our sink window because we back to woods (so we don’t need privacy) and I want to let as much sunlight in as possible since our kitchen is North-facing. So adding something like corbels is just a way to add interest without blocking an excessive amount of light.

10. Throw a blanket over a chair. I know, no one is cozying up with a blanket at their kitchen table. Lol But you know what… who cares? It just looks lovely. Nothing says “Come on in!” like a throw blanket.

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Is there anything you’d add?

Cheers to fall decorating and making our homes cozy!

Haneen