**Collaborative Post

In most family homes, some rooms are for relaxation, rest, and comfort. Others, however, serve the opposite purpose; they are designed to be functional as a first priority.

The kitchen is a room that definitely falls into the “functional” bracket. It is the room where you prepare your meals and, in most cases, where everyone gathers together to eat every day. Preserving this functionality is obviously important – but there’s no reason that function can’t mix with decorative touches in order to give the space its own sense of personality and beauty. Here are five kitchen-appropriate decorative touches you might want to consider adding to your own kitchen…

1. Paint your own mural

Murals are most often reserved for living rooms or bedrooms, but can be a great way to add a splash of colour and individuality to a kitchen. However, unlike living room or bedroom murals, kitchen murals should always be completed with paints that are specifically designed for use in the kitchen; these paints are usually more resistant to oil and moisture, which makes them easier to keep clean. Thankfully, there’s plenty of brightly coloured kitchen paints available; these are usually sold in large quantities for those who wish to paint an entire wall, but buying a few tester pots is the best way to get a decent palette to work with, and should be relatively inexpensive too. When you have your paints, you’ll just need a few brushes and then you can either use a stencil for the mural design, or freehand your own image.

2. Hang photo frames

As with murals, photo frames tend to be reserved for use in just a few rooms – with the bedroom and living room being the most common. However, given that most families tend to spend more time in the kitchen than any other room in the house, it makes sense to collect your favourite images together and display them in multi picture frames so you can enjoy them as often as possible. Just be cautious to choose your placement carefully; choose a wall that is as far away from your hob as possible so as to avoid potential issues with splatter.

3. Faux flowers in a glass vase

Flowers in vases have been used to decorate rooms for centuries, with fresh floral booms the most traditional choice. However, given that fresh flowers will only last around a week on average, continually replacing them can quickly become expensive – not to mention the time required to trim and arrange each new bouquet. Faux flowers, however, can add the same vibrancy to your kitchen as fresh ones, they are far easier to live with – one bunch should last for months if not years, and all you need to do to keep them looking their best is give them a quick polish on occasion. For a contemporary touch, use a glass vase and fill the base with stones from your garden or, if you’d like even more colour, fabric gift wrap ribbons.

4 . Add a rug

Kitchens, as a rule, are not particularly “soft” rooms – most people use laminate or tiles on the floor, and kitchen furniture tends to be more practical rather than designed with comfort in mind. Adding a rug to your kitchen can help to provide much-needed texture that warms the space and makes it feel cosier. You can use any rug that you buy in a store for this purpose, but rugs specifically designed for kitchen use tend to work best – they are usually thinner and easier to clean than those designed for use throughout the rest of the house.

5. Glass jars of fruit

This idea is part-decorative and part-functional; a perfect blend for a kitchen environment – and it’s pleasingly simple to do, too. You’ll need to buy tall glass jars to start; you can find these at most high street stores or online; they may sometimes be described as “pasta jars”. When you have your jars, fill each with a different-coloured fruit that you and your family like to eat regularly; lemons, limes, and oranges work particularly well as their thick peels are less likely to bruise or become disfigured when stored on top of one another. These jars can then sit on your kitchen counter; they look incredibly stylish, add a few different colours to the space, and work as fruit storage to boot.

In conclusion

All of the ideas above are a great way to add a decorative touch or two to your kitchen – enjoy!