Home Decor

How To Style Kitchen Countertops

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Tomorrow I will release the very first Q&A, which is exciting! One of the questions someone asked me is what inspired this post (thank you, Jenny!).

The question, “how to style kitchen countertops?” is a really fun one for me. The second part of the inquiry included, “how do you hide the ugly fruit/vegetables.” This was my favorite part as I feel you on the “ugly” part of it all and a few months prior, I made the executive decision to tuck mine away into the pantry.

I love this question because it’s something I’ve been learning on the fly and have honed in on lately. I am a visual person who needs a calm, orderly, and aesthetically pleasing environment to be productive and to feel good. Blame for this can be put onto all of the ladies on my side of the family. I say blame because it’s not always a productive use of my time to continually be tidying up when 15 minutes later it’s about to get destroyed again. But it also makes me feel good.

Anyways, enough about that. Today is almost like a bonus because you’re getting three countertop styling tips from three people: myself, my mom, and my very good friend, who has impeccable taste. My dream is to start a home decor line with both of these ladies that will make it into Target… but has some accessibility for Canadians. So for how to style your kitchen countertops, you get nine tips on this Thursday’s Three. It’s TTT (Thursday’s Three X Three). I’ll also pulled a few items from everyones kitchen and linked them below. What a win for everyone!

 

Signed Samantha's how to style kitchen countertop tips are this weeks Thursday's three which includes her moms beautiful black and white kitchen. There are black cabinets below and four black light fixtures - two above each island. There are white cabinets above. The far island (because of course there are two) has a sink, and baskets with herbs, fruit, and veggies. There are cutting boards leaned up along the back countertops.

My Mama’s Tips on How to Style Kitchen Countertops

I am biased but I think my mom has a great eye. She is a quick study and indulges in her fair share of home decor shows and articles. When I asked her to be part of this week’s post on how to style kitchen countertops post, she happily agreed.

My mom’s kitchen is clearly massive. She has TWO islands. It’s a very California set up, and not something you see in Vancouver frequently. She’s working with a huge contrast with her black and white cabinets and fixtures but has warmed up the space beautifully with the wood and rattan elements.

This picture is for you, Jenny. My mom actually figured out a way to make her fruits and veggies look non-offensive on her counters. She’s taken various textured, beautiful bowls, and grouped certain food items together. I’ve found this way your bowls become the first thing your eyes go, not the fruit and veg but when they eventually get to the fruit and veg, they see order, not chaos.

coffee station and floating shelves with decorative items on it are pictured for signed samantha's post on how to style kitchen countertops.

So now that you’ve seen the visual inspiration, here are my moms top three tips for how to style your kitchen countertops:

1. Don’t clutter your items – keep your groupings small and simple. Think cutting boards in a few areas, fruits and veg in one area, and baking stuff in another section, for example. It’s clean, organized, and clutter-free, leaving you lots of room for chopping etc.

2. Style and function saves you space and looks good. Think little platters to create organization and nice canisters to store things that you find useful in  your everyday life into (coffee, tea, etc.). An example is my moms coffee station below; It’s a useful station, but she made it look sleek by adding a few touches of organization and eliminating some of the standard packaging.

3.Use fresh herbs as plants to warm up your space. If you’re going to have plants in your space, why not have herbs you will use to cook with. If only I could figure out how not to kill them all.

Signed Samantha's friend Caitlin's kitchen countertop style pictured is the stove and on one side there is a kitchen aid mixer, and the other side has olive oil salt and pepper and butter. Above both sides are open floating shelves which has a pot on one shelf, cook books, plants, and candles on the other.

Caitlin’s Tips for How to Style Kitchen Counters

Caitlin’s kitchen countertops are also serious #goals for me. She has a beautiful white kitchen that she also warmed up nicely with a ton of wood elements and greenery. She has so many beautiful open floating shelves – that I’m going to count as “kitchen counters” because she still styled them and they aren’t hiding anything. Plus, I wouldn’t even know where to start with those beautiful shelves when it came to decorating. So let’s give the woman some credit; she knocked it out of the park.

Side note for you coffee drinkers: Like my mom, Caitlin has set herself up a little coffee station, removed all the packaged items, and found sweet containers to put everything into.

Since this is a two-part question, Caitlin’s fruits and veggies, like mine, are hidden away in a drawer or cupboard.

Signed Samantha's friend's kitchen countertop decor. She has a floating shelf with dishes and glasses above the counter which has two cutting boards, a coffee station and a speaker on it.
Again, you got the Pinterest-worthy inspo, now here are Caitlin’s tips for creating your kitchen counter serenity at home:

1. Less is always more – a visibly tidy countertop is the right way to go. When you only keep minimal amounts on the counter, the room feels cleaner and allows you so much more room to prep your next meal.

2. Always have a plant, flowers, or vase with in-season blooms to brighten your day. Walking into the kitchen and seeing peonies, dried flowers, or a bright green plant can always brighten someone’s day.

3. Candles are the best accessory. They are visually pleasing and bring the room together while offering a delicious scent.

Signed Samantha standing in her kitchen making gaucamole. She is grinding pepper in a bowl with avocados. In the background are her kitchen counters - the subject of the post is how to style kitchen counterotps

My Tips on How to Style Kitchen Countertops

You guys have seen a ton of my counters in my IG stories I’m sure – you’ve also definitely seen my beverage dispenser (grandly featured in my splurge worthy kitchen must-haves) a zillion times because I’m obsessed… I’m still including it here because, well, it’s gorgeous. I have a lot of counter space, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also not an insane amount so my goal is minimalistic functionality when I looking at how I intend to layout my space.

I think about questions like: What do I use the most? What do I want to showcase? What can I live with in a drawer or cupboard? The quick answers are:

+ I always use the tea kettle so that is a must have sitting out for me otherwise I’d always be pullings it in and out. So I upgraded, or downgraded? From my electric kettle to this non-offensive one that sits on the burner and doesn’t take up actual counter space.

+ I am obsessed with my knives so I wanted those to be on display (also they are used on the daily).

+ And like Caitlin, I was very over seeing my fruits/veg and loaves of bread etc. on the counter… so each of those items have now made their way into my pantry. Also with so much cupboard space, I didn’t want one of those utensil holders on the counter. So I went with drawer organizers instead.

Signed Samantha's kitchen tour. White marble countertop, her stove is, then there are wooden cutting boards leaning against the back wall.

The final three tips on how to style your kitchen countertop from yours truly:

1. If your materials are cold (i.e., lots of marble or metals), warm up your space with natural elements like woods, wickers, rattans, etc. You can see this throughout all three of our kitchens.

2. Use practical items for decor. Referring back to my question about “what do you use the most?” Mine is my kettle so I left it out but swapped out the electric one for one that could sit on the stove-top. My mom and Caitlin both have their coffee makers out and set a nice station up because they use those frequently. If you’re a frequent stand mixer user, leave it out and use it as decor. I mean obviously this has a line and don’t leave out your rice cooker, but you get what I’m trying to say!

3. Don’t be afraid to showcase your favourite cookbooks as decor. So many of them are stunningly beautiful these days and I know that personally, if I can’t see them out, I won’t use them. So I have one in our cookbook holder on the island and three sitting out on the counter that I occasionally swap out.

I’d love to hear what you find the most useful on your counters and any styling tips if you have some!

one wood bowl with lemons and limes, one black bowl with tomatoes and onions, and one wicker basket with bananas is pictured for Signed Samantha's post on how to style kitchen countertops
Signed Samantha's friend Caitlin describes how she styles her kitchen counters. On her island, which is pictured, she has two black vases with fall-coloured eucalyptus.
three wood cutting boards, olive oil, salt, and pepper on display next to the oven

Comments

  • September 16, 2020
    Sabrina

    Wow! How do all three of you have the best counters. Can you just come help with mine?

    Reply
    • September 17, 2020
      Sherri

      Amazing tips Samantha. Thanks!
      Another one is to try to cover up those outlets. We all need them and use them but they can be such an eye sore.
      If you have cutting boards out on your counter tops why not strategically place them over the outlet where they are still accessible with a small slide to the right or left. Plug in your item and when you are done, slide them back over. Plants also work nicely for this little trick 🙂

      Reply
      • September 22, 2020
        Samantha

        Oh, good call on covering up the outlets!!! I wish they could have hidden those better, but using the cutting boards or plants to hide them is smart. Thanks for sharing! XO

        Reply
    • September 22, 2020
      Samantha

      LOL – I’ll be right over!!

      Reply
  • September 18, 2020
    Erin

    Your kitchen looks flawless! Exactly the style I want for mine once I have my own home. Love the white countertops & backdrop, and all the accents, so cute! Definitely inspired to spruce up my new apartment kitchen once we move. 🙂

    Reply
    • September 22, 2020
      Samantha

      Yes!!! I hope the move went smoothly and that you have some excellent inspo to make your kitchen gorgeous! Your kitchen is well used, so think about the functionality too!

      Reply

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