Cooking With Character: 13 Personality-Packed Kitchens

With all of the utilitarian appliances and functional cabinetry to consider, it can be easy to overlook the kitchen as a place to be playful, colorful, quirky and bold. But the kitchen should showcase your personality and work with the rest of the house. Whether you live in a period home or a character-filled cottage — or you just have an aversion to modern white kitchens — here are some spaces that are as fun as they are functional.

Contemporary barn. The brick oven is clearly the standout feature in this cozy and inviting eat-in kitchen, but details such as the mismatched wooden stools and chairs, oversize wooden beams, reclaimed-timber floating shelves, black and white tiles, distressed table and rustic white brick backsplash also add to the farmhouse feel. The contemporary rectangular light fixture and sleek kitchen cabinetry keep the look light and modern.


Monochrome magic. Black and white is a popular kitchen color scheme, but few dare the boldness of this half-and-half approach. One side — table, vintage lighting, wall clock, open shelving, crockery — is pure white. The other side, including cabinetry and fridge, is jet black. The two are as different as day and night, and the result is dramatic.


Quirky and colorful. Bright and bold artworks and colorful accessories in similar tones, including the chairs, clock and rug, transform an otherwise plain white kitchen into something worth talking about.

Discover more beautiful color pairings for kitchens


Period drama. Bronze details unite this elegant kitchen, from the dainty pendant lights to the chunky rectangular cabinet handles and simple curved faucet. Ornate honeycomb-patterned tiles complete the period look.


Farmhouse with attitude. Sunny yellow wooden cabinets look anything but cutesy paired with this wonderfully tough-looking soapstone island countertop and large farmhouse sink. A modern white fridge might have looked out of place, so it has been covered with galvanized sheet metal, adding another exciting edge to this otherwise cute cottage kitchen.


Commercial chic. Marrying the best of a commercial stainless steel kitchen with the warmth of wood, this space is both beautiful and functional. Industrial pendant lights, vintage Toledo chairs, open shelving and stainless steel cabinets topped with chunky wood workbenches are a perfect match against the exposed brick wall.

See more of this New York loft


Fifties revival. This kitchen embraces the fun of the 1950s with a white, red and blue color scheme, a vintage stove, distressed white cabinets and plenty of retro accessories.


That ’70s look. They weren’t afraid to be bold in the 1970s. The avocado and brown cabinetry here is custom made; it covers the fridge and surrounds the modern stove to ensure that the style isn’t interrupted by modern appliances.


Colorful country. Terra-cotta tiles, black pendant lights, a cast-iron Aga stove and a long wooden table all say classic country kitchen, but the distressed aqua chairs add a pop of Shabby Chic–style color and fun.


Moody masculine. Concrete, wood and steel combine to create a kitchen with a rough-at-the-edges feel. The glossy black cabinetry, oversize industrial pendant lights, white brick backsplash, steel-frame downlights and custom-made wood and steel table with mismatched wood and steel chairs give the space a bold, urban feel.

Check out more sleek, masculine kitchens


Modern antique. The pressed-metal ceiling, vintage white stove and yellow-green walls here are classic inclusions in a period kitchen, but the look has been given a contemporary (and slightly quirky) update with the addition of chunky custom-made butcher blocks on casters and large industrial pendant lights.


Floral tribute. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but the bright floral wallpaper, glossy pink cabinets and lime-green chairs here make a colorfully gutsy statement (and a statement against neutral kitchens, for that matter).


Coloring in. Imagine if the cabinetry in this kitchen were white and the stove were stainless steel. This lovely duck-egg-blue stove and range hood serve as a reminder that not all appliances have to be white or stainless steel. Two well-chosen shades can add life and personality to otherwise standard cabinetry and appliances and show that you don’t have to go crazy with color to make a statement.

More:
Kitchen Charisma: 10 Ways to Give Yours a Lift

Think Like a Designer: 5 Steps to a Well-Planned Kitchen

Tell us: What do you think of these kitchens? Do you prefer character-filled kitchens, or do you love the modern white and streamlined look?

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