Dressing your Kitchen Window

For some, the kitchen is merely the room in which you prepare and wash dishes, but for so many others, the kitchen serves as the heart and soul of one’s household. Regardless of view, it is a room of necessity and one in which you will find yourself day in and day out.

With so much inevitable time spent in the kitchen, it’s essential that you make it a room that you want to enter and enjoy! If you are fortunate enough to have a window in your kitchen that brings in natural light to your space, try dressing it up to make it more of a focal point.

Here are a few tips and ideas to consider when dressing your kitchen window:

Consider the window’s location. Before making design decisions, it is important to note the location and height of the window. If the window and sill are low and you have small children, you may not want to place any items in the sill of the window, and may opt for window treatments only. If your window is located in the center of your room, you may want to draw more interest to it by accessorizing with large accents. For example, you can use large metal or wood letters that spell out the words “HOME”, “EAT” or “FAMILY” to create a bold statement. For those lucky enough to have the window located above the kitchen sink, consider using items and things that you, yourself love as you will find yourself standing there each day. This could be anything from your favorite piece of pottery or souvenir from your travels to a simple picture of your favorite people in a beautiful vintage picture frame.

Window Treatments. With a little creativity, there are many options when it comes to window treatments and beautifying your space. There are the traditional curtains and valences that can be bought or handmade, or you could try something a little different and use an open-faced antique picture frame or old window hung at the top of your window to create a farmhouse chic look. A more unconventional approach may be to create a hanging herb garden through the use of rods, a few items from the hardware store and potted herbs in galvanized buckets with handles. Whichever you choose, the idea behind “treating your window” is to add to the beauty of the window surround.

Shallow Sill Dilemma. The kitchen windowsill is a great place to set plants, pottery and other decorative items; unfortunately, the sill usually isn’t very deep, which can create a problem with item placement. If this is the case for you, try selecting only a few small items, like a small round picture frame, potted plant or bud vase. Items that are easily moved about if you need to open the window. Another solution to the shallow sill dilemma is to mount a shelf right on the molding around the window to create a deeper space to display items, while still allowing room for the window to easily be opened.