Time For a Change! Try These 3 Crazy, Fun Kitchen Themes

The kitchen is the hub of the house and a great place to show your personality to the world. It's one thing to have a kitchen full of the best rated appliances on unclutterer.com and beautiful cabinetry, but there are lots of ways to make your kitchen more than just a showcase for the latest kitchen trends. Giving your kitchen a theme is a fun way to express your artistic side inspired by something you love -- something that makes you feel good about life! Lots of people do it on all kinds of budgets. Some of their themes center around colors or shapes, and some are just downright crazy fun! Let's take a tour of some fun kitchen themes that are in real kitchens all over the country.

Theme: Color, Color, Color

• For a new kitchen on the cheap all you need are a several quarts of brightly colored paint and a little skill with a paint brush. This is a DIY project you can do in a weekend. Keep the walls white so that the cabinets will really pop. A pair of white shutters on the window will let in lots of light during the day and blend with the white walls when closed at night for privacy.
• A cottage kitchen is alive with color through the use of red cabinetry and vibrant red, pink, and green wallpaper. It's nearly impossible not to feel cheerful walking in to this bold, yet homey-feeling kitchen. A bright green valance would cap off the window over the sink perfectly and add to the cottage charm.
• A built-in banquette is like a colorful piece of kitchen art. Notice that the walls are kept white and everything else (table, chairs, floor) are left neutral to let the banquette itself be the star of the show. White blinds on the windows would be a nice finishing touch that wouldn't compete with the color, but would offer some protection from sun during the day and privacy at night.

Theme: Vintage

• This kitchen combines vintage-looking new aqua appliances with crisp white cabinets and warm wood. The window over the sink would be a great candidate for a warm wood blind or shutters to compliment the wood floor and rustic beams, and would look gorgeous against all that white!
• Welcome guests to a 50's-style diner-themed kitchen with bright color and nostalgic touches like the Coca-Cola bar stools and vintage red phone. The choice of the woven roman shade is perfect -- it blends perfectly with the backsplash and provides a handsome backdrop for the aqua pendant lights.
• This cottage or farm-house kitchen looks like it could be part of a set for the TV classic, "Lassie". Bright, cheery and homey all come to mind. It's also nice that the homeowner used cafe curtains and valances that coordinate with, rather than to match the gingham tablecloth.

Theme: Beach Style

• A beach-style kitchen brings back good memories of carefree days on the coast and evokes a casual, take it as it comes mood. The vintage wooden surfboard set the stage for the theme, and the woven roman shade with Caribbean blue-green trim is a perfect way to dress the small window.
• Blue and white set the stage for this beach house kitchen, set off by warm wide plank wood floors and "wave-themed" custom roman shades.
• A kitchen island shaped like a boat, couldn't be more fun in this seaside kitchen. Some dark wood shutters would set off the small window perfectly and tie in with the dark stained wood floor, calling to mind the teak found in most boats and ships.