Unique Kitchen Home Improvement Ideas

Featured Image: Haku White Quartz Kitchen Countertop, 3D White Blade Matte Ceramic Tile Kitchen Backsplash with Mirror from Arizona Tile

Small improvements throughout your home can enhance any space without getting into a large renovation project. Or, if you are building new, adding detail to smaller, commonly overlooked areas will create a visual appeal and add emphasis to those specific elements of your home. Designing a home from scratch allows you to tailor the design to your needs, but working within an existing space offers its own advantage in that you’ve probably already thought about improvements you want to make. Your kitchen is such a valued room in the home and a place where attention to these finer details will surely stand out—around a featured faucet, an attractive backsplash, or design elements that consider child safety, for example.

Backsplash and Lighting

When choosing lighting for the kitchen, or seeking to add more, one helpful place is the addition of a task light under the cabinets. Having a focalized light will prove helpful when you’re busy cooking and cleaning an area of the countertop that may not get adequate light from other sources. With a task light shining down, you want to consider how your backsplash will look: Think about if you want a gloss finish tile that allows the light to nicely bounce off or one with a matte finish that leaves the tile appearance rather unchanged. Castle Brick porcelain offers that matte finish if that is your desired look, while Gioia offers a high gloss for a more shiny effect. A lovely slab to pair some of these backsplash options with is Taj Mahal Satin—a quartzite that resembles Italian Calacatta marble in appearance but is much harder and more durable.

Image: Aerial Quartz Waterfall Island Kitchen Countertop & Castle Brick Brown Brick-Look Porcelain Tile Wall from Arizona Tile

OK, you have picked the perfect backsplash, but what about the outlets? Standard outlet plates stand out like a sore thumb on a nicely tiled backsplash. Ordering custom outlet plates to match your tile color selection will be a nice detail you will not regret. If you want to leave the backsplash surface completely undisturbed, chat with your designer about alternative electrical sources, like an outlet strip that runs on the underside of the cabinet.

Pantry

Pantries end up stuffed with food, paper products, and other random items, but that doesn’t mean they should be neglected from design, function, or overlooked as part of a kitchen improvement. Many pantries are open with no door or barrier, offering additional space to show off some design creativity. Adding unique tile or slab in a pantry will jazz up the space as a stylish extension of your kitchen.

Image: Arabescato Como Quartz Kitchen Countertop & Paros White Porcelain Hex 8-1/2×10 Kitchen Backsplash from Arizona Tile

A great way to keep clutter off the kitchen counter is to put a coffee bar or drink station in the pantry. Also, adding lower, open shelves for small kitchen appliance storge will give those less-frequently-used-gadgets a home. Add a nice stone slab in this area for a durable, eye-catching surface.  Depending on the lighting in the space and your preferred effect, some options to consider are Calacatta Jubilee (bright white quartz with grey veining), Black Mist Honed (black granite with white veining), Imperial Danby Honed (dense, white marble), Arabescato Como (white quartz with grey veining), and Haku White (bright white quartz). As for the tile, make use of some wonderful ceramic and porcelain tile in the same way as a backsplash in the kitchen. A lovely backdrop to each shelving section and behind any open, organization cubbies will show your finer sense of detail.

Pantry Flooring

Don’t forget the floor. Adding fun, patterned tile in this area could make for a little pop of excitement; or, run the tile that is on the kitchen floor throughout the pantry for a cohesive flow. Paros porcelain series comes in three colors and different tile shapes and sizes. Using this on a pantry floor, and maybe a mix of colors to create a fun pattern, will make the space desirable to enter. If a more simplistic, modern style flooring is what you think might work better with your design plans, Reside USA porcelain offers just that.

Changing such a simple element like flooring can transform an area without getting heavy into a remodel and will enhance any kitchen improvement.

Image: Taj Mahal Satin Quartzite Kitchen Countertop & Gioia Greige Porcelain Backsplash Tile from Arizona Tile

Adding Emphasis

If you’ve added features to your kitchen like a pot filler at your stove or a fashionable range hood, these are good areas to dress up with tile. As part of your backsplash, you can vary the tile around these areas with different colors, a different texture, or different shape in either the same tile series or a different one. If you’ve selected a range hood you love, think about changing the backsplash tile around this area to emphasize it as a focal point. Gioia is a porcelain product that comes in sixteen glossy color options. Switching color and/or pattern in certain areas will draw attention to them as focal points of the room.

Image: Calacatta Jubilee Quartz Kitchen Backsplash & Black Mist Honed Granite Kitchen Countertop from Arizona Tile

Islandia glass is a line made from 8mm high-quality, heavy-duty glass. Available in eight color options, in both glossy or matte finish, and three shapes/patterns, you can add great variation in detail all from this single line of tile.

Adding Safety

Having children around adds necessary concern to avoid injury. If a kitchen home improvement and children are both in your future, selecting finishes with them in mind will save you a headache later. One way you can do this is by selecting a countertop edge that doesn’t have sharp or pointed edges. Though a more defined edge, may be more modern and desirable, its hard edge will create a more painful head bump and be more susceptible to chipping if accidentally hit with a hard object. A rounded edge will make for better wear on a toddler’s head and also help preserve the integrity of your beloved slab countertop.

Image: Fantasy Zebra Polished Marble Kitchen Countertop from Arizona Tile

Adding safety doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice beauty. Fantasy Zebra is a good way to express a bold design taste. Simply have the edges of the countertop rounded to make it a safer environment. Try using it for either the countertop and/or the backsplash. Also pairing Fantasy Zebra with ceramic tile like 3D can add a beautiful flow in detail similar to the veining in the stone slab. Another slab you might love is Aerial, a quartz that has the look of Italian agglomerate marble.

Improvements You Will Love

Any improvements to your home will make you feel happy in your space. Whenever you want to start designing for your next home improvement, check out our full product line for inspiration; visit any Arizona Tile store to see our products and to chat with our professional, knowledgeable staff; and when you have made some decisions, utilize our Just Imagine tile and slab visualizer tool to see your selections in your own space. As always, if you have any questions, please be sure to send them our way!