Glass Backsplash
The backsplash is one of the best places to switch up your kitchen's personality. Due to its limited expense and installation time, it can be a great place to indulge in, say, the color of the moment.
This kitchen's white cabinets and gray countertops play second fiddle to a cheery grass-green back-painted glass backsplash. Smart too, to tuck it behind the range, as the glass makes for easy cleanup of sauce splatters.
by Mueller Nicholls Cabinets and Construction
The backsplash is one of the best places to switch up your kitchen's personality. Due to its limited expense and installation time, it can be a great place to indulge in, say, the color of the moment.
This kitchen's white cabinets and gray countertops play second fiddle to a cheery grass-green back-painted glass backsplash. Smart too, to tuck it behind the range, as the glass makes for easy cleanup of sauce splatters.
A wall of white cabinets and counters nearly disappears when played against ruby-colored back-painted glass. The discreet robin's egg blue on the island keeps the palette modern.
by Amitzi Architects 
A turquoise back-painted glass backsplash commands all the attention in this otherwise clean and simple white kitchen.
by Increation
This simple white kitchen is elevated with a timeless cobalt-blue tile backsplash from countertop to ceiling. Opting for a few shelves and the drama of all that tile instead of upper cabinets led to a simply luxurious kitchen.
Contemporary Kitchen
Tile Backsplash
Potentially ordinary white cabinets and countertops seem more sophisticated paired with an eye-catching tile backsplash that's extended from countertop to ceiling. A single isolated wall like this is a great place for a special material, as it creates a focal point and can reduce the expense of pricey details.
by Green Apple Design
Potentially ordinary white cabinets and countertops seem more sophisticated paired with an eye-catching tile backsplash that's extended from countertop to ceiling. A single isolated wall like this is a great place for a special material, as it creates a focal point and can reduce the expense of pricey details.
This striking Cuban Heritage Design handmade cement tile backsplash is best shown off against an otherwise simple and neutral kitchen, where its personality can shine. The swing-arm wall sconces are a handsome and unexpected way to light a kitchen counter, too.
by Kenny Grono
Pale blue and white encaustic cement tiles, extended full width and to the ceiling, lend a cheery chicness against the backdrop of white cabinets.
by Robert K. Chambers
Wallpaper
This mostly white kitchen's personality comes via scene-stealing hand-painted wallpaper that's sealed to protect it from wear and tear. (Admittedly, those chandeliers are no shrinking violets either.)
More: Wallpaper in the Kitchen: Is it a No or a Go?
by O Interior Design This mostly white kitchen's personality comes via scene-stealing hand-painted wallpaper that's sealed to protect it from wear and tear. (Admittedly, those chandeliers are no shrinking violets either.)
More: Wallpaper in the Kitchen: Is it a No or a Go?
Paint
These glass-front cabinets with mint paint at the back make for a sweet kitchen feature. If you don't have any glass-front cabinets, you could have a pair or two made. Alternatively, you could just remove the doors from one of your upper cabinets boxes and paint the back for a special display.
by Renewal Design-Build These glass-front cabinets with mint paint at the back make for a sweet kitchen feature. If you don't have any glass-front cabinets, you could have a pair or two made. Alternatively, you could just remove the doors from one of your upper cabinets boxes and paint the back for a special display.
Envision this kitchen without the orange paint. Nice, but a bit boring. While paint is an obvious choice for spiffing up a kitchen, few images illustrate the power of paint so well.
by designs by human.
Fixtures
A sexy faucet? Indeed. This smart architect-homeowner had a standard faucet powder coated. Alternatively, Vola offers faucets in a rainbow of colors. This unexpected color move might be all that's needed to add some fun and personality to your kitchen.
by Jeni Lee A sexy faucet? Indeed. This smart architect-homeowner had a standard faucet powder coated. Alternatively, Vola offers faucets in a rainbow of colors. This unexpected color move might be all that's needed to add some fun and personality to your kitchen.
Lighting
Lighting is another element for which you can easily exercise your style whims. The designer of this light-filled kitchen augmented its white cabinets and counters with fresh-looking large-diameter shades that can be easily swapped out.
by Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders Lighting is another element for which you can easily exercise your style whims. The designer of this light-filled kitchen augmented its white cabinets and counters with fresh-looking large-diameter shades that can be easily swapped out.
This handsome but basic all-white kitchen is adorned and transformed with a dramatic chandelier from Restoration Hardware over the island.
by Marsh and Clark Design
This sleek kitchen employs sparse but fearless use of color with not just one but — better still — a series of bold orange pendants to lend some serious personality to an otherwise stoic space.
Tell us: How will you spice up your kitchen in the new year?
by 360 design studio
Tell us: How will you spice up your kitchen in the new year?
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Your colour scheme sounds lovely.
If I may ask, do you have somewhere else to put your microwave? I have the same problem with mine at the moment and it really annoys me the way it so clutters up the bench. If my renovation comes off this year, I hope to find somewhere else for mine, I really need the bench space.
Good luck with your renovation, you kitchen looks to have good bones, so I'm sure it will come up a treat.
I was checking out some homes for sale in my area for ideas and I did see one above the bench that seemed a good height but I didn't get back to measure it exactly. I'm thinking about 15" or 38 cm seems comfortable and then it leaves bench space to put dishes straight onto.
I'm at the age where my knees just refuse to touch the ground so crawling around the back of cupboards is not an option and I will be all drawers too. At the moment my microwave is blocking the servery to the Dining Room, hubby suggested closing it off but I'm adamant it is staying, I really do need it and the bench space it is taking up.
Thanks for your input, I will look forward to hearing how you find it.
I love this idea but always wondered if it was ok design to leave doors off of upper cabs & use them as open shelving?
We're thinking of doing this for a kitchen nook we have over a desk.