10 affordable ways to jazz up an all-white kitchen

Like blue jeans and Colonial-style architecture, white kitchens are timeless — and given their popularity with developers and flippers, odds are high that you have one, whether you wanted it or not. But according to the 2025 Kitchen Trends Report from the National Kitchen and Bath Association, these clean and classic spaces have fallen out of fashion. Many homeowners now crave kitchens with personality, shunning “sterile” white in favor of nature-based colors, such as green, blue and brown.

But that’s a shame. Like spare gallery walls, white kitchens can be ideal backdrops for self-expression. All it takes to avoid blandness is a few “pops of color, texture and personality,” Miami-based interior designer Ania Agárdy said in an email. In a white kitchen, every surface offers an opportunity to punctuate your space, often at relatively low cost. Here’s how.

If your Japanese teapots or vintage casserole dishes have been collecting dust, consider showcasing them in your kitchen. “You probably have accessories already tucked away in your cabinets, so check your inventory before you go hunting,” Florida-based Galey Alix of Galey Alix Design said in an email. In her kitchen, she stacks cookbooks with attractive bindings and displays antique-style brass salt and pepper grinders she’s amassed over the years.

To avoid visual cacophony, stick to a palette, like the blue, red and pink color scheme Katherine Ormerod used for the platters, pitchers and vases she arranged on her blue kitchen shelves. Try placing items in glass-fronted upper cabinets or hanging them on a wall.

For made-you-look playfulness, adorn the ceiling with colorful paint or wallpaper. “This creates an unexpected yet elegant focal point,” Iowa-based Amanda Reynal of Amanda Reynal Interiors said in an email. In the same way, you can designate an accent island or wall or spice up cabinet interiors. For a sophisticated and transporting accent wall, try installing removable mural wallpaper.

The backsplash is prime territory for making a splash design-wise. For an inexpensive (and removable) update, consider applying peel-and-stick wallpaper that gives the illusion of tile, said Ormerod, the author of “Your Not-Forever Home: Affordable, Elevated, Temporary Decor for Renters.” For a bit more of an investment, swap out your existing backsplash for real tile, like textured Moroccan Zellige.

Appliances are the workhorses of the kitchen, but they usually add nothing design-wise. One solution: Cover the surface of your fridge or dishwasher with a removable decal or magnet cover. For a bright, retro feel, consider Vintage Lemons or Vintage Floral Dark Botanical. Copper Vintage Rustic is more textured and industrial, while Vintage Painting is serene. If you choose a cover with a pattern, keep the other elements in your space relatively neutral to avoid visual overload.

In a clean white kitchen, bold or sculptural pieces can make a sizable impact. New York City-based Marina Hanisch lent her client’s kitchen an industrial, artisanal feel by choosing wooden architect-style screw stools. You can also mix it up at your dining table, pairing colorful chairs with more neutral, traditional seating.

Changing out drawer pulls and cabinet handles is a time-honored way to affordably update a kitchen. With white cabinets, colored or unusually shaped hardware can shift the vibe of the room. “Swapping in unique cabinet pulls and integrating other bold metal accents can bring personality to a space and ensure it feels visually dynamic,” said Hanisch, of Marina Hanisch Interiors.

One item can make such a difference. By adding a colorful, vintage Moroccan runner, Susan Galvani of Spruce Interior in Charleston, South Carolina, warmed up a client’s otherwise neutral kitchen. Thanks to the rug plus a blue accent island, the space feels cozy and boho.

A spiderlike, multi-pendant chandelier seems to crawl across the ceiling in a kitchen designed by Manhattan-based Rebecca Roberts of Method + Moxie. The ultra-modern installation wakes up the white and gray space. Similarly, the curvy wooden pendant lights Hanisch chose for a client’s kitchen add an organic touch.

In a kitchen Reynal designed for a client, a Roman shade in whimsical Schumacher Citrus Garden fabric steals the show. To tie the room together, Reynal applied its blue-green-yellow color palette throughout the space. She chose blue cushions for the counter stools and painted the island green.

As an experiment, add one playful decorative item, like a banana-shaped fruit bowl, retro school lunch wall sculpture, “Coffee First, People Later” print, or fruit refrigerator magnets. Then see if it improves your morning mood. This foray into “dopamine decor” might perk you up more than your coffee.