Jasmine Roth Reveals Her Secret Tips For Gorgeously Styling A Kitchen Island

Sprucing up the kitchen can be as simple as utilizing your kitchen island for more than cooking. As the room's centerpiece, the island holds more weight in design than we might think. Jasmine Roth, founder of Built Custom Homes and host of HGTV's "Help! I Wrecked My House," believes the kitchen island should be a 50/50 eclectic combination of practical items and décor. "Over the years, I've found that my favorite ways to style kitchen islands usually represent a mix of stuff I need to eat with and stuff that looks pretty," she wrote on her blog. "Because while we might be tempted to style a whole flippin' vignette on our kitchen island, complete with stacked books and layered mementos and fancy objects aplenty, that's not the most practical thing to do" (via Jasmine Roth). 

One way Roth adds visual appeal is through trays and bowls. Trays are great for organizing an array of handy items you want to keep at arm's length, or they make for the perfect beverage and after-school snack station. "Combine function and beauty by filling it with things you and your family reach for daily, like favorite fruits, avocados, bread, etc.," she advises. These pieces lead directly to another bit of her advice: taking full advantage of texture. Avoid a flat kitchen and incorporate different materials of stone, wood, metal, and textiles. Set out woven placemats, glass carafes, and wooden baskets to add spunk to barstools with metal framing and cushioned seating.

Giving your space dimension lies in more than just mixing and matching textures and laying down a high-piled rug. Roth encourages us to consider height, not allowing our kitchens to be an utterly horizontal layout. "Since an island is a big flat surface that's viewed from all angles, you have plenty of visual space to work with," she said. "Your flat tray, tall plant, maybe a pedestal, and some medium-height objects will add dimension to the island." One can run in many directions with this, from artistically stacking and displaying glassware and dishes to incorporating vertical patterns. Think of an accent wall with patterned wallpaper, natural woods with visible perpendicular grain, or statement lighting pieces that dangle over the island. Even your furniture can play into this by choosing barstools with prominent upright backing like slat-back chairs.

Of course, our areas aren't complete without infusing a bit of nature and greenery into the mix. Whether faux or real, Roth says that "Adding a pop of green to the kitchen island draws your eye to all the nice décor you styled while making the space feel fresh." This finishing touch can speak to a variety of design choices by using cacti and succulents to round out a more bohemian look, vibrant flowers if you feel your space is lacking color variety, or taking a sophisticated approach with dried lavender and baby's breath in a sleek vase.