10 Creative Ways To Style Your Kitchen Towels Instead Of Just Hanging Them

It's all about the details when you're designing a home with thoughtfulness and intentionality. This is why some of the places or items that you typically look over can be great places to start when you want something fresh. Kitchen towels might be the natural next step after you've stopped using paper towels, but that doesn't mean they just have to be thrown on a hook or over the oven door. From towel roll baskets to fun ways to accessorize, here are some creative ways to style your kitchen towels and keep them organized.

Kitchen towels can be used in different ways. They come in handy when you need to wipe down the counter, your hands, or dry plates. Still, they come in different forms and certain ones are better suited for certain purposes. The typical dish towel, which tends to be made from a heavier material, is great for cleaning spills, while a tea towel will be flatter and lighter, which makes it better for cleaning your hands or wiping smudges from drinking glasses. These different forms matter when choosing which style you want to recreate. It's also important that you are displaying clean, fresh kitchen towels. You can buy new ones for these ideas, but you can also breathe new life into your well-loved dish rags with this hack if you need to.

The first thing you can try is rolling up your dish towels and keeping them in a basket on the counter. When they are rolled up, they look more polished and are easy to grab. This also helps you know that you're using clean towels because you can put away the ones you've pulled out after use. A stylish basket will pull this look together, so pick up a nice wicker basket or something similar that matches your room's decor and place it near the stove or sink for easy access.

This is a good idea if you like having a minimalist setup in your kitchen. Instead of just hanging your tea towels, lay them down on the counter, completely flat, so they look more in place. This is best done with one kitchen towel one at a time to really minimize clutter. One tip is to place them near the sink area so they can serve the added purpose of helping you dry your dishes. If the drying rack is too full, just set some items on the kitchen towel.

For this unique idea, you can mix and match folded and rolled kitchen towels. Put down two towels folded in square shapes and then make a mini pyramid of three rolled towels on top. This has a casual but still organized appearance that will have your counter looking tidy, which is why we think the kitchen island can be a nice spot for this arrangement. With this idea, it's good to use a matching set to get that cohesion, like this colorful four-piece Lane Linen Kitchen Towel Set. It comes in various color schemes and costs around $11 on Amazon.

All you need to do is to keep a folded stack of about seven or eight tea or dish towels on the counter, and you will have a more organized look than if you were to hang them all up. This is a simple idea but gives you a chance to show off your stylish, quirky kitchen towel patterns. A mismatched collection can make the space feel more cozy, but a matching set will showcase your attention to detail. Just don't make the stack too high so it doesn't get in your way.

This idea is great if you want a simple sewing project. Attach a long, hemmed piece of cotton fabric to the back of your kitchen towel with a few simple stitches. It will look like a long tie and should be long enough to wrap around your towel and make a bow. You can then use this bow to help save your kitchen towels from the floor and keep them securely fastened to your oven or dishwasher handle. Choose a fabric that matches your kitchen towels for a simple look, or pick a pattern for some contrast.

Another creative way to style your dish towels is to keep them folded and ready to grab in a drawer. To do this, stack them horizontally so you can pull them out quickly and easily, and keep them in a top drawer so they're close by at all times. This is another hack that would be helpful if you prefer a more minimalist design with as little clutter as possible. The kitchen won't have a lot of stray items lying out, and even the insides of the drawers will be organized as well.

One idea is to make a pocket out of your tea towel, hang it up on the oven or dishwasher door, and drop in a small branch of baby's breath, a sprig of faux flowers, or even some dried herbs, in the pocket. To do this, lay your towel out flat, then fold up the bottom third of the length to create the base of your pocket. From there, fold the towel in thirds along the length, flatten it out, and place it over the handle of your oven or dishwasher for display.

Instead of leaving them on the counter or giving them a small section in a drawer, dedicate a whole top drawer to your towel roll basket. You will be keeping your counter clutter-free, and will also be able to fit in more towels this way. One tip that can make this more functional is to get a basket that doesn't fill up the drawer all the way. This way, you can leave the dirty towels in the empty space to the side until you can take them to the laundry basket.

Another creative way to style your tea towels instead of just hanging them is to place them on the counter as a decorative placemat for things like a lazy susan, cutting board, or paper towel holder. This is ideal if you like a more rustic, laid-back look for the kitchen as it can help to soften up an otherwise stark or sterile-looking surface. Finish off this mini vignette with other decorative pieces like stylish oversized salt and pepper shakers, cookbooks, cutting boards, or a nice art piece on the wall.

To make a kitchen towel bow, take one thin tea towel and fold it over three times, then fold it over in half. Take another towel and fold that over three times but leave it long. Then, cinch the short one in the middle so it looks like a bow, fold the long one over it in the middle as well, and fit the dangling parts of the long one into the handle of the top drawer door. A bonus tip is to create towel bows for all the top drawers to make a statement in the entire space.