In the last decade, white and gray have been the dominant color palette for kitchens and bathrooms. And, while this design trend helped created a ton of clean-looking, neutral, bright spaces, it also resulted in rooms that don’t always feel cozy or warm. The good news is that you can make your kitchen and bathroom feel more cozy and inviting without making any major changes. In fact, with just a few simple additions, you can instantly create a warmer vibe in your space. Here are 3 easy tips for how to warm up a white kitchen or bathroom, and I recommend you do all three!

Tip #1 – Add in Some Wood or Copper

Wood is a fantastic way to warm up any room, including your kitchen and bathroom. You can add some wood accents into your kitchen with cutting boards, wooden utensils, trays, and bowls on the countertop. 

Copper has very similar coloring to wood, and is another great option for warming up your kitchen. You can hang copper pots and pans over the island or range, add copper mugs to your floating shelves, or display copper bowls inside glass cabinets. 

For the bathroom, incorporate bamboo or teak accessories, floating wood shelves over the toilet, or even a wood blanket ladder for towels. Baskets are another great way to add warm tones that emulate wood, and introduce some texture into your bathroom to compensate for all of those smooth, hard surfaces. Even just a couple of wood-toned accents sprinkled into the space will make a big impact, and create a more cozy feeling  in the room.

warm up white bathroom with baskets

warm up bathroom with wood shelves over toilet

Tip #2 – Go Green

Plants have a great way of making a space feel more cozy and relaxing. They add color, texture, and breathe a little life into a room. ​Small plants on the countertop of your kitchen, or a vase with eucalyptus stems or florals on your bathroom vanity or kitchen island will make a huge difference in the look and feel of the space.

Have a brown thumb like me? As I always say, “faux plants are better than no plants!” For those of us that have trouble keeping plants alive, don’t stress…you can get the same overall aesthetic effect by adding in fake plants and florals. Ikea’s FEJKA plants are the perfect small size for kitchen and bathroom countertops.

warm up white kitchen with plants

Image Source: Little House of Four

Tip #3 – Introduce Color

Kitchens and bathrooms with neutral, fixed materials (white and gray tile, cabinets and countertops, for example), will feel much less cold and sterile with some color in the room. Warm colors, like beiges or rusty hues, will work well with wood tones to make the room feel more welcoming and less…cold. Other colors, like blues, greens, or turquoise with inject some energy into the space and help it feel less boring and sterile.

green towels for bathroom

Source: Target

Once you have your accent color in mind, it’s an easy fix to then introduce a vintage rug, art, decorative accessories, and towels with that color into the space. Shop for small area rugs and runners for your kitchen and bath, rather than focusing on bath or kitchen mats, which don’t tend to have a lot of color or pattern to them. Ruggable has washable styles that are perfect for these rooms. And for art, check out Minted, where you can search for unique pieces by color and customize the frames.

Now that you know three easy fixes for how to warm up a white kitchen or bathroom, you can start today to implement these ideas and create a much more cozy and inviting space. Tackling one of these tips will help out a lot, but doing all three will really help you to create a warmer kitchen and bathroom that you will enjoy spending time in.