6 Things Your Kitchen Might Be Missing That Would Make It Feel Instantly Cozier

The oven handle seems practically made for a kitchen towel: hang one there, and it’s always within reach. But when 2 or 3 towels end up there at once — one floral, another checkered, and a third that came with an oven mitt — a collection like this instantly steals the show, even in a tidy kitchen.

As an experiment, try taking them all down for just one day and see how the kitchen changes. Most likely, you’ll find that without the colorful row of towels, the cabinet fronts look much calmer. There’s no need to give up this familiar spot entirely — 1 or 2 solid-colored towels that match the kitchen in color won’t look overly busy.

• We moved into my grandmother’s old apartment, which hadn’t been renovated since the 80s. I was embarrassed to invite anyone over and kept putting my mother-in-law off for a month, but eventually I gave in. She came in, looked over the kitchen, made a face, and then said, “Give me half an hour and $5.”
  She dashed to the store and came back with just one kitchen towel. She took my 3 colorful towels off the oven handle and hung up the new one instead. And it indeed felt so much cozier. Just towels, and what a difference!

I don’t know about you, but my cutting boards somehow always seem to migrate onto the countertop. Sure, it’s convenient, but over time, instead of just one board, an entire stack of every board in the house ends up there. They don’t take up much space, of course, but they create visual clutter that takes away from the coziness of even the most thoughtfully designed kitchen.

I found a simple solution for myself: I bought 2 boards that blend seamlessly with the decor and use them all the time — one for meat and one for vegetables. And if I need to cook something like fish, which I don’t work with very often, I take out one of the boards from the cabinet and put it right back after using it.

I don’t know what kind of magic it is, but there always seems to be a whole collection of mismatched, brightly colored sponges, brushes, cloths, dish soap, and cleaning powders gathered around the sink. I never paid much attention to it before, but after renovating my kitchen in beige tones, all that colorful variety started to bother me.

Of course, it’s very convenient to keep dish soap and a sponge close at hand, so I found a solution: I bought a special liquid soap dispenser and started choosing sponges in colors that matched my new cabinetry. It looks beautiful and is convenient, too, without taking up much space. I put the extras away in the cabinet above the sink and take them out as needed.

Keeping a bunch of utensils in a container next to the stove may seem very convenient: everything you need is always within reach, and you don’t have to open a drawer every time you’re looking for the right spatula or whisk. The problem is that, over time, nearly everything from the kitchen drawer ends up in that holder — from teaspoons to scissors.

I decided to keep this familiar, convenient setup, but I sorted through everything in the holder and kept only the items I use every day. And if aesthetics matter to you as much as they do to me, consider buying a matching set so that mismatched utensils don’t disrupt your interior’s overall color palette.

For a long time, I didn’t even think of a roll of paper towels as something that cluttered up the kitchen—it just sat there, and that was that. But in my already small kitchen, where every inch counts, it looked pretty bulky.

Still, I didn’t want to give up the convenience of having towels on a stand always within reach, so I chose a different option and bought a holder that hangs beneath a kitchen cabinet. If you’re renting and don’t want to make holes in the furniture, take a look at holders that hang from the bottom of a wall-mounted shelf.

Just 5 years ago, wooden holders for assorted knives could be found in every modern kitchen — they were thought to complement the décor beautifully and signal that the kitchen belonged to a true home chef. In reality, though, they’re fairly bulky, take up a lot of space, and, honestly, only a couple of the knives they hold tend to get used.

You can keep your knives in a separate organizer made just for them — it’s safer, and they won’t get dull from bumping against other utensils. To keep the ones I use most within easy reach, I bought a special magnetic strip and now store them there. That way, they’re always accessible and stay sharp for a long time. Just remember: if there are children in the house, install the holder where they can’t reach it.

None of these fixes are expensive or complicated. Most take an afternoon. If your kitchen has one of these 6 things — or if fixing one changed how the whole room feels — the comments are open.