Kitchen Design Ideas With a Coffee Theme

People often design their kitchens around a theme of a place related to food, such as a French bistro, a country picnic or a candy-colored bakery. Basing your kitchen design on a kind of food, such as coffee, will set your kitchen apart from other kitchens in the neighborhood and serve as a decorative homage to a food (or beverage) you love. Does this Spark an idea?

Coffee Palette

Coffee beans are a lush dark brown.

Design the kitchen to make use of the distinctive and attractive colors associated with coffee. For example, paint the walls a light cafe-au-lait brown, paint the cabinets and trim the off-white color of cream, and choose kitchen chairs upholstered in deep coffee-bean brown fabric. Fabric patterns that look good in coffee colors include gingham, checkerboard and plaid. Use the fabric for curtains, chair upholstery and kitchen hand towels. Brass drawer pulls and other fixtures complement coffee colors.

Coffee Textures

White porcelain is a classic coffee cup material.

Outfit the kitchen with coffee textures. Tile the backsplash (the wall behind the sink, counters and stove top) with white tile that recalls a plain white coffee cup. Apply a paint treatment to the walls or cabinets to make them look like they have the rough, woven texture of a coffee bean bag. Choose a refrigerator with a glossy finish rather than a matte finish, because the glossy finish mirrors the gleaming, slightly oily texture of high-quality coffee beans.

Cafe Layout

Outdoor cafe tables can be used indoors.

Set up the kitchen furniture and accessories to mimic the most convenient and attractive features of a cafe. If you have a small kitchen, use a little round-topped two-person cafe table rather than a traditional table to save space. Set up a permanent "coffee and tea station" on a section of the counter or on a low shelf with an electric kettle (for hot water), spoons, creamer, sugar, your coffee maker and accessories, and a selection of coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Coffee Accessories

Coffee is transported in printed sacks.

Pepper the kitchen with coffee-related accessories. Nurture a coffee berry tree in one corner, although don't count on it for coffee, as the trees take years to mature and the process of harvesting and roasting the beans is quite complex. Re-upholster your worn kitchen chairs with coffee bean bags or use a coffee bean bag as a throw rug. Order the adhesive letters necessary to spell out a coffee-related quote on the wall, such as Talleyrand's famous description: "Black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, sweet as love."