How to Decorate a Kitchen With Apples

Apples are a cheery theme for a kitchen.

Apples bring country flavor to a kitchen in more ways than one. The bright yellow, red and green colors are cheery and work well with a relaxed decorating scheme. Use a lot of white in your design so the vibrant colors aren't overwhelming. If you really want to bring the apple theme home, paint one of the kitchen walls candy apple red.

Things You'll Need

• Apple wallpaper
• Paint
• Apple stencil kit (optional)
• Green curtains
• Red, green and yellow apples
• 3 clear vases
• Wooden bowl
• Lemon juice
• Grapevine wreath
• Raffia bow
• Apple towels, dishes and tablecloth
• Yarn
• Oranges
• Lemons
• Rosemary
• Wood shavings
• Nuts
• Dried flowers
• Upholstery needle

Instructions

1. Cut out apples from pre-pasted wallpaper. Arrange the apples on the walls right below the ceiling as a border. Wet the wall paper and press onto the walls. Use a sponge to remove any air bubbles. An alternative is to stencil apples on the walls with a stencil and paint kit.

2. Hang apple-green curtains at the windows.

3. Paint the cabinets and drawer fronts a warm off-white enamel. Add apple pulls to the cabinets and drawers. You could also use the apple wallpaper on the inserts of the cabinet doors. Brush with a coat of waterproof polyurethane sealant.

4. Place a wooden bowl full of red, green and yellow apples on the kitchen table. Fill three glass vases with apples, one with red apples, one with green and one with yellow apples and place it on a counter or above cabinets.

5. Accessorize with apple-printed hand towels, pot holders, tablecloths and napkins. Hang an apple-printed apron on the wall. Display glasses and dishes with an apple motif. Put red, yellow and green dishes in a glass-fronted cabinet to pick up the apple colors in the rest of the kitchen.

6. Create a dried apple wreath. Slice apples 1/4-inch thick. Dip in a solution of half water and half lemon juice. Dry in a dehydrator or in an oven set on the lowest setting until leathery. Hot glue onto a grapevine wreath. Finish with a raffia bow.

7. Assemble a dried apple, fruit and herb string or garland. Dry slices of apples, oranges, lemons and whole small fruits such as kumquats. Thread the fruit slices on a piece of yarn that is as long as you would like the garland. Use a heavy-duty upholstery needle to pierce the centers of the fruit and stack them. Alternate the fruit slices with 10 to 20 bay leaves in between each slice. Add a kumquat here and there on the string or garland. Drape the garland over the window treatments. Hang the fruit string where it will be warmed slightly by a sunny window to release the fragrance.

8. Save some of the dried apple slices for potpourri. Mix the slices with nuts, scented wood shavings, rosemary clippings and dried flowers.

Tips & Warnings

• Scent the kitchen by placing apple cider and a few cinnamon sticks in a pot and bringing it to a boil or use apple-scented room fresheners.

• Be careful to not overload the kitchen with apples. Balance the design out with plain-colored paint and accessories, with just enough apple to give the room a country feel.

References

• "New Decorating Book"; Better Homes and Garden; 2002
• "Everyday Styling"; Susie Coelho; 2002