Easy (and Cheap!) Valentine’s Day Decoration Ideas for Your Kitchen

When you decorate your kitchen for the holidays, you walk a fine line between festive and frenzied. The kitchen is the busiest place in your house, and making it even busier by adding clutter can make it feel overwhelming.

That said, there are plenty of ways to make your kitchen epitomize the L-word without spending heaps of money and storing huge boxes full of red and pink for 11/12ths of the year. To help you with your Valentine’s Day decorating endeavors, we’ve put together a list of ideas that you can do on the cheap, and many of them use supplies you already have.

Appliances

There’s not much you can do to make your appliances more lovey-dovey, but one way you can shake things up is to switch out your hand towels. Look for towels that are embroidered or printed with red, pink, or white designs. Heart designs and red gingham are always a great fit in a Valentine’s kitchen, and they’re so functional, it won’t feel like you’ve added anything to your kitchen.
 

Windows

Your kitchen windows are another area you should decorate lightly, but they don’t have to be bare. Here are some ideas to liven them up:

• Arts and Crafts: If you have children, help them make some stained glass window decorations by gluing down red, white, and pink tissue paper onto wax paper. Then cut out a heart-shaped outline using black paper, mount it to the wax paper, and cut around the heart. When you tape it to your windows, you’ll have some colorful decorations that your kids enjoyed making.
• Window Treatments: If you have window treatments you use year-round, consider switching them out for something Valentine-themed – a least for the weeks leading up to the holiday. Your regular curtains or dust ruffle could probably use a good washing anyway.
• Gel Clings: Gel clings are colorful, shaped sticky pieces of gel that temporarily adhere to your window. You’ll find them in the seasonal decorations section of most stores. (Hint: The Dollar Spot of Target has them every year). The fun shapes and colors are see-through and add some interest without the clutter.
• Suction Cups: You can adhere little clear suction cups to your window to hang small red, pink, or clear ornaments or baubles. Keep an eye out during the Christmas season for tiny ornaments that will work for both the Christmas holiday and Valentine’s Day.

 

Countertops

Whether your kitchen has laminate, solid surface, or natural stone countertops, it’s easy to add some festive flair.

Nothing says “Valentine’s Day” like flowers and chocolates, so make the most of those on your countertops. Fill any existing clear or white pitchers with daisies, carnations, and roses that fall on the red color spectrum. If you have a little extra cash and storage space, you can even spring for some fake flowers and use them year after year.

If you have exceptional self-control, think about adding some red and pink candy to candy dishes or apothecary jars (if you have them). Foil-covered hearts, Red Hots, striped peppermint hard candies, and Hershey’s Kisses all are flirty and festive. If you’re an aspiring baker, you could even put out a covered cake plate with red and pink baked goods to make your countertops extra sweet.

Potted plants in the kitchen are great for improving air quality and ambiance, and if you want to update them for Valentine’s Day, use a red or pink pot cover just for the holiday. Also, by putting in a few special red or pink spatulas and scrapers, you can turn your countertop utensil container into another site of Valentine’s love.

Last (but not least), you know that large embroidered, heart-shaped box of chocolates you got last year but didn’t want to throw out the pretty box once you ate the candy? Use it this year to catch your keys and mail instead of your usual box or container. If you didn’t get a box of chocolates last year, this year might be the year you splurge – you know, for decoration’s sake…
 

Walls

Your walls are another easy surface to decorate for Valentine’s Day. If you have a Cricut (or know someone who does), it’s effortless to make a paper heart garland to string across your walls. If you’re Cricut-less, it’s almost as easy to cut them out by hand. If you have framed artwork, you can also switch it out temporarily with a Valentine-themed print. There is plenty of printable Valentine’s artwork available for free download online. Additionally, if you display your coffee mugs with under-cabinet hooks, it’s quick to switch out your usual ones with red or red-accented mugs.
 

Tables

Using a large vase of fresh or silk flowers can dress up your kitchen table, but you can also decorate with a red or pink table runner or tablecloth. Switching out your regular seat cushions for Valentine-themed ones is also festive and functional.
 

Other Ideas

Another random way to decorate your kitchen for Valentine’s Day is to switch out your regular apron with a red or Valentine-themed one. By hanging it on a hook on the wall, it is easy to access and adds a pop of Valentine’s color to your kitchen. Placing a red floral wreath on the inside of your kitchen door can be festive, and handmade paper pompoms hanging from the ceiling are also cute.

Decorating your kitchen for Valentines’ Day doesn’t have to take up a lot of storage space or be expensive. With a few minor tweaks to your existing décor, you can change your kitchen’s look so that you can really feel the love.