I found 3 clever ways to make kitchen worktops feel cosy without adding clutter

Kitchen worktop with marble tray holding coffee pot, decor and jar of utensils — (Image credit: Leah Hodson)

Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.

I’ve recently gone through a full home renovation, including an extension, garage conversion and loft conversion. Unbeknownst to me when we started, this renovation would snowball and end up taking up the better part of the year! It started in January and has often felt like for every 2 steps we progress forward, we take one step back…

Thankfully, however, we have had a fully working kitchen for the last few months! This autumn, I’m focusing on the small wins and finding ways to regain control of my home through my kitchen. I’ve found practical ways to make my kitchen more cosy, yet still remain functional.

1. Chopping board

Corner of kitchen with wooden wall storage unit, and collection of bottles, chopping boards and fruit bowls on worktop

I chose compact laminate for our worktops, mainly because I wanted the installation process to be quicker and more seamless. However, part of the worktop was damaged during installation – somehow, there was a long scratch approximately 40cm long. This taught me an important lesson early, and that I need to be more careful with the worktops during daily use.

Therefore, a very functional purchase I made was the IKEA bamboo chopping board. I don’t use it as a chopping board, rather as a worktop protector! I tend to use a normal chopping board placed on top of it, just in case I accidentally slice past the board. I also like using the bamboo chopping board as a trivet, placing hot pots from the stove or hot trays from the oven whilst protecting my worktop!

Not only is this functional, however I really like using the bamboo as a worktop protector because it adds a design feature to my grey kitchen, adding some warmth.

2. Fruit bowls

I love being creative and using things in ways other than what was originally intended. Fruit bowls are a great example - technically any round receptacle can be a fruit bowl, meaning they don’t have to be boring! Using fun unexpected bowls or even wine holders create something interesting to look at, bringing a little more joy to your day.

When I was a vintage dealer years ago, I saved many interesting items that I wanted to have in my future home. One of those things was a silver pedestal bowl, which now holds my weekly supply of oranges. I also inherited a wicker wine holder from my husband’s grandmother that now holds cooking essentials like onions and garlic. The shape is perfect next to our range cooker where space is often a premium, and also adds a variation in height. Don’t be afraid to mix materials as it makes an interestingly styled worktop!

3. Trays

Red marble tray with mixture of ornaments and jug holding wooden utensils

By zoning items together, it makes styling the worktop neater and more cohesive. Another favourite of mine is to use trays or tiles! In my kitchen, I’ve used a baking tray filled with various cooking oils and a marble tile to protect the worktop in our ‘drop zone’.

A couple years ago, I bought a gorgeous scalloped baking tray from Habitat and it’s been very well used since – so well used that I’m sad to report it now has a large crack on the side! To be safe, I’ve stopped using it for baking and instead use it to house cooking oils. This has made even the most boring plastic bottles look much better!

If you have a favourite tile but no room to install it, turn it into a tray! I fell in love with the Rosso Levanto marble tile from Mandarin Stone but didn’t have anywhere in my house that it could go. So I ordered a single full tile and turned it into a tray with some cork attached to the back. Now it protects my worktop and also groups my little trinkets I have on display nicely.

Worktops don’t have to be bare and boring, or cluttered and busy. These styling tips I use are perfect for any kitchen and find the happy medium between the two!

Leah is a home interiors enthusiast, DIY devotee, and self-confessed lover of all things beige (but you can never call the beige that she does boring!). Her popular Instagram account, The Stanley Diary, has over 10,000 followers, who want to be inspired by her affordable home renovations.

With a background that includes a brief summer internship writing wedding features (long before she got married herself), her real passion lies in interiors. Leah love creating spaces that feel warm, cosy, and full of character. Over the past five years, since getting the keys to her first home, she’s been living and breathing interiors, armed with a power tool in one hand and a Pinterest board in the other.