10 Kitchen Decor Tips From Ree Drummond We Can't Get Enough Of

The struggle can be real when trying to decorate your kitchen, especially since trends seem to change on a dime with increasing frequency. But have no fear because if there's one person who knows her way around a kitchen and its decor, it's Ree Drummond. Better known as The Pioneer Woman, Drummond has been sharing her cooking, recipes, and life with fans for nearly 20 years whether through her website, cookbooks, or Food Network show. Today, she has multiple product lines at Walmart that help at-home chefs make the most of their meals. While we may know her best for the delicious comfort meals she shares, she's also positioned herself as a bonafide lifestyle expert, and that includes how to decorate your kitchen.

Over the years she's shared insights into her personal style — farm chic, of course — but her advice to fans has always leaned toward classic and, most certainly, functional. It can be difficult to find your own personal style, but if you're in the mood to liven up your kitchen, or make a few subtle changes, join us in exploring 10 kitchen decor tips straight from The Pioneer Woman to try out in your humble abode.

We know that the gold versus silver debate is still alive and well, but there's something truly warm and classic about pops of gold throughout a kitchen. And when Ree Drummond and her husband, Ladd, chose to build a new home from the ground up, gold accents were clearly a huge part of the kitchen decor conversation. As to be expected, the new kitchen had to be fit for a famously hospitable home cook. Drummond chose to use gold fixtures throughout her kitchen as well as in the pendant lights above the island. Specks of gold can even be found in the marble countertop and pot rack over the stove. 

The final result is open and spacious and has all the trappings of a ranch, from Spanish-inspired elements and longhorn artwork to lots of wood. But you don't have to build from the ground up to make these changes in your home. In fact, there's a simple upgrade to make your kitchen feel brand new: sink fixtures. Swap the builder grade faucets and handles for a sleek, gold finish to usher in a subtle pop of color and style. Or, go all out and add golden candle holders, vases, bowls, and mirrors to liven the space.

There's a common mistake that makes your kitchen look small, and it all comes down to lighting. Let's face it. Dim lighting isn't complementary, and too few lighting options are just as bad. While ample windows offer natural light during the day, at night you may still be left with a darker space that doesn't necessarily scream comfort. Plus, you need to see to cook! That's where clever lighting comes in. Of course, we recommend small lamps strategically placed around the kitchen (since overhead lighting can be overwhelming at times), but lighting can go beyond function and also act as decor.

Ree Drummond smartly uses her kitchen lighting to its fullest advantage with pendant lights. Unlike recessed lights, pendant lights hang from the ceiling at varying lengths depending on personal preference. The shades can be any shape or size, though Drummond herself has four matching pendants of medium-sized glass and gold above her kitchen island. There are tons of styles to choose from that can complement whatever look you're going for. They'll do wonders in elevating your kitchen without too much work.

There's nothing worse than a cluttered kitchen countertop when you're making a meal, but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice decor entirely. Drummond has shared that one of the keys to successful decorating for her combines style and purpose. When it comes to the kitchen, multifunctional items like a pretty baking dish can also moonlight as table decor. Drummond told Southern Living that she loves "being able to use the pumpkin-shaped pieces as real pots and dishes for making my favorite fall recipes, but the fact that they double as décor when they're not being used makes me so happy." If anything, it gives you more of an excuse to invest in those adorable holiday pieces, knowing they'll have use outside of mealtime.

Year round, you can also opt to use serving bowls the way Drummond does. On her countertop she uses beautifully finished cookware to store loose fruit and vegetables. When guests are over, the dishes can double as receptacles for fancy potato side dishes or restaurant worthy bucatini pasta. Plus, mason jars and other kitchenware can be used to hold flowers or grow herbs. 

Kitchens are the heart of a home, and as your style and tastes change, so, too, should your kitchen. But often it isn't that easy. Appliance finishes and countertops aren't so simple to change on a whim, and it can be costly to switch them out. While we don't necessarily recommend getting new cabinets every time you want to a new look, adding color to them can do wonders in brightening or changing the mood of your kitchen. 

Take Ree Drummond's test kitchen, for example. The deep green shade of the lower cabinets in that kitchen are a nod to Drummod's lifelong love of the color, and while an entire kitchen of colorful cabinets is always welcome, the test kitchen's upper cabinets are a neutral cream color to offset and create balance. Regardless of how much of a change you choose, there are ways to update your kitchen cabinets without paint. Peel-and-stick wallpaper can be a low cost, low commitment way of introducing more color (or even patterns) to cabinets, and you can remove it when you want a new, fresh look.

Look, not everybody's pots and pans are display-worthy. Sometimes they're old — or well-seasoned, we should say — or maybe they don't match the aesthetic of your kitchen. But pot racks kill two birds with one stone, providing not only wall decor but also an organized, easy-to-access means of grabbing what you need to cook when you need it. It's exactly the reason why Ree Drummond herself had a pot rack installed over the stove in her new Oklahoma ranch kitchen!

"I was afraid it would be more for decoration," Drummond says on The Pioneer Woman website. "But having the skillets right there actually makes me want to cook more!" That's because the pots are within your line of vision and harder to ignore. Beyond the 5 must-have pans every home cook should start with, there are tons of pots and pans from The Pioneer Woman in every shade of the rainbow for specialty cooking and baking alike. Not to mention how easy pot racks are to install. They're one of many kitchen upgrades you can make without any renovations!

It's not news that kitchen countertops take a lot of hits. From hot pans to major drink spills and lingering stains, countertops need to be able to withstand all of life's many messes. So, what type of stone should you use for kitchen countertops? Ree Drummond used to have a stainless-steel countertop that she loved on her kitchen island. Stainless steel is a common material in commercial kitchens because it's so hygienic. Even disinfecting it with steam doesn't warp or alter the surface, and it has a self-healing layer formed with the exposure to oxygen so that any light scratches or damages to its surface will disappear.

But stainless steel isn't always the most aesthetic choice, which may be why Drummond opted for a different material for her new house. The white and gold marble now in her kitchen is gorgeous, but marble is high maintenance due to its porosity, and therefore it's not for every home. Other durable options include dolomite, quartz, or the reigning kitchen champion, granite. As with many other kitchen design choices, you'll want to choose a countertop that fits your needs, budget, and style.

If you've watched HGTV over the past 10 years, then you know just how popular a farmhouse sink is. Also known as an apron sink, farmhouse sinks are best known for their wide basin and the exposed front that typically extends just slightly beyond the counter. They're highly practical given their size and the ample amount of room to wash dishes or produce at any given time. As with many other features in Ree Drummond's personal kitchen, her farmhouse sink helps to make food prep fly by. 

But for those on a budget, one potential drawback is that farmhouse sinks tend to cost more than a typical sink. That's due to the size, yes, but the installation process can be more complex and often requires modifications to whatever cabinets and countertops may already exist. But if you're after a rustic, charming sink to further set the mood of your kitchen, the farmhouse sink simply can't be beat.

Backsplashes are all the rage to admire, judge, and regret (depending on who you are), but there's a reason they're such a popular way to liven up your typical kitchen. They're even a fixture in Ree Drummond's test kitchen, where she kept the tiles neutral with a black and white color palette. But that doesn't mean boring. Not by a long shot. The tiles in The Pioneer Woman test kitchen are patterned porcelain. "I thought a colored tile might clash with all our bright dishes," she explains on her website.

The wonderful thing about tiles is that they come in an endless number of shapes and shades so that they can be the focal point of your kitchen or merely another of the many features. As with Drummond's other decor tips, bold tiles don't have to be costly or part of a full renovation project. In fact, there are plenty of inexpensive but gorgeous kitchen backsplash ideas out there from options like peel-and-stick tile to hand-painted ceramic tiles.

Love it or hate it, open shelving in the kitchen is a statement in and of itself. But it does come with some drawbacks, namely no cups stacked haphazardly. It certainly means no leaning tower of Tupperware. And the concept is hardly new, having been around since the 1960s at least, though it did have a recent burst of popularity some years ago. The resurgence of open shelves has been popular long enough that Ree Drummond even had open shelving in her old house back in 2010 when she first shared her affinity for them.

Open shelves are a convenient vintage kitchen design trend thanks to their simplicity and practicality. An open shelf means you don't have to spend extra money on cabinets, and it's perfect for those who want to show off their vintage dishware or knickknacks. We're partial to wood-toned open shelves like those in Drummond's new home, which add additional warmth and texture, but they can be painted any color to match your specific aesthetic like the farmhouse chic look of The Pioneer Woman.

Speaking of vintage dishware, we love how Ree Drummond favors old classics in her kitchen. As an avid fan of kitchen ware, Drummond shared with E! News: "I've always loved a cabinet full of dinnerware to have a little bit of a 'collected through the years' look." That love of vintage aesthetics often inspires her cookware line to have what she calls a "flea market feel."

Combined with open shelves, vintage-inspired (or actual vintage) dishware can elevate and bring a sense of personality to your kitchen. It takes multifunctional to the next level as both art and something to eat off of. Vintage dishes can also be fun to collect as a hobby. Plus, it may even inspire you to try out some retro recipes. If you're looking for the easiest way to find vintage recipes to fill up your vintage dinnerware, look no further than old-school cookbooks that are probably filled with recipes for old school desserts no one makes anymore and other throwback dishes.