7 Kitchen Window Treatment Ideas That'll Brighten Your Space

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Anyone who spends a lot of time in a home kitchen likely finds the window essential to helping the room feel bigger and more inviting. However, not everyone is lucky enough to have a kitchen window overlooking a well-lit vista, and sometimes they need a little help to brighten up a space.

Cavernous kitchens with little light feel cramped and uncomfortable. You want your kitchen to feel bright because it's more inviting to family and guests, and makes for a more pleasant experience when you're working and cleaning there for hours at a time.

Since these are window treatments, they all involve adding to or changing something about the window, but not necessarily the window itself. Framing it with certain curtains or colors will help, as will placing decorative plants or an herb garden in the window frame. But you can also alter the window itself with colorful film, or even simply add an actual light to the window area.

Stained glass window film brings a vibrance to any room rivaled only by actual stained glass, which is also vastly more expensive and time-consuming to install. Commonly available online, stained glass window film is a small, easy-to-accomplish DIY project. And not every design gives medieval church vibes; there are countless options available to suit virtually any style. It's one of the best creative ways to style kitchen windows.

Café curtains take their name from the picturesque Parisian cafés of the 1800s that introduced them. They cover the lower part of the window for privacy but leave the top exposed for unobstructed light. But the curtains themselves are often somewhat sheer, preventing anyone from peeking in but still letting some light through the fabric. Choosing bright colors for café curtains will add to this effect and help the whole room feel lighter.

Plants literally bring life into a room and help make any space feel brighter. Consider shorter plants with brightly colored petals or leaves for a well-lit window, or perhaps taller greenery like lucky bamboo for more indirect light. But to make your window work for you as well, consider an herb garden. And they can be very easy to start — keep old jars and repurpose them into planters for your herb garden.

Drapes aren't always the first thought for brightening a space, but it can be done. Picking colorful drapes in bright hues like light blues, yellows, oranges, and more can help the window feel brighter overall by framing natural light in complementary colors. And the bright tones of the drapes themselves will help them look less large and overbearing.

If your window isn't bringing enough light into the kitchen, you can always just add a light. Recessed lighting just above the window is an excellent choice, but you don't necessarily need to call an electrician. Small decorative table lamps or battery-powered wall sconces bring additional light without the need of any expert. This can also pair well with adding a mirror to reflect said light, one of the best ways to brighten a dark kitchen generally.

Using natural materials for a window frame or dressing brings a certain lightness to the kitchen by suggesting a connection to nature. Bamboo curtains are a popular choice, which let some natural light in even when closed, accentuating their appeal. Wooden window frames are also a popular choice; though they're a bit more involved than some solutions, they can still be a DIY job without involving an expensive contractor.

Dark colors aren't usually a tip for making a space feel brighter, but in small amounts it can work. Thin window trim in dark colors creates a contrast with existing light that makes it pop more as it comes through the glass. If your kitchen walls are light in color too, the contrasting darkened frame will naturally draw people's eyes toward the light of the window.