15 Kitchen Design Tips Ina Garten Swears By

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When it comes to most things in life, Ina Garten has the right recipe. And that includes the set-up for her kitchens. Yes, plural, the Food Network personality famously crossed the property of her East Hampton estate to film series like "Barefoot Contessa" and "Be My Guest With Ina Garten" in her nearby barn. "I get to walk across the lawn and go to work," she raved to NYT Cooking about her setup, "and then, when I'm done, I can close the door and leave work behind me."

As such, she keeps the space all-business. "I think the kitchen is not a fancy place, it's a very simple, quiet place," she explained to House Beautiful. "Once somebody wrote about my kitchen, 'It's a kitchen with nothing to prove.' It's not impressive, it's just a great kitchen, it functionally works really well." Among the key ingredients are keeping her most-used tools out and taking a thoughtful approach to what she puts on display. "I love working in a kitchen with beautiful things, but I hate anything that's purely decorative," she noted on her Substack. "If you display dishes and trays that you actually use and love, your kitchen just feels alive." And yes, hers is as vibrant as her French apple tart. Raved Garten, "Every day when I arrive at the barn, I think, 'I can't believe I get to work here.'"

Garten puts quite a bit of care into choosing the right ingredients for her kitchen shelves. Inspiration struck when she saw the library that Belgian antique dealer Axel Vervoordt had on display, which was "exquisite, not just because his bookshelves are gorgeous but also because he's read all the books," she raved on her Substack. "When you walk in, you just know it's a library that someone loves." Visitors get the same vibe from how Garten decorates her stellar kitchen shelves. By sticking to items that are truly meaningful, her space never feels staged. As she put it, "If you display dishes and trays that you actually use and love, your kitchen feels alive."

And the hack to making your thrifted antiques work in your home is surprisingly straightforward. Rather than collecting pieces just to have them, make like Garten and consider how each piece can spice up your world. Don't just amass vintage glassware; make it a part of your bar cart display. Or turn that delicate antique bowl you picked up into the perfect resting place for your keys and loose change.

Garten won't decorate with just any old thing. She makes it a point to set up vignettes with a mix of newer pieces and vintage finds. Working with items such as antique silver platters, handmade dinner plates, and new china bowls, she recommended on her Substack, "Just move things around until you find the most pleasing arrangement!" She doesn't confine herself to kitchen-related items either, adding, "Mix it up with books that you love or even a small lamp on a shelf to provide light in a dark corner."

The trick to successfully mixing modern elements with vintage pieces is to pick one unique item to be the star and let other complementary items sparkle alongside it. You could also follow the same 80-20 design rule that works for choosing colors or patterns. Dedicate 80% of the space to one style, say, a collection of retro vases. Then, mix in 20% of another design type as a fun accent. Garten also makes it a point to play around with shapes and sizes. "A shelf of all round bowls or all flat plates can be a little boring," she noted, adding, "A beautiful plate or platter leaning against the back wall of the shelves can give height to your arrangement."

Style isn't all sunshine and rainbows for Garten. To ensure her shelves look curated, rather than chaotic, she streamlines which shades she uses. "Choose a small color palette and stick to it," she advised in her Substack, noting her go-to is a blend of white china and silver.

But if you're not the type to leave it in neutral, there are other unique kitchen color combinations to try out. Dark blue, when paired with gray and white, sets a calming vibe. Mocha and mauve, meanwhile, can give a space a warm feel. And for a look that's peaceful but still eye-catching, consider blending periwinkle and white.

Much like Garten's roast chicken recipe, some things are timeless. This is why, when she renovated the kitchen in her East Hampton home, she selected white marble countertops to pair with her black Lacanche range. "I love the look of marble — the movement and energy — but until recently, it was thought not to be ideal for kitchens because it's a porous material," she explained in the comments of a 2023 Instagram post. "However, the sealers have gotten good now, so it's a great choice for a countertop."

Count designer Nate Berkus among those begging you to stop being afraid of marble countertops as well. He finds any imperfections in the stone to be part of its charm, but you can also take steps to prevent such flaws. Among the common mistakes to avoid if you have marble countertops are using acidic cleaning products that can etch the surface. You'll also want to stay away from scrubbing pads for the same reason. And act quickly to wipe up any spills, particularly those of the acidic variety, like citrus, tomatoes, or red wine.

Among Garten's bright ideas for her work kitchen: swapping harsh overhead lighting for a set of table lamps she keeps on her expansive 25-foot island. Not only does the set — black bases with off-white empire shades — blend with the rest of her black and white decor, it provides a delightfully soft glow. As Garten put it to Food Network, "It really warms up the counter."

And many experts agree the best way to brighten up a dark kitchen is to layer on various light sources. As HGTV personality Mike Holmes explained on his website, Make It Right, "Different lighting sources will allow you to create functional and aesthetically pleasing space that suits today's busy kitchens." His ideal blend includes a mix of overhead lighting, accent pieces like sconces or Garten's preferred lamps to shed light on specific areas, and task lighting such as under-cabinet strips to illuminate the stove and sink.

Garten likes big crocks, and she cannot lie. The secret ingredient for displaying her collection of utensils is Farmhouse Pottery's artisanal Beehive crocks. She acknowledges that her strategy for keeping her most-used tools easily within reach could look messy, "But I have all the metal things in one jar, and I have all the white and wood things in another jar," she explained to House Beautiful in a 2009 video. "So, it looks neat. It looks orderly."

While she joked there aren't any hot pink spatulas in her stash, there are some occasional pops of color in the vintage kitchenware she loves showcasing in her kitchen. Garten's beloved stoneware is ideal for displaying pink garden roses and other blooms. Of course, they can hold pretty much anything from pantry staples to plants, herbs, or seasonal decor.

Sometimes bigger truly is better. At least that's the case when it comes to Garten's fridge. Among the tips she shared in her 2009 chat with House Beautiful was the importance of selecting a refrigerator that's "big enough so that when you put stuff away, you don't have to find it behind something else." And she's a pro when it comes to turning her fridge into a display piece, having run her Hamptons-based Barefoot Contessa store for 18 years until she sold it in 1996. Now, "I make sure it looks good," she acknowledged during a 2020 appearance on Domino's Design Time podcast. "But also, it's the best way to store something."

Her picture-perfect strategies include creating sections for her shelves — up top, dairy products are on one side; eggs on the other — and placing vegetables in a clear drawer. Anything that needs to be hydrated is stashed in a bag with a damp paper towel. For leftovers, she prefers to use deli containers in various sizes.

If you regularly find yourself with too much on your plate, so to speak, Garten has a suggestion. If it's within your budget, consider doubling up on one key appliance. "Two dishwashers certainly saves a lot of time," she noted to House Beautiful, "because you can do all the dishes at one time."

And, yes, she does mean all the dishes. When Garten shared a photo from inside her dishwasher on Instagram in 2020, she found herself facing a lot of queries about her strategy. Responding to a question about putting knives in the dishwasher, she said, "I do it many times a day and some of them are 40 years old!" Same goes with roasting pans and other pots. As Garten put it, "EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher!!"

Garten prefers a sink you can really, uh, sink some things into. And while a farmhouse style is certainly trendy, that's only half of the design picture. "A good deep sink is great," she explained to House Beautiful, "because you can put dishes in it and go have dinner and you're not looking at the sink of dishes." In other words, you don't have to worry about any dishes cluttering up your sleek aesthetic.

There are a few things to know before splurging on a farmhouse sink. As they tend to be both deeper and wider than traditional varieties, you may need custom cabinetry to fit them in. Those cupboards will also require extra support to hold up the extra weight of the larger sink. And though durable fireclay tends to be the most popular material, you can also find options in stainless steel, granite, quartz composite, copper, or stone.

When it comes to decorating her kitchen, Garten's line of thinking is very black and white. As in "Everything I have is white," the cookbook whiz acknowledged to House Beautiful. Along with the plentiful cabinets, "The Cuisinart, KitchenAid, everything is white," she continued. And this means that she can leave her most-used gadgets on display in a way that doesn't appear messy. "They all go together," Garten explained, "stainless steel and white."

And though all-white everything may feel a bit risky in a space that deals with grease and other splatter, there are ways to keep your white kitchen sparkling. A mix of one cup of vinegar, two cups of water, and one tablespoon of baking soda will keep cabinetry clean. Similarly, a blend of equal parts vinegar and water will tackle grimy counters. And for dirty grout, try a paste of equal parts baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

Garten doesn't do anything half-baked, and that includes organizing her pantry. "I have food on one side," she explained to NYT Cooking during a tour, "and I have equipment on the other side." After one big reorganization in April 2022, she showed off the results on Instagram, writing, "This year, I got clear plastic containers for all those messy chocolate chip and dried bean packages. It's easier to see what I already have when I'm making a grocery list!"

To keep things clear, Garten relies on bins like ClearSpace's storage bins. And that's just one of her top kitchen storage solutions. She fills her open shelving with her standard white plates ("My large serving bowls are Crate and Barrel brand, and my Pillivuyt and Apilco dishes are from Williams-Sonoma," she shared in her Ask Ina column) and her vast collection of cake stands. In her work kitchen, she uses a shelf above her range to keep sheet pans, timers, and other tools at the ready. And in her personal space, she uses that area to hang her pots from hooks. As for the pantry itself, "I have like-minded things together," she detailed on Domino's Design Time podcast. "All the oils and vinegars together, I have all of the sweet things like honey and Karo syrup and molasses, all of those are together, all of the pastas are together, the grains are together, chocolate and vanilla and things like that, and the baking supplies are together."

To let her creations take center stage, Garten likes to stay on neutral ground with her kitchen aesthetic. Farrow & Ball's Light Gray shade is her go-to for the walls because "I think it's a beautiful rich neutral that goes with anything," she explained in her Ask Ina column. And it certainly complements her white cabinets and black limestone countertops.

While soft peach and terracotta shades are taking over in 2026, experts swear that neutrals are still the kitchen paint colors that make your home look expensive. All-white kitchens, with their crisp, airy feel, remain timeless for a reason. To avoid a sterile doctor's office look, you'll want to work in some other accent colors. And for a slightly cozier vibe, consider painting your walls with a warm beige hue.

Another issue that Garten would like to bring to the table: the trick for a tablescape that's as appetizing as her culinary creations. "People think that in order to have a beautiful table setting, everything needs to match perfectly," she detailed in a March 2025 Instagram post. "I actually think it's much more interesting to mix things up — but you need to mix them up thoughtfully." To her, that means varying elements like linen patterns while ensuring that dishes, napkins, and centerpieces complement each other. "For this table, I chose a simple palette like blue, orange, and cream and I have lots of different glasses and napkins — even different chairs!" she detailed. "It all goes together and looks effortlessly chic!"

When whipping up fun tablescapes for every occasion, you'll want to start with a color scheme and an overall vibe. (Think: an "All That Glitters is Gold" theme for a New Year's dinner party or more boho chic for a casual garden party.) To keep it cohesive, you'll want to repeat shades and patterns, but otherwise get creative. And always give yourself time to play around so you're not scrambling as guests arrive.

To ensure the design of your kitchen is in tip-top shape, consider using the triangle layout. When Garten is setting up any cook space, "I think of setting the stove, the sink, and refrigerator in a triangle so you can move around really well," she explained during a 2020 appearance on "Today." In her own kitchens, she added, those major touchpoints are "really close together, but they also have a lot of workspace in between."

While the guideline is hardly a new rule, pioneered by an industrial psychologist in the 1920s, the layout trend is here to stay in 2026. The key is for each side of the triangle to be roughly 4 to 9 feet, with no major interruptions in between. And Garten prefers to have one point overlook her outdoor garden, sharing during her "Today" appearance, "I always like the sink to have a really nice view."

Garten wants to make sure everyone has a seat at her table. One of the most prized possessions she has in her East Hampton barn space is her 18th-century farmhouse-style Swedish trestle table. Sizable enough to double as her desk during the pandemic, the piece is "really long," she detailed to Veranda in a 2024 article. "It's, like, I don't know, 18 feet long or something." But while it makes a big statement with its heft, it's certainly not over the top. Noted Garten, "It's just a simple pine table."

Much like the rest of her space, the site of Garten's many dinner parties is delightfully understated. As such, it's the perfect backdrop for any table setting. And while Garten brought out the big guns for her East Hampton home, to find the perfect size dining table for your space, you'll want to consider how often you'll be hosting or if it will largely be used for smaller family suppers. And when measuring, make sure to add in a bit of breathing room. You'll want at least three feet of clearance on all sides of the table to allow for people to pull their chairs in and out or walk behind diners.