Modern Kitchen Design Trends

MODERN KITCHEN DESIGN TRENDS

A kitchen is no longer just a kitchen; it’s a place for entertaining, for bringing the family together and a place of design. No longer are they a place to cook food and hide the dirty dishes, but a place to express yourself, with a sleek marriage of design and function.

Modern doesn’t mean a kitchen has to look like something out of a futuristic movie, it means the ability to apply technology to make something smart and usable, whether it be through smart appliances, new modern materials or just clever design features. A kitchen design is only limited by your imagination.

Modern Appliance Design

One of the most revolutionary ways in which we see the transformation of kitchens, is through the modernisation of appliances. A stove used to be a place of greasy cooking hobs, leaving a large part of the kitchen unusable, but now its become a blended and sometimes hidden bench top. A sink has moved on from dishes and is now a water feature, a cooler bin for entertaining or a design piece. With bespoke faucets and feature fountains, they can now form the centrepiece of your kitchen island.

Appliances can now be designed around your kitchen, not the kitchen around them. Once upon a time, you had a one size fits all fridge and stove. Many of us still have the classic four burner stovetop with oven below, but now you are not restrained to this alone. If it’s a simple clean surface you are looking for but the response of gas cooking, look no further than an induction stove. Instant heat with an elegant glass top which can work into any kitchen as well as double as a benchtop when not in use. If you are more into your classic style of cooking, the old gas hob has come a long way. The marriage of design and function has brought an appliance that can bring your cooking into the centre of any kitchen.

The change in kitchen appliances is not only seen in function, but form as well. Gone are the days of matching silver toasters and kettles trying to blend in, but colourful and design oriented appliances. Now they are a feature to be celebrated from a bright red fridge to a green toaster. Not only do these appliances look good, sometimes they are even smarter than you! With the development of smart appliances, now our fridge can tell us when we are running out of something and even order it for us.

Smart Appliances

The new Samsung Family Hub refrigerator is like having a giant smart phone inside your fridge that does all of the above and more, letting you watch TV or connect to your spotify and listen to music while you cook.

The morning struggle is elevated with our coffee machine starting on its own and having your favourite beverage ready and waiting for you.  Even those surprise rotten eggs are a thing of the past, with gadgets designed to monitor the quality of your eggs. With more and more appliances designed around time saving, it leaves more time to enjoy life, and maybe that extra cup of coffee.

Sexy Splashbacks

Not only are appliances becoming a feature item, we also see the reinvention of the splash back. Its function is far from glamorous, but this year we are seeing them become a feature in the kitchen. From single piece stone features to full feature walls, the old splash back is making a come back.

Marble has always been a timeless classic but it has seen a marked increase in popularity this year. Traditionally used for bench tops, marble has found its way into the world of splashbacks, and why not? It’s stunning natural tones work with just about any kitchen. Matching your splashback can also keep the colour pallet to a minimum. Too often we see an overly busy looking kitchen that seems to have been just thrown together, but tying in a splash back with another aspect of your kitchen (like the benchtop), can change the whole dynamic. An elegant solution for a usually overlooked aspect of the kitchen.

Black Is Back

Bright colours may have found their way into appliances, but one of the biggest trends of 2019 is the “black is back” look. White has its timeless look of course, but how can you compete with the clean elegant lines of a sleek black kitchen? Its modern, it’s simple and can work with any space. Emerging from its heyday in the eighties, black offers that edge to kitchens devoid of colour and elegance to a space that no other shade can. But black isn’t for everyone, if black is too strong for your space, maybe look at some of this seasons softer tones.

Along with black, we are seeing a whole range of darker pallet colours making an appearance, from dark blue to forest green, giving your kitchen a slightly softer feel. Dark cabinets can turn a kitchen into an elegant entertainment space in a way you can’t achieve with their light coloured counterparts.

Rustic Wood

Bringing a touch of modern to the classic black look is the introduction of rustic wood. The marriage of old and new materials gives any kitchen an ultra modern feel, as well as a unique one. Everyone loves the look of wood but the reality is, it’s not always the most practical kitchen material. Now people are finding ways to include wood, such as bespoke larders or feature walls, but not impose on the clean lines of modern kitchens.

There is a growing trend of bespoke minimalist kitchens with a strong focus on sustainability so it’s no surprise we are seeing natural materials making an appearance. Upcycled rustic wood has character that can only be achieved by years of wear and tear, making every piece a unique one.

Even new timbers are a great natural product, with each piece being entirely unique, and when sourced sustainably, are an environmentally friendly building material. You will forever have a unique touch to your kitchen that looks and feels good. Such a versatile building material means the world is your oyster when it comes to building pantries, larders or spectacular feature walls.

Clever Storage

Aligning with the minimalist trend is the removal of overhead cabinets in favour of creative storage designs and pantries. Clever storage designs have meant that we no longer look for bulk storage spaces, but more smart storage. Clever designs that conceal all your kitchen items in practical and efficient storage spaces.

Overhead cabinets can give kitchens a boxed in feel and close you off if you’re using it as a multipurpose room. Combine open headspace with a single level, multipurpose kitchen island and you create the perfect entertainment space. With the help of kitchen design experts, storage and functionality can be tailored around your exact everyday needs in a kitchen. It’s important to remember, kitchens can be designed around you, you do not have to buy something off a shelf and make it fit into your home.

Bringing The Outside In

Worried about not having enough room to create the perfect entertainment space? Well then this latest trend is designed for you. Combining the outdoors with your kitchen.

With so much attention surrounding sustainability and natural spaces, people are looking at combining outdoor entertainment spaces with their kitchens. This can be as simple as a glass door into a patio or the ability to open the kitchen directly into the garden. This can give the smallest of kitchens an open and welcoming feel as well as a functional entertainment area.

Not only does opening up your kitchen to the outdoors look good, it can help with the quality of living. Cooking on hot days means opening up the kitchen and letting in air, or using glass to let in the winter sun to warm the space and by adding plants to a living space, you are improving air quality in your whole home. Summer cooking in a small stuffy space is certainly a thing of the past!

Ceramic Flooring

Sometimes the most overlooked part of the kitchen, but certainly a very impacting aspect, is the floor. This can tie in a kitchen with the rest of your house or make it look like an obscure ad on.

Timber floors, although still a desirable thing, are moving over for the use of ceramics. Lighter tiles can give that dark kitchen the light you are looking for as well as being neutral enough to tie in with almost any room.

If blending isn’t your thing, then you can take on the retro trend that is working its way back into kitchens. Moss green and coffee browns creating amazing 70’s patterns is enough to make any kitchen a stand out feature.

Not only do ceramics look amazing, they perform well too. Less porous than their stone counterparts means much less staining and their hardened finish means they will probably outlast your home. With modern materials and firing techniques, they are also resistant to cracking and have an easy clean surface. Whether it’s blending or standing out, it’s clear that the old ceramics are making their way back into our lives, and why shouldn’t they? With their outstanding variety and functionality, they are a winner in every home.

The underlying theme this year has certainly been technology and environment. When you think technology, you don’t think environment, but this is exactly what it means in modern times and especially in kitchens. We have the ability to apply new technology to everyday aspects of our lives, making things more sustainable, more efficient and most importantly, look amazing!