In many ways, the kitchen sets the tone for the rest of the house. This is, after all, a room that is used daily, and it is commonly a gathering point for people to spend time together, prepare their food, and either get ready for the day ahead or unwind from the day behind.
A kitchen remodeling project can be a great way to breathe new life into a home. Maybe you have lived in the house for many years and want to get it a fresh look and feel – or maybe you are just moving in and the kitchen is the first target on your to-do list. Whatever the case, understanding the latest trends in kitchen remodeling will help you take on this exciting project with confidence.
Below, we’ll dive into some of the best trends going on currently in kitchen remodeling, along with discussing some of the things that are just starting to gain popularity and are likely to be the next big trends. Let’s get started!
1) Minimalism is a Big Trend
Not only is minimalism a popular movement within kitchen remodeling, but it’s also popular throughout the rest of the home. What does minimal design entail? It starts with clean lines and sleek pieces that have fewer additional touches than what might have been seen years ago. Think about things like cabinets without handles, or shelves without doors to close them in. Also, in addition to the design of the components, minimalist design can also mean simply putting fewer things into a given space.
Part of the appeal of a minimalist design in the kitchen specifically is that it puts the focus on function. This is a space that you not only spend time in regularly, but actively use – whether it’s making breakfast in the morning before heading out the door or taking time on the weekend to cook a special meal for the family. The kitchen is used constantly, and a minimal design approach should make it approachable and highly functional.
One key to successfully executing a kitchen with a minimalist design is using high-quality materials and components. The focus is going to be largely on the materials you use when the space is left relatively uncluttered, so things like countertops and cabinets need to be ready to impress given the attention they are going to receive in the design. Where a cluttered, busy kitchen might be able to get away with some lower-end finishes without anyone really noticing, minimalism is all about only doing a few things, but doing them very well.
With a minimal design, you will also in some ways be committing to a certain style of life in the kitchen. Minimal design really doesn’t live up to its potential when the space is cluttered with stuff on the counters because there are too many things to put away properly. If you are going to embrace the concept of a trendy minimal design in your kitchen, do so fully and you’ll have something that you can be proud of for a long time to come.
2) The Kitchen Island is King
Adding an island to a kitchen design is not a new idea. Kitchen islands have been popular for years, especially in larger kitchens where there is plenty of floor space available to work with. What is a newer trend, however, is the shift toward making these islands as big as possible, and using them for more than just a bit of prep while you are cooking.
Many of the kitchen islands installed in homes today are intended to serve a variety of purposes. They often have functional cabinets holding them up in order to make ample additional storage available. Some include a cooktop or custom sink so they can play a bigger role in the cooking process. One side of the island might have an overhang, so it can provide bar-style seating for guests or for casual dining. It’s now common for the kitchen island to be seen as the heart of the space and it could be the first piece of the remodel design that comes together. Once a plan for the island is established, everything else can follow in line.
As was the case in the discussion on minimal design, materials again matter when talking about kitchen islands. The focus is going to immediately be on this part of the room when someone walks in for the first time, so the top of the island needs to make a statement. A quality stone top in a striking shade, or with some interesting visual details, will set the stage nicely for the rest of your kitchen décor choices.
3) Sustainability Goes Mainstream
With any luck, sustainability won’t be something that remains in the category of a “trend” for long, as trends are things that come and go over time. Hopefully, sustainability itself is sustainable, and people remain concerned with how their kitchen remodeling choices impact the world around them. The increasing concern over environmental matters can only mean good things for the planet and everyone can play a part when they make smart decisions regarding how to update their kitchen responsibly.
So, what does sustainability look like within the realm of a kitchen remodeling project? It starts with the materials that are used for the project. They should be sustainably sourced, at the very least, and it would be even better if they were recycled. Also, the appliances that are selected can play an important role, as they should be models that are designed to use minimal energy as they operate. Using LED lights is another good step in the right direction, as this type of lighting uses dramatically less energy than other options.
One thing about sustainability that sometimes goes overlooked is how it can save the homeowner money in the long run. Often, things that are seen as sustainable and eco-friendly are the same things that use less power than alternatives – and consuming less energy as you operate your home is a sure way to save money month after month. So, even if the primary motivation for going in a sustainable direction is to help the environment as much as possible, there is the nice additional benefit of uncovering some financial savings along the way. This is also important for consumers to remember if they are faced with slightly higher upfront prices to purchase some of the eco-friendly items like appliances – that money should be recovered, and then some, in the future as a result of lower energy bills.
4) Incorporating the Outdoors
It’s hard to want to spend time in a kitchen when it feels like it is closed in and broken off from the rest of the world. That means not only leaving the kitchen open to the rest of the house -such as the nearby living room or dining room – but also leaving it as open as possible to the outdoors. This is a great trend that is making kitchens more inviting and seeing them feel more incorporated into the rest of the layout and the property than in years past.
Large windows are the first and most obvious way to incorporate the outdoors into your kitchen remodel. With big windows in place, the kitchen will be flooded with natural light throughout the day and it will feel more welcoming than ever before. If large windows fit nicely into your overall design, you will love the light they provide each time you use the space.
However, there are some problems that can come up that make large windows less desirable. Specifically, if your kitchen is oriented such that large windows will be opening up right toward a neighbor’s home, such a design might not be appealing. Also, the more windows you add, the less wall space you have available for cabinets, so storage may need to be sacrificed.
To get around these issues, consider going with a skylight or two in the kitchen. This will solve the two problems discussed above while still bringing natural light in during the daytime hours. Modern, quality skylights are not prone to leaks as were previous generations of these features, so you can opt for this addition to your remodel with total confidence.
One other important point on the idea of bringing the outdoors into your kitchen is exploring design options that would connect the kitchen easily to an outdoor living space. Perhaps you could add large sliding doors that open up the patio to the kitchen so that everything is within just a few steps of each other. That would be a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors when the weather is good, and you can easily close things up as the conditions take a turn for the worse.
5) Embracing Smart Technology
Smart technology is at a point in its development and growth that it might not really be fair to call it a “trend” any longer. It’s already been adopted by countless people and smart components for the home and kitchen can be found everywhere. With that said, it’s still worthwhile to include it in this list because of just how much of a difference these tools can make when used as part of a kitchen renovation project.
One example of a great smart feature that can quickly upgrade a kitchen is a touchless faucet. Every home cook knows the feeling of needing to turn on the water only to find that their hands are messy – or even unsanitary, as is the case when working with raw meat. A touchless faucet enables the water to be turned on with just a wave of the hand, keeping everything nice and clean along the way. This is the kind of upgrade that can be made without even going for a whole kitchen remodel, but if you are getting started on this kind of project anyway, you might as well take the time to include all of the advanced features that you’d like to be able to use day after day.
Speaking of advanced features, look for smart tech as you shop for the new appliances that are going to fill up your kitchen. This is another popular trend that continues to grow as people learn just how much can be accomplished when a refrigerator or oven can connect wirelessly to their smartphone. Need to preheat the oven for dinner, or just want to check to make sure you turned it off before going up to bed? That’s no problem at all with a smart oven that can be managed remotely. Many people have already enjoyed this kind of functionality with their thermostats, and it can easily be brought into the kitchen, as well.
6) Complete Customization
In the past, some homeowners seemed to be a little hesitant to fully commit to customizing their kitchen as part of a remodeling project. Often, people thought more about the resale value of their home down the line than they thought about how they wanted the kitchen to work for their own needs at the current moment. Fortunately, there is now a move toward worrying less about those future concerns and focusing more on completely customizing the space to ideally suit the needs of those who are using it.
This can come to life in many different ways. For example, perhaps you and your family love quality coffee and have a collection of tools in your kitchen to make the perfect cup each morning. Part of your kitchen remodeling project could involve building a custom coffee bar that makes space for all of your gadgets along with basic supplies like beans and mugs. Or, you might be into collecting wine as a hobby, and you may want part of your kitchen to be able to show off some of your favorite bottles while also keeping them close at hand for when friends and family come over for the evening.
Of course, it’s easy to see how these customizations really won’t do anything to harm your future selling prospects, anyway. Things like a custom coffee bar or nice wine rack and fridge may not appeal to every single buyer, but they would be popular features that would still speak to plenty of home shoppers when the time comes to move. So, even by diving into a full customization project as part of the remodel that is going to leave your kitchen ideally suited for your needs, you will still have no trouble finding interested parties on the open market later on.
7) Making a Bold Design Statement
With the move toward minimalism in full swing, you might be picturing every newly renovated kitchen as a plain, somewhat boring space that only includes a few basic features. That’s not really what minimalist design is all about, however. Rather, a good minimal design will still be visually interesting, it will just be simple and focused, instead of busy and distracting.
One great example of this concept is using a bold, attention-grabbing backsplash to accent the rest of a new kitchen design. Most of the components in the kitchen may be white with clean lines, but the backsplash could break from that motif by featuring a bright color or unexpected angles. A patterned tile for the backsplash can quickly change a kitchen’s design from standard minimalism to something that is fun and modern while still being clean at the same time.
It’s not just backsplash tiles that can be used in this manner. Lighting can be designed to have a similar effect. These days, thanks to the popularity of LED lighting, it’s easy to play with different colors and intensities to create a lighting profile that brings a space to life. You can also establish a lighting system that allows you to easily adjust the setting of the lights based on things like the time of day or even the time of year. Since they can be adjusted so easily, lights are a great way to add a pop of personality and unique flavor to your kitchen design without committing to anything permanently.
In the End, It’s Up to You
Looking at trends – whether in kitchen remodeling or anything else – is a good way to find some ideas that you might not have come across otherwise. With that said, this is your kitchen at the end of the day, and you aren’t obligated to use all, or even any, of the trends that we’ve discussed above. Take all the time you need to go over various ideas for the design of your new kitchen, and the products you want to use in it, before you finalize your plan and move forward with the job.
We hope the discussion has at least helped get the creative wheels turning so you can decide what you want in your kitchen, what you don’t, and what your remodeling project is going to look like in the end. There are few jobs in an existing home more exciting than renovating the kitchen, and you just might feel like you live in a whole new place when all is said and done. Good luck!
