Designing a kitchen can be difficult. The kitchen serves a particular purpose and that should be the main point of its design. However, it’s also a part of your home where you spend the most time and it should fit in with the aesthetic of your home.

Deciding on the design is also complicated because you need to stay on top of trends and keep your home modern-looking, but still, have in mind that kitchens aren’t remodeled that often and trends change.

Words: Diana Smith

No more granite
There used to be a time when granite was the most sought-after material out there. It has a certain elegance and grandeur to it and it works well with other materials usually found in the kitchen. However, it has become a bit boring and predictable and other materials are taking its place.

There are a lot of alternatives to try but quartz is usually the most popular option. It has a lot of the same qualities as granite, but it costs much less and it’s easier to mold and cut based on your needs.

Open kitchens
Open floor homes are becoming increasingly popular. The trend has come from the office architecture, but it has easily found its place in homes because it’s a great way to use the most of your property and have a more open lifestyle. When it comes to kitchens, it’s enough for it to be connected to the dining room.

In these kinds of kitchens, the island becomes the main part of the design and that’s where most of the action happens. That means that you need to make it functional and usable regardless of which side you approach it from.

Appliances
Appliances should be chosen with great care. They are the most important tools in the kitchen and it’s always useful to remember that they should be chosen based on your needs but also on what you want your kitchen to look like.

It’s also a decision that affects how much electricity you’re spending and therefore wasting. Modern kitchens need to be eco-friendly and save money as well. The most significant part of this is probably the dishwasher because they spend the most water and the most electricity. Washers like those from Electrolux could end up cutting your utility bills significantly in the long run.

Two-color kitchens
There used to be two main ways to go when it came to choosing the color of the kitchen. Kitchens were either in one single color or eclectic in design. Both have its advantages – the first allows you to easily choose the appliances and the second means that you don’t have to worry about it at all.

However, there is another popular option. In order to keep the kitchen stylish but still simple, you should consider going with two colors. This works best if the colors present a contrast to one another – for instance, black and yellow kitchens look interesting and smooth at the same time.

Wood
Wood may seem like an old-fashioned material, but it still looks great in kitchens and it comes back every few years. It’s easy to maintain and it looks good in any setting regardless of how modern the rest of your kitchen is.

Dark tones look good with all types of wood and it’s easy to complement them with modern elements such as brass or even glass. It limits your options when it comes to décor a bit, but there are still ways to make a kitchen look open and modern in this setting.

Kitchen designs tend to change pretty fast. Have in mind that, when you’re deciding on a design, you need to choose the kitchen you plan to use for years.