When planning a new kitchen design, what matters most? Before you hire a remodeler or interior designer, consider what you need from your kitchen. How do you use the space each day? Who cooks the most often in your family? Have you ever considered contemporary kitchen design trends to increase your home’s resale value?
Our kitchen designers share popular design ideas below to give you inspiration to transform your space. Learn more about how to renew your kitchen and turn it into a place to be in your home.
Outdated Kitchen? Upgrade to a Modern Design
Pennsylvania tends to have older homes with older kitchens. If your kitchen needs major updates, consider modern finishes like matte colors, suede Silestone countertops, and flat cabinet faces to complement new smart kitchen features.
Smart kitchens offer several technological upgrades, such as automated coffee makers, timed light settings, voice controls, and recipe assistance using built-in cutting boards and scales for ingredients. You can also add charging stations, hidden outlets with USB plugs, and smart speakers.
To make the most of a modern kitchen design, you need an efficient kitchen layout that optimizes workspaces to keep counters free from clutter while you work. You also need adjustable lighting that doesn’t detract from the space and under-cabinet lighting to brighten the space against darker modern colors.
Small Kitchen? Choose an Open Plan
If you have a small kitchen, creating open spaces is essential to making it appear larger. Convert upper cabinets to open shelving and use lighter, brighter colors. Adding mirrored surfaces can reflect light and make your kitchen appear larger. Consider adding a mirror to a section of the wall or using mirrored subway tiles on part of your backsplash.
Natural lighting can also make a small kitchen appear larger. If you’re planning an extensive kitchen design remodel, consider adding more windows, a skylight, or artificial daylighting with LED lights and light filters. You can also change the floor plan to be more spacious, like converting a galley kitchen to a long wall of upper and lower cabinets with a kitchen island.
White Kitchen? Add Contrasting Colors
White kitchens were one of the biggest kitchen design trends of the last two decades. However, many homeowners now find all-white kitchens to be sterile and boring. Adding more colors to contrast with any white you want to keep can balance the look and your budget during your kitchen renovation.
For example, if you have all-white cabinets with a white marble countertop, you might consider painting just your lower cabinets a darker color and changing the countertop on your kitchen island to natural wood butcher block for contrast. You can also leave your upper cabinets white but change the hardware to something more interesting.
Another option is to get colored appliances to replace stainless steel. Many appliances come in pastels, jewel tones, and traditional white or black. Some interior designers even wrap refrigerators and other appliances in colorful vinyl contact paper to add a pop of color without replacing the appliance.
Consider replacing the backsplash. If you have all-white subway tile over white marble countertops (or another light-colored counter material), there’s no contrast. Add a patterned tile if you’re going to paint the upper cabinets, or a solid-colored tile if you want to leave your upper cabinets white.
Boring Kitchen? Add Texture With Mixed Materials
Modern kitchen design often combines several different textures, including bamboo, natural stone countertops, wood grains, brushed metals, natural fibers, wireframes, glass, and more. Combining different textures adds depth and character to a kitchen in a way that using the same materials throughout couldn’t.
For example, with solid-colored glazed tile, you could install stained wood open shelving and a copper range hood with bronze-colored cabinet hardware. Balance the look with a manufactured quartz countertop in a fun color like rose, blue, black, green, or nearly any other color you can imagine.
If you want to upgrade to a smart kitchen with built-in interfaces and additional smart devices, you don’t have to show them off. By mixing materials, you can hide extra plugs and devices in plain sight.
Call Hunter Kitchen & Bath Today for Your In-Home Consultation in Southeastern Pennsylvania
No matter what kitchen design you prefer, our experienced designers at Hunter Kitchen & Bath can help you realize your dream kitchen remodel. Based in Bryn Mawr, PA, we proudly serve the greater Philadelphia metro area. Call us today at 484-872-8801 or fill out our online form to schedule your free one-hour in-home consultation.