Today’s post runs through several modern kitchen design ideas for all you renovators out there! The key to a successfully designed kitchen is to make your main focus the practicality of the space itself before turning your attention to the aesthetics of the design; this will ensure your kitchen is always a joy to work in as well as being a joy to look at.
Timber Features
No one can deny the timeless appeal of timber in the home. The trends in terms of shades, species and stains may change over the years but at the end of the day, timber has long been a standout feature in homes over the years. In recent times, we’ve seen a huge rise in popularity of timber cabinetry, especially laid with a horizontal grain as opposed to the grain running vertically on the face of the cabinets. It is worth noting that some cabinet makers may charge a little extra for a horizontal grain running across a few cabinets as there is a little more labour time involved in matching up each panel.
This beautiful example above uses timber as a benchtop finish, a splashback and matching overhead cabinets, surrounded by contrasting smooth black cabinetry for a very modern look.
Statement Lighting in a Modern Kitchen
Feature lighting in the kitchen is not only a functional element, but also provides a beautiful fashion statement. Contemporary horizontal bar type lights as shown above have been extremely popular in modern kitchen designs and are especially effective when installed over an island bench.
Pendant lights, as seen in many of the examples featured in this post, make for a very timeless aesthetic while also providing crucial task lighting over your kitchen island. Similar to a kitchen splashback, kitchen pendant lights can easily be changed over for something new later on down the track, so this is another area that allows for a little more creativity as opposed to your cabinetry or benchtop selection.
Feature Kitchen Splashbacks
When planning a kitchen renovation, it can be extremely tempting to go wild with your colour choices; after all, we most definitely are spoiled for choice these days! With so many colour and material options available, it can be a little overwhelming. I find that a kitchen splashback offers the best canvas for getting creative as this is an element that can be swapped out with a lot less fuss than say, your cabinetry or benchtops. Use your splashback as your creative outlet while keeping your cabinetry and benchtop colour selections neutral and timeless; when the trends change or when you’re a just plain over your splashback choice, you can easily mix it up later on down the track.
Some exciting feature splashback options to consider include:
- Feature tiles: Offering truly endless possibilities, a feature tiled splashback offers you the freedom to select from an enormous range of colours, textures, patterns, sizes and materials.
- Mirror or Glass: Colourbacked glass has long been favourable in the kitchen as a splashback choice; other similar options include a silver or tinted mirror splashback, a glass splashback with a custom printed image on the back, or take your splashback to the next level with a long window running the length of your benchtop.
- Pressed Tin Panels: Pressed tin panels inject your kitchen design with a bit of old world charm. There are heaps of delightful patterns to select from, with colour options ranging from a standard metallic finish, to copper tones or a painted, matte finish.
- Stone: Stone splashbacks offer a smooth surface with minimal grout or join lines to worry about keeping clean. You can opt for matching your stone benchtop or contrast it altogether for a dramatic look in your modern kitchen design.
- Timber: Although not quite as common as other options on this list, a timber splashback will often look best when paired with a matching benchtop and adds a stunning charm and character to any modern kitchen.
- Porcelain: Similar to a stone splashback, a porcelain splashback will also provide a very low maintenance option. This is a wonderful solution for a gas cooktop surround; if you have no other choice but to install a gas cooktop closer to your splashback than as outlined in Australian Standards (a gas cooktop must be installed a with a minimum distance of 200mm between the heat source and any combustible vertical surface) then a porcelain splashback is the best option. Porcelian tiles are excellent too, but a porcelain sheet also offers the added bonus of a low maintenance option with no grout lines.
- Acrylic Panels: A more cost effective alternative to a glass splashback, an acrylic panel splashback offers a great low maintenance choice and is available in an assortment of colours to suit any modern kitchen design.
Integrated Appliances in a Modern Kitchen
By keeping your appliance face concealed behind cabinetry, the design is much more streamlined with uninterrupted cabinet faces: an especially ideal solution for a smaller contemporary kitchen design where you are wanting to create the illusion of added length.
When selecting your appliances, it is important to consider that there will be a slight added cost when opting for an integrated option. Your cabinetry will have to be custom designed to suit the new appliance and your cabinet maker will of course, have to pay close attention to adhering to the manufacturer’s requirements in terms of sufficient ventilation and other installation considerations to ensure safe installation of the appliance as well as ensuring your product is actually covered in your warranty.
Stone & Concrete Benchtops
Stone and concrete benchtops continue to be a favourite option in the world of kitchen design, and with very good reason. These benchtops offer a sturdy and reliable solution that is hard wearing enough for a high traffic home kitchen. Engineered stone manufacturers such as Caesarstone have been hard at work creating beautifully tactile finishes that mimic both natural stone and concrete looks to fit in with any timeless kitchen design, and the best part is, you’ll achieve the look of a natural stone benchtop at a fraction of the cost and without all the pesky maintenance that comes with it!
Need a hand figuring out which benchtop material is best for your home? Have a look at our Ultimate Benchtop Buyer’s Guide!
Sleek Cabinetry
Dubai interior designers offer a highly sophisticated and luxurious approach to residential design, taking advantage of the latest and greatest in technology and of course, style! The above design by Dubai’s Kitchens & Beyond is a perfect example; this design uses sleek, bold lines in the cabinetry design to make a modern yet timeless statement.
An especially standout feature in this example is the handle-less design; this design element further adds to this super sleek, on trend kitchen style and creates a smooth, clean finish.
Modern Kitchen Storage Accessories
An absolute MUST in every contemporary kitchen is well organised and highly accessible storage. Hafele offers a variety of solutions to address the issue of kitchen storage being difficult to access: Their range includes incredible corner storage pieces that make use of every nook and cranny with minimal wasted space, pull out shelving for pantries and base cabinets, pull out spice racks, bins, towel rails and much more. Hafele has successfully managed to cover just about every base in the kitchen with incredible, quality solutions that will help you maximise any available storage space and make the most of your new kitchen.
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A new kitchen is a worthwhile investment into your home – Keeping the style timeless and spending a little extra time in ensuring you’ve made the very best possible use of the space is crucial to ensuring you are pleased with the design for many years to come!
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