Your kitchen is often the space where the most activity occurs, from cooking and cleaning to entertaining guests and even working. But that doesn’t mean it has to be functional and nothing else. A well-designed kitchen can breathe new life to an entire home, bringing excitement to all those who enter.
If you’re considering redoing your kitchen and are trying to decide how extensively you want to edit your kitchen, you’ll want to know what it means to remodel or renovate your kitchen.
Kitchen remodeling is the practice of changing the structure of an existing kitchen. It goes beyond just repainting a wall or changing a few light fittings and is an intensive and more costly process. By taking on a project that transforms your kitchen’s layout structure and style, you’re remodeling it. You are changing the kitchen’s look and layout, rather than modernizing or tweaking it.
Before you embark on the journey of revamping your kitchen, it’s important to know the difference between remodeling and renovating.
When renovating a room, it goes through a minor transformation. A remodel essentially starts from scratch.
A kitchen renovation is far less complicated than remodeling and may be possible for some non-professionals to do themselves. It consists of things like painting walls, replacing tiles, and upgrading hardware.
Remodeling a kitchen is much more involved and may require the help of kitchen designers, architects, painters, electricians, plumbers, and contractors. Remodeling takes time and expertise, and it is not something you should try to execute yourself if you’re not experienced!
Remodeling changes a room’s whole structure, whereas renovation is much lighter work that you can do on a more ad-hoc basis or whenever you can afford it. Both options can rejuvenate your kitchen in various ways, depending on your timescale, design know-how, and budget.
With the world’s population spending more and more time at home, people are opting for a remodeling solution that opens up a space. We all want to feel like we can stretch out and relax in our homes, and knocking down a wall is a great way to do this. Combining rooms is not a new concept, but it does tie in with recent open plan kitchen/dining/living room design trends, especially in urban apartments.
It’s unlikely that white kitchens will ever go out of style – they’re sleek, modern, and timeless. They can brighten up an otherwise dark home and give a light, airy feel to the kitchen and adjoining rooms. While white will likely always be in, the style of your cabinets and what you pair your white kitchen with, does change. This year’s fashionable accouterments include things like plants, reclaimed materials, hanging artwork, kitchen islands, and pops of color through cabinets and appliances.
Islands will always be a kitchen trend; they increase storage prep space and give a kitchen depth and character. A new development on the kitchen island trend is multi-level islands, which offer additional countertop space that is versatile and modern.
One of the biggest trends for 2021 is the painted kitchen. While the obvious paint choice is typically white or cream, a painted wall provides a modern take. The most popular kitchen paint colors in 2020 have been taupe, slate grey, and charcoal. A painted wall alongside authentic raw materials such as concrete, marble, and wood can be effective and eye-catching.
While popular paint colors are subdued and subtle, green walls will become hugely popular this year. And we’re not talking about the avocado walls of the 1970’s, we’re talking sage, seafoam green, and forest green. This rich darkness offers a welcome contrast from white cabinets and marble countertops.
You’ve heard of open plan design, but have you heard of broken plan design? This genius style maintains the open-air element of open plan design but uses screens, cabinets, freestanding furniture, dividers, and house plants to create distinct zones for cooking, relaxing, and entertaining. Broken plan design further opens up a one-story home while creating cohesion within the overall design.
Concealed storage is another kitchen trend for 2021. The kitchen is a space where we store jars, boxes, crockery, cutlery, pots, and pans, but we might not necessarily want it all to be on show. A trend known as hide-and-seek storage has recently emerged, and designers achieve this look through custom storage elements. Built-in appliances, pull-out larders, multi-purpose kitchen islands with bespoke seating, and pop-up shelves are all ways of storing things neatly and avoiding the dreaded kitchen clutter.
Monochrome cabinets have stood the test of time and never seem to go out of fashion. Monochromatic kitchen color schemes bring forth a sleek design, complementing both modern minimalist kitchens and traditional styles. Black, white and gray cabinets also provide an opportunity to create a pop of color elsewhere in the kitchen.
Matte and textured finishes have also been popular for kitchen cabinets this year. With a little shine coming from metal items in the kitchen, the matte texture offers an unusual yet satisfying visual experience.
1. Quartz countertops: This stunning alternative to a marble countertop has proven to be popular over the last few years. Quartz countertops are durable, easy to care for, and still offer a high-class, upscale look.
2. Contrasting cabinetry: Our eyes are drawn to polarity and contrast, which is why contrasting colors will always be popular in kitchen design. Add drama and sleekness to your kitchen by installing dark countertops juxtaposed with white cabinets or vice versa.
3. Use a warm color palette: Warmer colors are making a comeback this year as we crave a comfortable, cozy, and inviting atmosphere. Tones like rich brown, burgundy, mustard, and forest green fit the bill of a warm and enticing hue. For a further warming feel, install small lights with warm tones all around the room.
4. Go the energy-efficient route: Over the last few years, our attention has shifted towards a more sustainable way of designing our homes. This small change could mean doing a little research into the most energy-efficient light bulbs. It could mean sourcing materials that will last a long time, rather than wearing out quickly and eventually ending up in a landfill.
You can also install energy-efficient windows to seal your kitchen and maintain a more consistent temperature, or hot water taps as an energy- and space-saving solution to an overfilled kettle.
5. Place reclaimed wood around your kitchen for a cozy, rustic feel. This idea also ties in with the previous point about sustainability and reusing materials. You can use reclaimed wood for tables, chairs, paneling, and decor for a cozy, warm, and environmentally friendly option. Plus, if you can get a carpenter to build you some furniture from scratch, you’ll have a one-off piece of furniture in a kitchen that is entirely unique to your taste.
6. Support local businesses when sourcing your materials: Your custom means a lot more to them than large corporations, especially during a time when businesses may be struggling. Check out your local antique furniture store for accouterments or visit an independent plant shop for a splash of green in your kitchen. Independent furniture shops may charge a little more than IKEA or Ashley HomeStore, but their products are often longer-lasting and sometimes handmade.
7. Mix of textures and materials: Who said your kitchen has to be entirely marble or painted exclusively one color? Mix it up with a woven light fixture, mismatched (but still cohesive!) patterns, or multiple raw materials to give your kitchen more personality. Metal, wood, and stone all work well with one another, while offering different textures.
8. Use unique lighting choices: Lighting can serve as a functional element of a room, or it can add a brand new “feel” to a room. Add spotlights to bring attention to your favorite parts of the kitchen, or opt for a color-changing lightbulb to alter the mood depending on the time of day.
9. Add a kitchen hood as your centerpiece: Contemporary kitchen hoods shouldn’t just be functional; cylindrical hoods can bring a fascinating, industrial element to a modern kitchen.
10. Make your backsplash a feature of your kitchen: Your backsplash is something that can be easily seen from all angles in your kitchen, as well as being one of the things that will stand out as you approach. Don’t be afraid to go all-out here. Choose a decorative tile, stainless steel, glass, and don’t be afraid to choose a contrasting color to your cabinets.
The trends for 2021 seem to echo our collective experience and evoke what we currently crave. Our attention has turned towards minimalism, natural tones, and ethical consumerism as opposed to busy maximalist design and all-expensive materials.
Green kitchens emulate nature, cleanliness, and familiarity, reclaimed materials offer a sustainable and forest-like environment, and contrasting colors make for an engaging and exciting look. We want our kitchens to embody a perfect balance of functionality and comfort, practicality and warmth, sleekness, and timelessness. As with any other room of the home, kitchen interior design is all about balance and just the right amount of contrast.
If you’re thinking about starting a kitchen remodel, it can be daunting to think about all your options, not to mention the high sticker price. If you’re looking for an easy way to get your dream kitchen (even if you’re not quite sure what that is yet!) and save as much as 40% on what your local contractor would charge, you’ll love Skipp. Our easy 4-step process will take you from your lackluster kitchen to one of your dreams! Click here to find out more.
