Kitchen Design Ideas
What makes a dream kitchen a dream kitchen? Is it high quality kitchen cabinets or open shelving? Perhaps a lot of natural light shining onto a natural stone countertop. Or perhaps an interior designer suggests some amazing statement piece like a custom hood or unique pendant lights that hang over new countertops. Inspiration is everywhere the question is what inspires you?
Each year interior design changes and shows us the best way to design our dream kitchen and some of us will be inspired enough to start their kitchen renovation project by making their first design choice. 2021 has no shortage of ideas some of them are new, some of them are different takes on current kitchen ideas and some of the kitchen remodel ideas will have been on every list going back a decade.
Let’s look into the latest kitchen remodel trends to see which ideas will continue to sizzle way past 2021 and what popular kitchen trends will fizzle.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Layout
The first thing one must consider in a kitchen remodel is the layout. If you have a contemporary kitchen or a galley kitchen the kitchen style doesn’t matter all kitchens share the concept of a layout.
It’s one of the most critical components because it helps to determine the extent of the remodel how much open space there will be, where the kitchen appliances will be and the overall floor plan. Is your kitchen too small and you wish to open it up or integrate it with adjacent rooms?
Do you have enough cooking, preparation and storage space, or is it time to expand with extra storage space? Do you want to make your kitchen into a more multi-purpose room of a space to entertain with an amazing focal point? All of these kitchen design ideas, and more, will factor into your consideration of the layout and create the new look for your old kitchen.
What is The Kitchen Triangle
One of those kitchen design ideas that has been on just about every list is the concept of the kitchen triangle. It is one of the foundational points of designing a kitchen. What does change is how that principle is applied to some of the newer and best ideas as they make their debut.
The traditional triangle components, the sink, range and refrigerator were used by one person and a goal in kitchen design was to avoid disruptions to the flow. Design trends have changed and the space typically given to the kitchen has dramatically increased such that the original need for that efficiency in a what once was a small space is no longer needed.
The new idea is to not to completely ignore the triangle concept but to stretch it to fit your space with a unique design that reimagines what once would be considered unworkable.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Islands
Kitchen islands continue to generate appeal among kitchen remodel ideas given their adaptability. For some, a kitchen island expands the functionality for a larger kitchen, particularly if you have multiple people preparing food at once or if you like to regularly host events.
A kitchen island can accommodate another cooking area, another sink or have additional custom cabinets for storage. Many enjoy having an island as an in kitchen seating area that is more integrated and aesthetically compatible with the overall kitchen layout than a table might be.
Kitchen islands come in a range of sizes to accommodate your desires and, given space and preferences, you can even choose to install a double island, with one island serving as extended preparation or storage and the other used primarily for extra seating, giving you the best of both options.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Peninsulas
Another great kitchen remodel idea that continues the geography theme is to add a peninsula to your kitchen. The peninsula is essentially a connected island that is connected to the main counter space and can be attached at either end or even in the middle.
Peninsulas are great ideas for those who wish to have extended counter space but who lack the floor space to accommodate a free-standing island. Peninsulas offer many of the same functionalities with regard to expanded storage, sink and even range space.
Most often, peninsulas are simply extended counter space to accommodate further above-counter storage or an extended food preparation area. Many peninsulas also provide a “bar” effect that allows at-counter seating. Peninsulas are advantageous given their greater proximity to the main counter space, which provides greater ease in coordinating food preparation.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Corner Sink
Shifting a sink to the corner offers a variety of advantages. First, it provides more continuous counter space, making food preparation and above-counter storage much easier. Second, shifting a counter to the corner of a kitchen helps to make the aftermath of meals, namely dirty dishes, more discreet.
Corner sinks can be integrated into islands and, despite the suggestion of the aesthetic interruption, can accommodate a variety of modern sink styles and hardware to make the most out of this mostly functional part of the kitchen.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Small Kitchens
Small kitchen owners, have hope: size isn’t everything! Although islands may be the rage, a tasteful, functional and fluid kitchen is accessible regardless of the square footage. A simple fix to upgrading a small kitchen is to use the most recent, and more efficient, appliances and sink fixtures.
Similarly, switching out cabinets and countertops can help to create a more refined look; you can also use floating shelves to diversify the storage and presentation options. Less intrusive remodels can install pull-out storage to expand storage without increasing square footage or to extend the counter or add a small peninsula for increased storage space.
If you’re really up for redefining a smaller kitchen, adding a passthrough between the kitchen and the dining room or removing a wall will allow greater space and accessibility between rooms and may allow for further additions, such as an island.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Specialty Areas
One of the great things about kitchens is that they can be personalized to fit your tastes and accommodate a variety of uses depending on how you like to use your kitchen.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Coffee Nooks
You may be like many and need to start the day with a cup of joe. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a part of your kitchen reserved just for coffee preparation so that you don’t have to have your coffee maker compete with your other appliances?
A coffee nook or coffee bar can be built in continuously with your main counter space as an extension of the counter tucked under some cabinetry or built into the wall. You can also have a coffee counter built in opposite to or discontinuous with the rest of your counter that can feature additional cabinetry below.
The easiest option that many choose is to include additional cabinetry or a table not built into the counter or the kitchen where you can put your coffee making equipment; this is another great function that an island can provide.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Butler’s Pantry
If you have the space and need the storage, a butler’s pantry is a great idea to expand your kitchen’s capacities. Pantries generally feature extra cabinetry or shelving, but modern designs also incorporate the main refrigerator, or an extra refrigerator, as well as additional wash areas or even cooking areas.
Quite often, pantries are designed as rooms adjacent to the main kitchen but disconnected from the dining room area; in some instances, pantries can serve as modified galley kitchens at one of the kitchen. Pantries can also include additional seating and, depending on the configuration of your home, can include increased window or door access that connects with an outdoor area.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Wet Bar
If you do a lot of hosting or just like the vibe that a bar exudes, including a wet bar into your kitchen remodel is a great way to spice things up. Wet bars can range from more modern islands that include base cabinets and even extra range space beneath a countertop to the more traditional bar table with raised seats.
Wet bars can incorporate the distinct wine racks you might find at an upscale establishment or have floating shelves along the wall. Generally, wet bars are distinct counter areas in themselves and take the form of an island opposite of the main counter space or a peninsula that juts off of the main counter.
If your kitchen is spacious enough, you can even include a wet bar at an opposite side of the kitchen from the main counter area and include wine coolers and specialized refrigerators to keep your beverages at the optimal temperature.
 Kitchen Design Ideas: Colorful White Kitchens
The white kitchen is always going to be on trend and a popular choice. One way to add some creativity to a plain white space is to feature a pop color or a different texture. This can be accomplished by having different color for either your upper or base cabinets or you can add the color by switching up the color of your island whilst maintaining the classic white on the perimeter.
The white helps to lend a bright, clean and modern look to any kitchen and the addition of a pop of color helps to personalize and make the space unique to you and your family.
Don’t feel confined to color as your only way to add some variety, texture and wood grain is also a great way to introduce some personalization into you white kitchen. There are a variety of materials and styles available, for cabinets and all kitchen components.
Whether you’re looking for a monochromatic theme, two-tones or a unique painting, tile or wallpaper design, kitchens make great canvases to showcase your unique style.
Kitchen Design Ideas: Older Homes
Older homes often provide the biggest WOW factor in the before and after pictures. There’s nothing quite like taking a 1980’s kitchen and turning it into a magazine quality gem. But the age of the home can create its own challenges in that you’re not only dealing with simple fixes like color, cabinets or appliances, but structural things like low ceilings, highly compartmentalized rooms and lots of walls.
Older homes will benefit from a healthy renovation budget that allows for the transformative impact of removing walls or raising ceilings, but not everyone is fortunate to have the budget they need to achieve the vision they may have.
Older homes will require creativity and ingenuity to unleash their full potential and there may be ways to achieve 80% of the result with only 20% of the effort. Thinking of things like only taking down half the wall, installing more lighting or removing empty soffits.
Ultimately it comes down to priority if your budget doesn’t allow for everything and you may make the choice to remove walls & soffits at the expense of new cabinets settling for refacing or painting the existing cabinets.
If you’re like many, you probably spent a lot of time in your kitchen during 2020. If you’ve been looking for a kitchen makeover for 2021, here are just some of the many ideas that are inspiring kitchen remodels. We’d love to provide you with the best kitchen and make 2021 the beginning of your renovation journey.
