If you watch HGTV or scroll through social media, you’re likely inundated with the latest kitchen design trends — white subway tiles, blue cabinets, and open shelves, just to name a few.
When planning a kitchen renovation, it’s good to be mindful of trends, but you don’t want to be beholden to them, either. Unlike a lot of purchases that you cycle out every few years, kitchen renovations can last for decades or longer, and you have to live with your choices every day, whether you like them or not.
Renovators also need to be mindful of their home’s resale value. What’s trendy now might not be in five years, ten years, or whenever you are ready to sell your home.
That industrial chic look you saw in a magazine looks great now but might seem outdated very quickly. And, we can all recall walking into a 1960s kitchen that’s some shade green, yellow, or pink. It was all the rage at the time but looks horribly out of place today.
At All Trades, we specialize in helping our clients across New Jersey choose kitchens that are trendy enough to show off on Instagram and are still timeless and classic. While we are a kitchen contractor in NJ, the tips we share apply to anyone looking for help with kitchen design.
Choose Your Kitchen Design Trends Wisely
One way to strike a balance between trendy and timeless is to choose your trends wisely. If you go after everything that’s hot right now, your kitchen will stick out like a sore thumb once the trends change. Instead, choose the trend you like most to incorporate into your kitchen design.
For example, if you choose to install white or gray subway tiles, stick to more timeless countertops, appliances, and other design elements. Not sure what that means? Here are a few examples:
- Neutral granite and quartz stand the test of time when it comes to countertops.
- Stainless steel appliances might have been overdone a few years ago but are always a good choice if you want something that looks modern and elegant.
- Kitchen islands came onto the scene in the 1940s and 50s and are unlikely to go out of style anytime soon.
- Forego accent tiles and use patterns and texture to personalize the backsplash design. Accent tiles can go out of style.
This two-pronged approach will give you the trendiness you crave in your kitchen design, yet retain elements that will never go out of style.
If you are stuck between a few options, our team can help you narrow them down during our initial free consultation. From there, we’ll prepare a custom drawing to make sure the look you envision will translate to real life.
Practicality Matters in Kitchen Design
Speaking of real life, we should talk for a minute about the conflict that can arise between design and practicality (functionality). Some elements are timeless for a reason — they work. A kitchen that checks all the boxes for kitchen design trends is no good if you can’t realistically use it, all show and no go!
Do you cook every night of the week or only big meals on the weekends? How big is your family? Do you like to entertain? The answers to these questions help determine how much space you need for storage, cooking, and accommodating guests.
Here are a few examples of places where practicality can make a difference in your design:
- Open shelving is a hot trend right now. However, it won’t work if you have kids running around in the kitchen and you’ll have to contend with dust on dishes and bowls.
- Storage walls are all over kitchen design websites. They’re great for large families, but might not be the best option for a couple or a single person.
- Bench seating is another hot trend today, but some kitchens just aren’t set up to accommodate them.
It’s easy to get swept up in trends like these. Sometimes they just don’t work for your lifestyle or your kitchen layout. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but a kitchen renovation is a big investment. You can’t completely ignore practicality in favor of design.
Our team at All Trades can help you think through some of these lifestyle factors during the initial consultation. Our goal is to help you create a kitchen that looks great and meets your current and future lifestyle needs.
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Unlike any other purchase, you don’t see what you are getting with a kitchen design until it’s finished. By then, there’s no turning back, and you need to live with whatever you’ve chosen.
One of the great things about working with a kitchen designer/contractor is that we understand function and design. Not only do we design kitchens, but we also we build them. We know whether a design will work with your home’s structure and layout. All Trades can help you design a kitchen that has the personal elements you love and will stand the test of time. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.