The kitchen design trends you need to know in 2018-2019
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The kitchen remains one of the social hearts of the home, beating out even the living room for many households. Any design that you decide on should focus on the social, as well as the practical aspects.
Think space, open areas, plenty of seating for family get-togethers and entertaining. Consider combining the dining room and kitchen together, or focusing on flow between the kitchen, dining, living room and even outdoor entertaining areas.
A simple half-wall can be enough to keep the two rooms separated and defined, without losing out on the social atmosphere afforded by having them connected.
Simple, natural looks are in—with a dash of modern industrial. Timber, stone, metals and other natural materials are being seen in abundance, but with clean, careful formats rather than the semi-chaotic curves that are often associated with the “natural” look.
Interestingly, porcelain tiles have also made a comeback as a preferred material. They’re affordable, available in wide range of colours, and are ideal for use as a bright contrast in a muted kitchen as a feature splashback or in your scullery .
Some of the most interesting examples we’ve seen have been a smooth, matte, industrial kitchen, but with a splashback of emerald green multi-tiles behind the cooktop to create a tropical vibe.
Adding a few different textures to your kitchen makes a big statement with a minimum of bother, and offsets the otherwise clinical feeling induced by the black, white and grey colour palette. Be careful not to go overboard, however. Colour accents should be chosen carefully to avoid overwhelming the baseline monochrome.
Speaking of which, colours for this year are blacks, golds, whites, charcoals and petrol blues: monochromatic, mixed with warm metallic blends.
An excellent opportunity to use this trend in your own kitchen is through a tapware replacement: replace the clinical chrome or dated stainless with some bright, sparkling gold or matte black.
If you’re looking to sell your home soon, however, the old advice still applies: neutral colours stand the test of time. Give your buyers a neutral canvas to imagine putting their own mark on.
Big on the scene at the moment are hidden handles; that is, drawers that either open at a touch, or have recessed handles. Whatever it takes to provide a flat, matte surface—overt is off the menu in the kitchen.
However, there are a few constants no matter what year it is, and that’s the importance of storage. Open shelving is especially in, with many homeowners using open-fronted cabinets and timber shelves rather than closed drawers—showing off their kitchenware and appliances, rather than keeping them hidden away.
A particularly interesting addition to 2018 trends is the resurgence of open under-table storage. Kitchen islands remain popular, but rather than single opaque blocks in the middle of the kitchen, they are now hollow spaces often with built in shelving that keen homeowners are using to display cookbooks, pots, pans and other kitchenware.
Not practical for everyone, but certainly a bold look for those with brass pots and pans and a big point of difference between newly renovated homes and outdated ones.
There you have it; today’s kitchens are flat, matte and simplistic but with splashes of colour, focusing on the social and keeping it homely, while also providing a practical background in the form of industrial-style straight lines and formats with plenty of storage.
Remember that keeping it on-trend can make your home stand out not just for your guests, but for potential buyers too!
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