The Biggest Trends in Kitchen Design for 2019

If you’re interested in buying a house, remodeling a house, or just upgrading your kitchen, you’ll probably be eager to learn about the biggest kitchen design trends in 2019. The kitchen is one of the most important rooms of your house, often forming first impressions of new guests and serving as a gathering area for parties, get-togethers, and everyday meals with the family. Kitchen trends, accordingly, are constantly evolving, so it’s hard to stay on top of the latest changes.

These are some of the most important design upgrades homeowners are making in 2019.

Appliance Trends

First, let’s look at some of the biggest kitchen appliance trends for 2019:

• Black stainless steel. Stainless steel has been a popular choice for appliances for more than a decade, but now, the traditional steel look is starting to seem cold and dated for modern consumers. As an alternative, people are gravitating toward black stainless steel, which provides many of the same functional advantages of stainless steel, but with a different aesthetic. It’s also useful because it works with practically any style of kitchen.
• Smart appliances. More of a functional choice than a fundamentally aesthetic one, consumers are starting to purchase more smart appliances. Smart refrigerators, smart stoves, and other appliances are becoming common kitchen additions for consumers everywhere.
• Under-counter appliances. One of the overarching trends you’ll see in modern kitchen design is minimalism—saving space and keeping things smooth and discreet. Following this trend, under-counter appliances are becoming more popular. Dishwashers are the go-to option here, but now even refrigerators can be installed under an island countertop.
• Column refrigerators. Column refrigerators give homeowners the ability to customize their refrigerator and freezer configurations. With a column-based design, homeowners can get extra space while still allowing their appliance to fit in with their cabinetry.
• Alternately opening ovens. Traditional ovens open with a bottom hinge, which requires the user to uncomfortably bend over. The new design trends favor reimagined alternatives, such as French doors and side-opening models.

Storage Improvements

One of the most important functional elements of your kitchen design is storage (i.e., your drawers and cabinets). These are some of the most important trends to know in this area:

• Concealed and stealthy storage. You need your kitchen to store items like utensils, appliances, and dishes, but if those storage areas are painfully obvious, it can detract from the overall aesthetics of the room. These days, kitchen designers are leaning more toward concealed storage and stealthier options, meant to improve your overall storage space while keeping your kitchen as smooth as possible.
• Open shelving. Open shelving units are another big trend in storage. These small additions give you a chance to put something on display in your kitchen, like a potted plant or a piece of art, without detracting from the overall space.
• Colored cabinetry. Flat, basic colored cabinets and white shaker cabinets have been in vogue for a while now, but colored cabinets are starting to make a comeback. Bright colors provide a suitable contrast for your space, and help you define the character of your kitchen. RTA online kitchen cabinets have revolutionized the cabinet industry. The custom kitchen is more accessible than ever.

Overall Aesthetics

Kitchen aesthetics, overall, are shifting in these main ways:

• Raw materials. One of the powerhouse trends in modern kitchen design is the use of more “raw” materials. Kitchen designers want their countertops, fixtures, and sometimes even their cabinetry to look a little unprocessed. This usually means preserving the natural colors and textures of the material you’re working with, like stone, marble, or wood.
• Speaking of wood, modern kitchens are prioritizing it. Wood has always been a popular choice for cabinetry and storage, but now wood is making its way into backsplashes and in some cases, countertops.
• Texture contrasts. Modern kitchens are starting to make use of textural contrasts. Rather than maintaining an identical aesthetic throughout the kitchen, you can make your choices pop by differentiating between a rough backsplash and a smooth countertop, or vice versa.
• Vintage vibes. The vintage look is starting to come back for modern kitchens. Natural stone looks, basalt tiles, and old-style lighting choices all add to this aesthetic.
• Big backsplashes. Backsplashes aren’t meant to simply blend into the background anymore. The modern trend is to make them bigger, and have them make a bolder impression on people in the room.

Should you make an investment to upgrade your kitchen with these trendy new design features? That depends on many factors, including the state of your current kitchen, your personal preferences as they relate to these trends, and how long you’re going to stay at this location. Timeless kitchen elements may be better for someone looking to preserve the value of their home, but the above design trends could make your home the talk of the neighborhood for the foreseeable future.