Latest Kitchen Renovation Trends

Well, not necessarily black per se - but a return to strong, dark, moody tones for worktops and cabinets. This look began to establish a real foothold in the kitchen decor market during 2020, and the trend seems set to continue apace through 2021. Nobody wants to cook and eat meals in a room that feels gloomy, so it’s important to offset the bolder, richer tones of trendy slate and dark coffee with some pale natural wood surfaces or individual pops of bright painted colour.

We’ve long suspected that a truly minimalist kitchen would be downright irritating to prepare a meal in. Yet, while we aren’t quite heading back to minimalism in 2021, it is clear that many of us have embraced a more homely vibe over the past few years, decluttering and streamlining our homes over time. To that end, flush-fit cabinets and smooth featureless surfaces look set to be a big trend for next year, creating a clean, practical kitchen design.

Of course, effectively decluttering a kitchen means hiding your go-to daily ingredients and utensils in plain sight. The best way to achieve this is through modular cabinet designs and systems that keep things well concealed but always easy to access. Smart multifunctional storage, of the kind seen in many ‘tiny home’ makeover shows, can play a key role here and we expect to see more of it being built into off-the-shelf kitchens in future, not just bespoke designs.

There seems to be more of a push back towards traditional views of the kitchen as the real hub of a family home these days - and quite frankly, we love to see it! To that end, many people are now looking at ways to incorporate proper dining facilities back into the heart of their kitchen, alongside their range cookers and pantry shelves. We believe that homeowners will embrace this ‘dine at home’ trend sooner rather than later, regardless of whether they have room for a full six-seater table or a fold-down studio breakfast bar.

Always-ready hot water dispenser taps were among the leading ‘extras’ requested by kitchen-buyers towards the end of 2020, and it’s a trend that shows little sign of slowing as we approach 2021. We’re not quite ready to fully do away with the old faithful kettle just yet, but we do anticipate being served quite a few cuppas direct from the (very) hot tap.

‘Statement’ areas have always been popular in kitchens, whether a feature wall, a glitzy worktop, or a bold pop of colour on a cabinet handle. That’s not surprising since they traditionally tend to focus on predominantly white, natural, or neutral colour schemes for the most part. Daring designs underfoot look set to be the new kitchen design talking point for 2021, with both vinyl and tile patterns starting to become available in a much more striking and unusual range.

There’s been a growing trend in kitchen design over the past 18 months towards incorporating more and more ‘living room’-type flourishes into kitchen design, including a renewed interest in soft furnishings, ornaments, and houseplants. With large numbers of people still likely to be working from home more often in 2021 than ever before, we expect to see this idea expanded on - and we’re excited to see how people interpret the concept of a kitchen-cum-office setup.

Developing on the above idea, achieving a multifunctional and versatile kitchen space often means finding smart ways to divide up the room. Kitchens have often tended to be open spaces, perhaps with a single island or table at the centre, but with more or less everything else pushed entirely up against the side walls. As homeowners start thinking about multipurpose use of their kitchen space, finding ways to segment the room into different practical zones will be vital. Using appliances and work surfaces to create additional space is a perfect way to approach and adapt a kitchen where there isn’t always a lot of space.