Kitchen Design Dilemmas
Are you no longer in love with Tuscan style? Perhaps the outdated linoleum on your kitchen floor makes you cringe. You want to replace, remodel, or update, but what? Do you know the latest kitchen design trends? Our design experts at LJ’s Kitchens & Interiors have sorted out the kitchen design trends for 2017 and discarded the fads so you won’t make any missteps.
“In fashion, one day you’re in and the next day you’re out.” Heidi Klum taught us that lesson. However, it’s easier to update your wardrobe than it is to remodel your kitchen. How do you incorporate kitchen design trends into your kitchen without it quickly becoming outdated? Isn’t that your secret fear—that today’s trend will be tomorrow’s passé?
Depending on the quality of the materials you use, a kitchen can outlast your style choices. Remodeling is expensive. Besides, an extensive overhaul can take months to complete. You want to make certain that your newly renovated kitchen will stand the test of time. You can’t simply replace everything after a year or two.
If you are updating your kitchen with an eye to putting your house on the market, it’s even more important that you make the right choices. So which kitchen design trends should you follow and which should you ignore?
Fortunately, LJ’s kitchen designers can turn trends into functional and beautiful designs that last. They can guide you through the process so your design choices deliver the kitchen of your dreams instead of your worst nightmare.
Our Five Favorite Trends
A quick online search to find the latest kitchen design trends for 2017 can leave you reeling. Trends can be broken down for each element of a kitchen. What are the latest trends in lighting? Appliances? Flooring? Backsplashes? Cabinets? You can focus on color trends and even trends in metal finishes. It’s overwhelming!
LJ’s Kitchen & Interiors has sifted through all those kitchen design trends (we’ve seen over 100 of them!) and distilled them down to these five trends for you. Once you have these design elements in place you can cope more easily with the rest.
1. Open concept.
This most important kitchen design trend has been on the rise for some time and continues to hold strong. As kitchens become more open to other living spaces, you will hear the term “integrated design” used more frequently. That’s because kitchens aren’t just open to the dining room any more.
As kitchens become open to the entire living space, it’s imperative to integrate the style of the kitchen with the rest of the house. Good design dictates that the entire space reflects a consistent aesthetic. A Tuscan-inspired kitchen will look out-of-place in a mid-century modern living and dining area. You want a cohesive environment.
One way that designers integrate kitchens with the style of the rest of the house is through using a compatible palette. Cabinetry in the kitchen echoes the same style as built-ins in the living and dining areas. Countertops and fireplace surrounds use the same natural stone or the same tile on the backsplash as the fireplace. This kitchen design trend should reap benefits for you because the trend is simply based on good design.
2. Transitional Style.
Transitional is no longer belittled as the style of the indecisive. Kitchen design trends of 2017 consider transitional a style all its own. That’s because transitional seamlessly combines of the best of contemporary design with the best of traditional design. This trend reflects design aesthetics beyond the kitchen.
This kitchen design trend has evolved over time. We love the clean and simple lines of contemporary design, but it can appear too stark for some tastes. And while we are drawn to the warmth of traditional, in its purer form it can feel too fussy. Transitional style is the perfect blend between the two. Our designers can help you find the balance that’s right for you.
3. 50 Shades of Gray.
Gray is the new go-to neutral. While classic black and white will never go out of style, you might have noticed gray and white is the new kitchen design trend. This on-trend color combination provides a softer contrast than black and white. But you might need a trained designer’s eye to select the right shade of gray. Finding the right intensity and warm or cool undertone can be tricky.
Two tones in your cabinetry is also part of this kitchen design trend. A totally white kitchen can look too sterile, and the eye isn’t stimulated by such a monochromatic color scheme. Consider using a second color on your kitchen island cabinetry. The contrast will be appealing.
4. Consider Quartz.
Natural stone countertops have been a mainstay for years now. However, our love affair with granite, while still strong, is becoming eclipsed by quartz. This kitchen design trend is gaining popularity because quartz is easier to maintain than marble or granite.
Like marble and granite, quartz comes in a variety of colors and patterns, but without the fuss. Granite needs to be resealed every year to prevent staining, while quartz stands up to heat and stains without the additional care. That leaves the cook with more time simply to cook.
Mixed countertops are part of this emerging kitchen design trend as well. When you select a secondary color for your kitchen island cabinetry, you have an opportunity to make your island stand out further with a different countertop material. On trend choices include butcher block and concrete, or simply using two contrasting shades of quartz.
5. Lighten Up!
Gone is the fluorescent light tube flickering overhead. Thank goodness! Those bare bulbs served well in a bare-bones functional kitchen. However, considering the other kitchen design trends of 2017, nothing less than dramatic lighting will do!
Opening the kitchen up to the main living areas has pushed kitchen designers to incorporate bigger windows in the kitchen to draw in more light. Likewise, unique pendants over a peninsula or island and even chandeliers are finding their way into formerly utilitarian kitchens. LED rope lighting now illumines once-dark under-cabinet countertops. This is a kitchen design trend we’re sure you’ll love.
Remember: These are only our top five favorite kitchen design trends for 2107. If you’re ready to consider more, give us a call or check out the provided links below.
High Five: Delivering Design You Will Love
Mixing colors and styles and metal finishes sounds great until all your mixing turns into a muddled mess. There is a difference between the considered blend of finishes that creates sophisticated contrast and the messy, cluttered appearance that results from picking one from each category.
All too often those tempting kitchen design trends get derailed into design disasters. Even the best ideas can go wrong. You need to know how to match beauty with function. Sometimes “less is more.” Not everyone has a knack for design.
Design is where LJ’s Kitchens & Interiors excels. It’s our business to know the up-and-coming trends as well as the ones that are phasing out. It’s our business to provide solid kitchen design that gives you a beautiful and functional kitchen. When you’re ready to bring your kitchen up to 2017 style, come talk to us.
Before you know it, yours will be the kitchen that reflects the latest in kitchen design trends!
Links:
http://www.hgtv.com/design/rooms/kitchens/17-top-kitchen-design-trends-pictures
https://www.houselogic.com/by-room/kitchen/9-kitchen-trends-that-cant-go-wrong/
http://decoratorswisdom.com/decor/interior-design-trends/2017-kitchen-trends/