People spend more on the kitchen than any other room in their house. Not that the kitchen is really a separate room any more, but usually an extension of the living area or family room.

It is a space that is used not only for cooking and entertaining, but also for doing homework, home office work, socializing and many other day-to-day activities. Therefore, it is an area of the home that needs to be as inviting and as functional as possible.

Since investing in a new kitchen comes at a significant cost – it is typically the most expensive area of the house – being aware of latest kitchen design trends will help you to make the right choices to ensure you achieve the best possible outcome and don’t make expensive mistakes.

Colour trends

We are starting to see darker, moodier colour palettes for the kitchen in dark charcoal grey to black palettes. There has been an increase in black feature kitchens, combined with black appliances, pendant lights and feature tiles or dark stone splash backs.

Alternatively, for those who aren’t fond of dark colours, shades of grey can be incorporated with concrete floors, as a feature paint colour or as concrete benchtops. While grey is a slightly more daring departure from the previously standard white and less adventurous than black, it is a neutral colour that can easily be layered with other products and styles.

Finishes

New designs are seeing a lot more layering of colour and texture, with finishes that create visually interesting but practical spaces. Think geometric and three-dimensional splashback tiles, concrete or matt engineered quartz stone bench tops and dark matt cabinetry, teamed with warm metallic sinks and tapware in brass, copper, rose-gold or nickel.

These sleek finishes are balanced with natural organic looking elements such as timber cabinets or detailing, or wide timber plank flooring, or timber look tiles. Wood (real or engineered), stone, concrete and warm metal finishes feature strongly.

The glossy kitchens we have seen for several decades will be replaced with the more natural look of matt finishes, particularly for benchtops and joinery. The matt look is currently a very strong trend in design. It is soft to touch and less reflective and will likely be here to stay for some time, as dark colours and black lend themselves well to the use of matt finishes, since they do not show finger marking like a gloss finish.

The look of marble remains popular in the form of low-maintenance and innovative engineered stone, with many versions in both light and dark colours with varying degrees and patterns of contrast veining.

Adding metallic and timber accents is another way to create visual appeal and a valuable point of difference. Materials in these shades can be applied to cabinetry, panelling and kickboards, as well as doors and tapware.

Popular high contrast styles combine a two-tone, monochromatic colour combination of timeless black, grey or navy with white (usually in the benchtop), punctuated with elements of timber and/or brass for warmth. This creates a look of refinement and elegance, with an air of natural simplicity and earthy luxury.

Kitchen Cabinets

Wall cabinets in a contrasting colours or finishes to the base cabinetry are a winning combination that we will continue to see going forward.

Open shelving to display interesting objects injects personality into a kitchen and when used in a contrasting finish to the cabinetry, helps to break up the space and creates an interesting mix of finishes.

Navy cabinetry with timber and brass accents is likely to become the next top look.

Kitchen sinks and tapware

We will start to see more black and white sinks or the more luxurious option of metallic sinks. These will be combined with matching or complementary metallic taps in finishes such as matte black, brass, copper, gun metal and satin nickel.

Kitchen hardware

The most popular finishes for cabinet handles are matt black, satin nickel, pewter and antique brass. The commonality between all these finishes is that they are matt, not high gloss finishes, and so do not show finger marks like the polished chrome we have seen in the past.

The key trend to note is that the all-white kitchen is now a thing of the past, with new kitchens embracing an inviting, elegant, sophisticated and warm aesthetic to align with today’s lifestyle.