Whether your clients love to cook, host parties or simply take care of their busy families,
you want to advise them of the latest and greatest kitchen trends. To help you stay on top,
Richelieu's leading experts have scoured the world stage to bring you the latest trends in kitchen design. This year's trends appeal to all tastes and styles.
Here are some of our top finds:
Getting Creative with Lighting
Experts report that decorative lighting will be increasingly present throughout the home in new innovative ways. Lighting is more than utilitarian. It affects the mood of the space and the people in it. Different types of lighting are called upon to play various roles depending on their function, whether it is to create a mood for instance or illuminate a space for a specific task. Studies have also shown that having sufficient lighting significantly affects people's health and well-being.
New ways to integrate lighting: Think beyond pendant lights and lamps. Integrate lighting into the backsplash, the toe kick, inside drawers and cabinets with profiles and tape lights.
Take it one step further: New technologies allow for the ultimate in lighting control. With a few buttons on a smartphone, you can turn on and off or dim the interior or exterior lights of your home, even when you're away.
Getting More Function From Your Space
The kitchen remains the focal point in the home. It is the single space where everyone gathers for many activities such as cooking, entertaining, and working. The latest innovations can now accommodate this multipurpose environment with furniture that readily transforms into whatever you need it to be.
Maximizing Space with Clever Storage and Organization
Every homeowner will agree that kitchen storage and organization is on everyone's wish list. Be it, maximizing the space in a blind corner or organizing your kitchen tools, accessories such as drawer organizers and pull-outs are ever in demand. For 2019, storage solutions have upped it a notch by not only being practical and functional but also beautiful.
Showing-Off Personal Style with Open Shelving
Open shelving continues to be a strong trend in 2019. It makes a space look and feel brighter and airier while allowing you to display beautiful dinnerware, glassware or other personal treasures. Both practical and aesthetically pleasing, open shelving increases your storage options and makes it easier to organize and access everyday items.
How to incorporate open shelving: Replace some upper cabinets and use floating shelves to tackle the issue of awkward angles and corners. Open shelving makes a great base for a kitchen island. Just add a butcher-block top and you have an airy modern island with plenty of storage space.
Take it one step further: Use a more modern open‑shelving structure in matte black or anthracite. This look is stunning in a rustic or farmhouse-style kitchen, but can also be adapted to a contemporary kitchen design by adding glass or wood shelves.
Getting a Handle on Decorative Hardware Trends
Trends in decorative hardware vary from style to style. New finishes in polished or brushed tones of gold, copper, bronze and rose are gaining in popularity. Matte black is still on trend. Discrete bar pulls and edge pulls in minimalist styles are sleek and are favored for elegant and understated cabinet hardware.
If you prefer statement-making handles that add drama and glamour, then you might gravitate toward models that are bolder and textured, made from different materials and that are works of art unto themselves. Distinctive artisanal designs or worn, industrial-inspired finishes create a more striking visual impact.
HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT FINISH FOR YOUR CABINET COLOR:
If your cabinets are dark‑colored: Lighter colored hardware in cooler tones such as chrome or brushed nickel or warmer tones of gold and rose stands out and becomes a design element in the space. In contrast, cabinet hardware disappears when set tone on tone. A sleek matte black edge pull complements matte black cabinetry to blend in and make the overall look seamless.
If your cabinets are light colored: Darker cabinet hardware finishes will stand out to emphasize a bold look creating intrigue and drama in a space. A dark anthracite or black polished nickel finish makes a statement of refined sophistication or daring distinction depending on the style of the handle.
If your cabinets are two‑toned: Don't be afraid to mix and match different hardware finishes and styles. Whether you have opted for a different color for your upper and lower cabinets or chosen to use your island as an accent piece, it's perfectly acceptable to complement the cabinets with either the same or different cabinet hardware. Hint: Gold, copper and bronze can look just as good on light or dark cabinet finishes.
Take it one step further: If you like gold cabinet hardware, try to find a matching faucet to complete the look.
Keeping It Seamless
tape lights in warm white
European‑style cabinets without exposed handles are on the rise. Sleek and seamless cabinet fronts in high‑end finishes are the hallmark of European style. Functional and modern, subtle recessed, edge, or profile pulls let the cabinet doors and countertop take center stage.
How to integrate functional yet seamless hardware: A modern take on a classic profile pull runs along the top edge of the cabinet door, leaving a slight gap between the underside of the countertop and the top of the cabinet. This solution allows for just enough space for fingers to get through, and open cabinet doors, and leaves a clean line across the length of the cabinets.
Take it one step further: You can integrate LED strip lights into a Gola profile set under the counter. This adds a moody atmosphere, a stunning effect to cabinetry, and as a bonus, a security feature. The perfect mix of functionality and aesthetics in modern kitchen designs.
Setting a Moody Atmosphere with a Play on Light and Dark
Design has a lot to do with how it makes us feel. A bright kitchen with white cabinets can be cheery while a darker kitchen creates a more dramatic effect. You no longer have to choose one mood or the other. Instead, you can combine materials such as glass, wood, and metal and work with colors such as white, black and super bright tones to drastically change the mood of a space. There is definitely an emerging trend toward adding darker, more dramatic and masculine elements in the kitchen right now.
How to set a dramatic tone in your kitchen: Start with the cabinets. Opt for a darker cabinet color. A painted dark gray, rich dark chocolate or even black. Choose a color that fits with the rest of your home. Continue with this tone or a lighter one on your walls. Be creative with the backsplash, countertop and floor. Consider tiles with patterns or wood panels with textured woodgrain designs in a lighter shade to add depth and complement the look. Strike a balance of light and dark colors for the desired dramatic effect.
Take it one step further: Consider using the same color scheme throughout the living room, family room and dining room to create a balanced, calming effect on the eye.
Mixing Materials for Added Depth
Today's kitchen cabinetry trends call for a mix of both textured and matte finishes. Innovative technologies have introduced spectacular finishes in durable and highly functional surfaces with stunning visual appeal. High‑gloss, matte, textured woodgrain pattern, mock concrete, or velvety soft glass-covered panels help create visual spaces that entice the senses.
How to get the look: Consider a more modern take with alluring and unexpected colors in matte finishes to create a richer, more nuanced look. Be bold with unexpected juxtapositions of texture with floor-to-ceiling cabinets for a memorable effect. It is perfectly acceptable to match matte panels with textured woodgrain finishes in warm tones of brown, caramel and blond for a more modern look.
Take it one step further: Combine cabinets with a textured woodgrain finish with a few in a high‑gloss finish for maximum impact.
Exploring the Hidden Potential of a Minimalist Kitchen
them out of sight, parked flush inside the cabinet.
The minimalist style is increasingly popular in kitchens as homeowners look to instill a sense of tranquility and well-being that comes from the tidiness of the design. Sometimes less is more, especially in the kitchen, which tends to be more cluttered as the central point of the home. This choice doesn't have to mean a boring space or one that lacks warmth. The aim is to achieve simplicity with style, through a uniform seamless look.
How to achieve a uniform look: Start by uncluttering countertops. Store everything used to prepare the meal such as small appliances, pots, pans, and accessories inside cabinets and drawers. Keep appliances out-of-sight inside large cabinets or wall units or behind cabinet door panels. Use a clean and balanced color palette to add to the calming effect.
A minimalist kitchen also saves on space: In a studio apartment or micro-condo where space is limited, a minimalist kitchen makes the home feel more spacious and maintains a streamlined look that is not distracting to the eye.
Take it one step further: Conceal cabinets, drawers and appliances behind folding or sliding doors to help create a cohesive, seamless look.
Putting a Modern Twist on Glass
Glass brings in light naturally and instantly makes a space feel airy and look brighter and larger. Glass elements can add a hint of sophistication and elegance to any space. Glass also pairs perfectly with wood, metal, and leather, especially since it offers a brilliant, polished or frosted contrast with matte or textured materials. Traditionally, glass cabinet fronts have been popular in farmhouse-style kitchens. However, it is possible to adapt the look for a modern kitchen design. Easy to maintain, it comes in so many different shapes, thicknesses and colors. This is one trend definitely worth a try.
How to incorporate glass: Think beyond showers and glass tabletops. Glass is easily incorporated into decor in the form of shelves, cabinet doors, drawer fronts, backsplash, or railings.
Take it one step further: Use smoked glass cabinet fronts with black aluminum-framed doors for a glammed-up effect.
