Kitchens are definitely one of the best lived places of the house. Nowadays they are, yes, a space to cook but more often they are the place to sip a good glass of wine to unwind after a long day of hard work. The space for the quick morning coffee around the island, or the “just came back home” gathering with your kids. And why not, the informal spot, where you want to impress your fellows with your last project.
So, as mirror of our daily life, kitchens can’t escape it. They do follow trends as well. Social trends, like the island for occasional meals, or catching up with friends over a drink. Decorative trends, such as finishes and colour: they can change very quickly and follow the overall design industry.
Being within the industry and passionate about trends, we have selected few kitchen trends which you may have seen already or if you haven’t, you will soon do.
FAMILY KITCHEN OR A RESTAURANT?
Every time they ask me why we design both residential and commercial projects I always reply that it’s because we love doing both, since there is massive crossover going on between the two worlds, which is blurring more and more.
The residential kitchen is a typical example of it. In fact, residential kitchens are becoming more and more a theatrical piece, a unit to stand out with dramatic lights and bold, distinctive tones.
Likewise, restaurants are more and more looking like residential kitchens. More often you end up having your meals, on higher kitchen surface, and colour is getting more neutral and cozy.
The kitchen below from Elam it is a perfect example of bold lines and refined restaurant looking details.
METAL
In 2017, metal will keep to be present in kitchen finishes till assuming a more dominant role.
Despite the 2015 trend, till last winter, metal seemed to be preferred for details, while this following year, could became much more present, contrasting for instance raw wood and very neat lines.
And the real beauty of stainless steel worktop is its scratchy surface, so not too much effort is required to look after it, once is used on a daily base.
DRAMA
The traditional kitchen is starting to leave the pace to a new tradition of space sharing, well chosen details and lighting.Modern professionals enjoy the kitchen areas as an informal gathering space. In its new role, the kitchen can assume a new complete personality, with a dramatic style and astonishing lighting.
The kitchen is now become the core style point of the house, where you can impress and amaze your favourite guests. It is around the hob that you now show off your last promotion, with that bottle of Barolo just arrived from Piedmont.
BACKLIT
Backlit is one of the fastest growing trend in kitchen design. Backlighting with LED lights not only offers brilliant aesthetics, but it is also a clever way to add style to our old good friend “the cabinet”.
A commercial feature that is moving from the trading to the home area, a small luxury that can instantly transform a kitchen from a functional space into an intimate and warm ambience to relax and chill.
HERBS COUNTER
It’s part of a massive tendency that has been growing on for few years, to make us a little bit more closer to nature, i.e. bringing the outdoor-indoor. This trend has enhanced the pleasure of being surrounded by as much green as you can around your kitchen and have your cooking herbs at your disposal.
Sometimes it goes to the extreme, (like in the image below), but that’s the beauty of it.
THE REAL DIVAS OF THE KITCHEN
Forget the units, forget the storage, forget the lighting for a second, the real “Primadonna” of the kitchen are the new, exciting and often unexpected appliances.
Some examples?
Miele keep coming up with beautiful ranges of appliances and last May at “Milan Salone del mobile 2016”, they presented a fridge which surfaces that where you can literally write on.
Elica has been pushing the boundaries giving us the luxury to have a stunningly decorative extractor rather than the typical boring, bulky and noisy one.
Today kitchens are much more then just the place to prepares meals.
They are the best place to entertain and astonish your guests, informal or not, and to express your culinary creativity.
We think that your kitchen design should adapt to suit your lifestyle, still being functional but with style and personality. We are excited by the new trends and how they are going to change the image of our homes and we can’t wait to be part of this exciting the evolution that will redefine the shape of our favourite space of the house.
In our current projects we are already embracing the new trends, making the best of the futures above in our design.
