Having an attractive, comfortable, and trendy kitchen can help keep your mood upbeat and happy. The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house, if not the most important. If you’re planning on installing an all-new kitchen, or you just want to give your old one a makeover, here is a collection of a few kitchen design ideas that are trending this year.
Make It Ergonomic
Whether you’re tall or on the shorter side, no doubt you’ve experienced trying to cook or clean in a kitchen that’s the wrong height for you. A new trend is coming on the scene to help with height woes: ergonomic planning. Countertops can be installed at various heights for different tasks: lower near the microwave, perhaps, for cutting, but higher under the sink so nobody has to strain their back bending to wash dishes.
Update Your Palette
Classic black and white kitchens are back in style. The cabinetry and appliances to suit this style can be found almost anywhere, from budget to luxury. Appliances, stoves, hoods, and countertops are painted black, or made of a black material like granite, while the rest of the kitchen is painted in lacquer white. A wooden floor, either brown or white, goes nicely with this design.
Black, mixed with brown and white, can give your kitchen a warm and a rustic countryside feel. Since wooden countertops are coming back in style, you will probably be able to find one from a major manufacturer, rather than having to custom order one. You can also create a colorful backsplash in an otherwise neutral-toned kitchen to draw the eye and enliven the space.
Change the Layout
If you’re renovating the busiest room in the house, now is a great time to make it exactly the way you want it. Always craved more preparation space? Consider adding an island. Want to separate the kitchen from the open-plan dining room? Try an L-shaped floor plan. Need more storage? Add a pantry or some more cabinets. If you’re updating your appliances, consider installing them in a better location to make your kitchen work for you.
Building Efficient Kitchens
If you own a small kitchen with less space, or if you want to make your existing kitchen more efficient, here are a couple of efficient kitchen ideas you can implement:
Stick it To the Wall: If you have limited space in your cabinets or you can’t be bothered to rummage around in there every time you need to locate a spatula, just stick it to the wall! Knives, spatulas, scissors, and even pots and pans can be hung up on walls. You could also install magnetic strips along the side of out-of-the-way cabinets to hang knives or other metal utensils within easy reach. If you arrange it correctly, it also looks great! Another way to save space is hanging the pans off the bottom of cabinets.
Using Open Shelving: Open shelving makes small kitchens look bigger, and also make it easy for you to access cups, pots, and pans, increasing efficiency. They also occupy far less space than cabinets.
Magnetic Kitchen Shelves: You can use magnetic kitchen shelves to stick up small pans, knives, and spoons. You can also place pictures on them to make your kitchen more attractive, or you can stick recipes on them for easy reference.
If it makes you content and satisfied to work in your kitchen, the positive energy will permeate into the food you prepare. A bright, cheery kitchen can go long way towards keeping you healthy and uplifting.