Photo by Tina Dawson

Originally Posted On: https://www.thepinnaclelist.com/articles/9-kitchen-design-trends-2021/

New year new kitchen? That’s right, with 2021 roaring in, many people are already making plans to change up the most traveled room in their house. With the pandemic still rearing its nasty head, people’s needs have changed.

While being stuck at home, you begin to notice things about your kitchen that you may not have before. Maybe you’re not optimizing your space as you should. That all-white décor might not be doing it for you anymore.

Whatever your needs are, a kitchen remodel can help settle them. Here are a few of the best kitchen design trends 2021 has to offer.

1. Warmer Colors

One thing that we can all agree on was that 2020 was a doozy. Hope isn’t completely lost for 2021 as of yet, but there’s still a bad taste left in many people’s mouths after the previous year.

That’s why warmer colors are making a huge splash right now. By the rules of color psychology, certain shades can invoke different emotions in others. Orange can fill a person with excitement, while aqua can bring a little bit of calm to an otherwise hectic storm.

Kitchen cabinet color trends 2021 dictates to use either neutral or dark shades as the top and work in the brighter colors as a nice accent.

2. Use Plenty of Tile

In the past, tile was mainly used as an interesting backsplash. Today, many people are using it all over their kitchen.

If you like the aesthetic of having a natural white kitchen, using tile can add some interesting textural contrast. Many people are even getting rid of their upper cabinetry in favor of adding in more tile.

If you’re okay with doing this, it will open your kitchen up a little more and make it look larger than it actually is.

One rule of thumb when working with tile is to be as dramatic as possible. The more complex you go with your design the better.

3. The More Compact the Better

This year, people are going for compact and functional. Every single part of your kitchen should be able to be utilized in some way.

It’s acceptable to have that large breakfast nook or bar if you want, but if you aren’t using it every day, have a kitchen and bathroom remodeling contractor take it out.

At this point, it’s only wasting valuable foot space and making your kitchen look overly cramped. Opt for optimal efficiency.

4. Go Organic

In recent years, the general public has become more and more environmentally-conscious. Many people are incorporating designs that look good while also giving back to the planet a little bit.

If you’re one of these people, look to your kitchen for inspiration. Natural materials add a gorgeous earthy tone to your space. They’re also recyclable.

Don’t be afraid to add wood where you can. Bring in a splash of green by incorporating plants. Planting a nice indoor herb garden should do the trick.

5. Organization Is Key

While being stuck at home due to the pandemic, you begin to notice things about your space that you didn’t notice before. Your cabinet doors won’t shut because of how cluttered they are.

Your kitchen counters are covered in a variety of different spices because you have nowhere else to put them. You get the picture. Here are a few traditional kitchen trends 2021 that will help you clean things up.

Toss Out Dirty Plastic

Your plastic container collection has started to get a little out of hand. Your cabinet door is protruding out due to the sure number of containers that you’ve stuffed in them.

It’s time to clean things up. Your plastic containers that are stained with pasta sauce can’t be salvaged 9 times out of 10. Go ahead and toss them out.

If your containers are cracked at all, they can’t be used to store things any longer. Well, you can use them, but chances are the food you put in them will go bad quickly.

One struggle with having a bunch of containers is keeping up with the lids. It’s almost as if the dishwasher eats them. Create dividers in your cabinet that you can use to store the lids and prevent them from getting lost.

Make Use of Your Kitchen Islands

You use your kitchen island more than any other part of your kitchen. They’re the place where all your meal prep begins. You can take advantage of that.

Install shelving under your islands. Store anything that you use for your meal prep there. This way, it’s only a reach away.

Be Creative with Your Commonly-Used Items

Everyone needs paper towels. The problem is that they get in your way when they’re just sitting on the counter. You can make use of your vertical space and store them overhead, but that doesn’t create the best aesthetic.

Get a little creative with your commonly-used things. People have started using an open-faced drawer with a built-in paper towel dispenser.

It makes them easy to get to while stopping them from sticking out like a sore thumb.

Get Your Loose Bags in Order

We’re all guilty of keeping the plastic bags from our weekly grocery shopping trips. They’re pretty handy. You can repurpose them as garbage bags or use them to clean out your cat’s litter box.

Grab a canister and cut a small x-shape on the top of the lid. Place the bags in the container, shut the lid, and boom. You can decorate the canister in any way that you wish.

Clean Out Your Fridge

Cleaning out your fridge is one project that you don’t want to put off for too long. The smell alone will be enough to send you out of your kitchen running and screaming.

Once you’ve thrown out all the old food, use drawers to organize everything by food type. This will help you see everything you have to use, so nothing is left to rot in the back of the fridge.

6. Don’t Wait for Boiling Water

It’s tough to boil water for tea when you’ve got back to back Zoom calls scheduled for the day. The kettle can work fast, but not that fast.

This makes hot water taps quite sought after in 2021. You’ll have instant hot water that you can use to make your favorite warm beverages in minutes.

7. Touchless Faucets

If you can’t tell, many kitchen trends this year are centered around the pandemic. This is another one that can be pretty useful.

We’re told not to touch our faces or any surfaces when we’re coming in from the outside. You have to wash your hands as soon as you walk through the door. Your kitchen faucet counts as a surface that can collect all sorts of germs.

That’s where touchless faucets come in. They’re motion-controlled, so all you have to do is hold your hands under the faucet and wait. Some models are even voice control.

Not only are touchless faucets more hygienic, but they’re also convenient. You don’t have to put anything down to turn on the water.

With a wide range of color choices and finishes, these faucets are a worthwhile investment.

8. Walk-In Pantry

Going back to kitchen organization for a moment, walk-in pantries are your friend. It can hold all your dry cooking ingredients.

If you have any small appliances that you only whip out on occasion, you don’t want to leave them on the counter – it looks cluttered. The walk-in pantry gives you a place to store them until you’re ready to use them.

You can also use your walk-in pantry as sort of a small wine cellar if you don’t have a lot of ingredients that you cook with. As you can see, they’re too versatile not to have.

9. Two-Toned Kitchens

One of the biggest kitchen trends to avoid this year is making everything match. Two-tone is the way to go in 2021.

Using dark and bright tones together in your kitchen can add a nice visual interest to the room. You can take this a step further and mismatch materials too.

Wood and matt finishes can be fun to play around with. It creates a nice balance of sleek and rustic.

The Best Kitchen Design Trends 2021 has to Offer

With the world being as chaotic as it is now, traditional kitchen designs aren’t cutting it anymore. Many people are switching out their faucets and kitchen appliances to be more convenient for working at home.

Speaking of being at home, you start to notice a lot of things about your space when you’re looking at it all the time. Optimizing for more organization might be the way to go.

Maybe you want a color swap to help lift your tired spirits. Whatever you need, these kitchen design trends 2021 will deliver.

Are you looking for more ways to update your home? Check out our blog daily for all the latest design tips and tricks.