Designing and creating a contemporary kitchen is a great way to bring your home up to date. It’s easier than you might think to get a great modern look, and by making your space brighter and easier to clean, this type of design will also improve your cooking experience. Why not give it a try?
Reshape the room
Bringing your kitchen up to date usually starts with rethinking the layout. Kitchen tables are dropping out of style, so replace yours with a breakfast bar or, if you’ve got the space, with an island. Open up the space around your windows to let in as much natural light as possible. Replace dressers and individual units with sleek, matching cabinets, including full height ones wherever you can afford to give up counter space. Modern kitchen styles are uncluttered, so you’ll be aiming to move as much off the counter as possible anyway. Look for space-saving solutions like replacing your kettle with a boiling water tap.
Invest in new appliances
No doubt you’ve heard a lot of talk about smart appliances, but the new generation of kitchen goods has much more going for it than that, with fresh new design features that will make your kitchen more efficient, more eco-friendly, and a lot more stylish. Induction cooking is the way of the future and stoves like this are a must in the modern kitchen. New generation ovens are a lot more efficient and, along with dishwashers, washing machines, fridges, and freezers, are now available in a range of different colors with metallic or high gloss finishes. Fit them into a theme, or choose a single stylish appliance as an accent piece that changes the atmosphere of the whole kitchen.
Bring in some color
When we think contemporary, we tend to think of white being the dominant color, perhaps with a chic slate gray floor. It’s important to make a lot of the light for this style to work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bring in color, and doing so can give the room a lot more impact. You might do it with individual, complementary items – for instance, matching a candy apple red appliance with a red backsplash behind the sink, and a red copper frying pan as seen on TV, or make it a feature by fitting high-gloss deep purple doors on all the cabinets along one wall, or fitting lime green panels between counter-tops and wall units. The most effective approach is to add a single vivid color to an otherwise monochrome scheme.
Light it up
Good lighting brings kitchen design to life and makes the kitchen much easier to use, too. Recessed spotlights are the leading choice for contemporary styles, whether fitted on the ceiling, underneath the edges of units for subtle up-lighting, or on the underside of wall cabinets where they provide fantastic illumination for the counter-top. An alternative approach is to use pendant lighting. In the kitchen, everything needs to be easy to wipe clean, so colored glass or metal shades are the best option, with copper and steel this season’s favorites. Low-hanging lights like this can lend a real touch of character to an otherwise sleek, stripped-down space.
Be daring with materials
Everyone’s raving about this year’s high gloss cabinets, and stained metal surfaces can look fantastic in a contemporary setting, but don’t be afraid to bring in other materials. When you’re adding color, the trick is to use just one striking option alongside more conventionally modernist materials. Charismatic timber like cedar or rosewood can create a very stylish look, echoing popular Swedish designs. Marble is big this year and a marble counter-top in an otherwise white kitchen can look amazing. Alternatively, you can use marble tiles to create a stunning looking floor that brings the whole room to life.
Contemporary design is about clarity of vision, so there’s little room for innovation along the way – it’s important to map out your design carefully before you start the work. Painting the walls in white or a pale, neutral color creates an effective background for this type of design. Using a damp-resistant, mold-resistant paint will help you to keep the room fresh and hygienic.
With impressive kitchen furniture in this style now easy to find, it’s up to you to put it together so that it works with the light in your room to create the best possible impression. This is a challenge well worth taking on, as the results can be spectacular and really change the impression given by your home.