The New Year feels just like yesterday to us here at Kitchen Design Centre, but slightly scarily, we’re well into March now! On the bright side, that’s given us plenty of chances to check out the most beautiful kitchen design trends of 2018. Now, as you might imagine, it’s not a very short list, even if we’re only limiting ourselves to the UK, so we’ve taken the opportunity to sum up some of the most pivotal or innovative ones (with just a sprinkling of one or two of our personal favourites in there as well – we’re biased like that!).
Right now, one of the clearest trends in kitchen design is personalisation. It was predicted to be a major trend even before the year began, and 2018 seems to be making no effort to disprove that so far! If you’re familiar with our own work here at Kitchen Design Centre, you’ll know how pleased we are to hear that. Every design we create for our customers, whether it’s a contemporary kitchen, a traditional space or something else entirely, is all designed to reflect each individual’s lifestyle, ensuring that the final design is perfectly in sync with their needs.
Kitchen islands are also making a big comeback in 2018. The layout of each individual kitchen is naturally influenced by the amount of space available, but islands continue to excel in a variety of roles. For example, they work as both expansive storage areas and neat, self-contained dining areas (such as in this Island Living case study). Although they’re traditionally used for food preparation, interestingly we’re seeing a slight decline in this usage of them – particularly intriguing since larger kitchens are even opting to have two islands installed!
Meanwhile, the popularity of open shelving continues to skyrocket. That’s no wonder, we think. It’s the perfect marriage of convenience and pleasant design aesthetics, as it gives your designer kitchen that look of exceptional neatness. Floor-to-ceiling units are also popular for space-saving measures, making them excellent options for when space is at a premium. The pleasing aesthetics and undeniable practicality of handleless storage continues to pay dividends, too – which is part of the reason we include it in so many of our own designs!
In the final few months of 2017, we saw the use of more and more vibrant colours and textures creeping into the latest designs, and we’re happy to say this trend is still continuing strong into 2018. Intriguingly, there’s a particular focus on Scandinavian application, who are pioneering pops of bright colour in otherwise serene, muted colour palettes – as seen in the designer kitchen we created for this couple in Urmston. The bolder amongst you might even like to try maximalism, which involves using two deliberately clashing colours! Though it might not sound too attractive at first, remember that design is all about personal tastes – if it works for you, who’s to say otherwise?
If you feel like the contrast might be a little overwhelming for you, you can always rely on beautiful pastel colours for your designer kitchen. They’re brilliant for injecting a bit of personality into your kitchen without letting it become overwhelming. Blue is a hot favourite at the moment, partially for its naturally calming effect, but all pastels alike can wonderfully complement grey palettes and wood effect finishes.
Feel free to use any of these latest trends as inspiration for your dream kitchen! Whatever you have in mind, here at Kitchen Design Centre it’s the goal of our designers to help you realise every inch of it. Just take a trip to your nearest local designer kitchen showroom – we’ve got locations in Blackburn, Manchester and Barrowford – and find out how we can help make your vision a reality!
