What are the latest kitchen design trends for 2018

Harrogate New Kitchen Design Trends 2018

There was a time when the kitchen was hidden in the back of the house. It was a place where meals were prepared and dirty dishes were washed. Fast forward to 2018 and the kitchen has a much different role. Today, the kitchen is the focal point of the home, the place that brings everyone together at the start of the day or after a long day way.  Now instead, the kitchen is paraded in all its beauty and warmth at the very centre of the house. it is often designs as a “living kitchen” a large family entertaining space with often areas to dine and even relax.Kitchens have changed a lot over the decades and planning for your kitchen remodel is very important. Technology advances and changing social dynamics have contributed greatly to the rise of the modern kitchen. There is a far bigger focus on open concept homes that revolve around the kitchen so everyone can be together. As with any modern design trend, clean and simple styles have become favourites for homeowners with natural light becoming an essential aspect of the overall look and function of the kitchen space. If you are planning a kitchen remodel or kitchen extension Inglish Design offer a FREE DESIGN SERVICE

With advice from our design experts, you can be sure that your kitchen space will be planned to include everything you need, as well as us giving you a kitchen which looks amazing. At Inglish Design we strive to provide our clients with the very best kitchens, and are always researching the market and following trends to let us do this.

Here are the top 10 trends in kitchen design we expect to see in 2018.

1. Smart Kitchen Design and home technology 

Technology has entered the kitchen in full force and not just in the form of fancy gadgets and appliances. Today, you can have a kitchen with technology integrated into every function and appliance–from the taps to the fridge, cooking to extraction, worktops to lighting. This is what we call a smart kitchen.

Smart kitchens are an evolving aspect of design. In fact, a lot of kitchens today are built smart from the ground up. For older kitchens, sensors, smart gadgets and other devices can be added to for convenience to the homeowner. Easy add-ons are motion sense-equipped kitchen. Appliances like ovens can wirelessly connect to your phone, and in the not too distant future refrigerators will alert you when your groceries items are running Coffee maker programmed to have your specific type of coffee ready when you wake up.  You can even update your lighting system–allowing you to control all the lights from your smartphone or tablet. Technology integrated kitchens are becoming more popular as homeowners experiment with novel technologies. This is one of the biggest trends going into 2018. Future or fad, technology leads kitchen design, and Inglish Design will be exploring all the latest gadgets at KBB this year and reporting back via our blog. The KBB ( Kitchen Bedroom Bathroom show at the NEC, it is the UK’s largest gathering of the world’s best kitchen, bedroom and bathroom brands, and the established industry gathering.

2. Kitchen Cabinet Colors: White Stays, Grey Gets Elegant and Dark Paint Colors are the New Thing

White is still a big favourite for kitchen cabinets. Home owners love it for its clean look, which is especially beneficial in a space that tends to get cluttered. White cabinets are simply beautiful and timeless and can be used in almost any kind of kitchen style. We expect white to remain a popular cabinet colour in 2018 and probably for years to come. To break up the all-white kitchen expect to see islands in a variety of different paint colours or wood stained colours and timber. The mixing of finishes creates the needed accents when designing a living kitchen space. If you plan to use a space for living as well as cooking you need to incorporate accents to soften the kitchen. As popular as white cabinets are, grey is the second choice for many. Grey cabinets are like a chameleon of sorts. Versatile for any look or project. Grey cabinets work great when paired with natural elements, glamour accents, or none at all. White and grey seem to be the two big cabinet colours going into 2018 still. Their modern clean look will keep them as favourites for years. Grey colours don’t have to be cold, there are many shades of grey, it can be cold and crisp, or soft and warm – look at the Farrow and Ball chart and there is a Grey for everyone ! However, there is another colour palette slowly making its way into the kitchen–dark jewel tones: black, navy, emerald green and even plum.  It will surprise you at how well dark kitchen cabinets can work in and even enhance a kitchen space with its dramatic and luxurious feel. Dark kitchen cabinets portray full-on elegance and a deep rich luxurious atmosphere that the other options just don’t.  They cast the kitchen in a subtle dramatic essence.   However, you have to be careful that it does not overpower the room, making it feel perpetually dark. But more and more homeowners are getting bolder and opting for a kitchen with dark cabinet colours in 2018. While a darker colour palette may not be the new white anytime soon, it certainly will get more popular with time – watch this space !

3. Streamlined Kitchen Designs, Materials and Textures

While clean modern lines in kitchen design are still popular, the plain shaker style kitchen remains. Stress-free environments are what you would like to come home too, which usually means, simplicity.  In recent years the plain shaker in-frame kitchen has gone from strength to strength. Hand painted finishes allow a matt elegant finish that suits any home. Character can be added via colour choice for the cabinets, accents added via lighting, soft furnishing and accessories.  The great thing about this look is that over time you can change the colour and replace the accents pieces – and have a completely new look – rather than installing another kitchen. Inglish Design bespoke kitchens are ideal, using the very best Farrow and Ball paints, and providing clients with such a good build on the cabinets and drawers – makes the kitchen versatile and durable.

Concealing to allow decluttering is a big trend. Inglish Design incorporate breakfast cabinets and pantry cabinets in virtually every kitchen. By cleverly designing cabinets with fold back or pocket doors, day to day items like toasters and cereal packets can accessed, used, then hidden behind closed doors. Every family kitchen must be usable, but its perfect if it can also provide some mess control !

Removing upper wall cabinets has become a growing trend in the last few years since it opens up the visual space making the kitchen appear much larger and brighter.  It allows you to utilize the countertop space more productively.  Not to mention, most people can’t reach what is on the top shelves of the cabinetry anyway.  However, beware the open shelves, its a careful balance of  storage space versus focal point and aesthetic. One of the biggest annoyances with bad kitchen design is cabinetry giving unnecessary waste of space. The way the basic shelves and drawers in “off the shelf kitchens!are structured leaves a lot of wasted space. Worst of all, available space is often too small for some of your larger things or the opposite: it’s too wide and does not give you a way to properly and efficiently organize the space.

One of the foundations of an Inglish Design kitchens is that it is BESPOKE, it can therefore easily provide you with a functional kitchen with maximum storage. If it is inadequate or ineffective, you will be faced with endless frustrations and challenges. To counter these storage challenges, homeowners are starting to look for better storage solutions within the cabinetry. The bespoke kitchen industry is rapidly growing as a direct result. The homeowner knows that a bespoke kitchen adds value to their home, and it also adds value to their lifestyle. Its about making your kitchen space both enjoyable to use, and spend time in.

4. Quartz is Still King

For high-end kitchen countertops, quartz still reigns supreme. The material is extremely hardy, can last virtually forever, is a breeze to maintain and is anti-microbial. Granite, the main competitor in the high-end bracket, requires slightly more maintenance. When quartz worktops first came into the market, the main worry was lack of variety in terms of colours and finishes. But with time, thanks to technology, manufacturers have provided a wide range of colours to choose from as well as realistic stone patterns. You can even get quartz finished with elaborate swirls and large veining to imitate other materials like natural stone. These unique styles have become immensely popular. But there is a notable trend toward softer and more neutral colours. More and more homeowners are opting for colours like grey, taupe, creamy or white finishes. The pattern preferences have changed to veining from particulates that we’ve seen in past years. This definitely follows the trend towards cleaner styles seen in most home spaces. It also complements perfectly the trend for dark coloured cabinets, which simply would be overwhelmed by the black granite tops of previous years.used on making daily lives more effortless and making cooking fun.

Kitchen islands are no longer an afterthought or something small to squeeze into the space. They have become focal points and the hub of the kitchen. A kitchen island is meant to create an impact, and its design must make a statement, but a well designed kitchen island should also integrate everything you need. The 2018 larger kitchen islands are the jack-of-all-trades -they must have storage, integrated appliances, sockets, sinks and hobs, and in addition they will provide seating for dining, drinking and working. To accommodate the increased size, we are seeing a tendency for the kitchen island to extend into living room spaces in homes with open plan designs. This ensures the kitchen island can be multi-functional without cluttering up space in the kitchen. Many home owners are removing walls to open up their dining rooms, and creating large multi purpose areas, linked by kitchen islands with integral seating.

All of the above trends serve as design ideas for your 2018 kitchen renovation or new home construction. These ideas combine the best in functionality and aesthetics to create the ultimate kitchen. If you wish to use the Inglish Design kitchen service or wish to visit our Harrogate kitchen showroom simply contact us on 01423 864951 or email us at info@inglishdesign.co.uk