You’re ready to change your kitchen and give it a cool, contemporary update. Good choice! Contemporary kitchens are very on-trend these days, and there are lots of ways you can spin it to suit your style.
Contemporary kitchen designs are notorious for their neat, clean lines, minimalist approach, and open-concept approach. They also tend toward a more subdued color palette and favor sleek, cutting-edge materials. Think streamlined as opposed to ornate. It is hands-down the aesthetic of choice for those who love a simple, but elegant look.
So how can you bring this futuristic fantasy into your own home kitchen? Good news! It’s relatively easy. Today, we’ve compiled a few design ideas that we hope will inspire you to create the contemporary kitchen of your dreams.
Contemporary Kitchen Colors
The contemporary palette primarily features subdued, neutral tones. You’ll frequently see shades of white, black, and varying degrees of grey. For the typical homeowner, these stark shades can seem a bit cold and intimidating. If you’re afraid of going down that road, incorporating a pop of color can warm it up.
Bottom line, neutral doesn’t mean boring, and there are hundreds of subtle hues that can bring your space to life without overwhelming it.
Add a painted wall for contrast or a well-placed accent piece or two. Interesting furniture, art, decorative dishes, or even a few plants in simple, elegant pots will do the trick. Deep, saturated hues pair well with the neutral tones in the rest of your design. Don’t be afraid to play around!
Contemporary Kitchen Cabinets
Contemporary cabinets come in a wide range of materials, from wood to metal, to resin, to glass. The key here is that you want to keep things simple and unobtrusive. Choose flat-fronted cabinets without embellishments like raised panels, decorative carvings, or crown molding. These flourishes tend to accent the cabinets, which, while not a bad thing, does not fit with the concept of contemporary design.
For hardware, you’ll want to choose something simple, functional, and plain. Many contemporary kitchens feature cabinets that lack hardware entirely, meaning no handles or knobs. These cabinets have a sleek, minimal, streamlined look, and might have finger-pulls incorporated into them. Simplified handles and hardware designs make for a striking visual, and will definitely help you achieve the look you’re after.
If you’re thinking about something entirely different, why not go for clean-cornered, open shelving units to replace some of your cabinets? You can keep the functionality of the cabinet and get to display some of your favorite decorative pieces. Contemporary design is all about practicality, so keep the non-functional items to a minimum.
Designer tip: paint the insides of your glass-fronted cabinets in contrasting colors for visual interest.
Contemporary Kitchen Countertops
You have lots of options when it comes to a contemporary countertop. You want to keep things sleek and simple. The typical contemporary look features clean, though not always straight lines, and this applies to countertops too. Choose plain-edged countertops over beveled or fancy-edge designs.
Natural stone and solid-surface countertops look polished, sophisticated, and very contemporary. Whether you choose natural stone or an engineered material like quartz or Corian, you have a lot of colors and textures to choose from. With any of these materials, you can choose a glossy or matte finish. Paired with the right design approach, any of these choices can make your kitchen shine.
Contemporary Kitchen Tile
Tile can be a fun way to play around with when it comes to contemporary kitchen design. Get creative with your kitchen backsplash! It doesn’t need to be monochrome to look modern. If you prefer a more refined look, try white tiles with contrasting black grout, or vice versa. For something a little edgier, consider using geometrically shaped tiles in a single color and filling it out with colored grout to achieve an eye-catching pattern. If you’re going simple with the rest of your design, a funky backsplash is a great way to add texture.
In conclusion, when it comes to creating the contemporary kitchen of your dreams, we encourage you to make your own rules. Consider these design ideas more as guidelines than hard-and-fast directives.
As for the Winthorpe Design & Build team, we are inspired by the simple elegance of the contemporary look, and we’ve got inspiration to spare. Reach out today to get started. Working with us, you can depend on a beautiful, quality kitchen remodel that will delight you and your family for years to come.
