Get inspired by our favourite kitchen design trends for 2020

The kitchen in 2020 plays a vastly different role to the kitchen of years ago, and no longer is it a forgotten room hidden at the back of the house. Instead, the kitchen forms a focal point of a home, bringing families together at the start and end of a busy day. A new decade calls for a style update, and a well designed and executed kitchen can add thousands in value to the selling price of a property.

Kitchen trends come and go, which is why it’s essential to plan any remodel very carefully. If you’re considering a renovation soon, or just a minimal update, you’ll want to have an idea of the latest and emerging trends for 2020.

With so many trends to keep track of, we’ve rounded up six of our picks that’ll dominate this year to save you the hassle.

Our favourite kitchen design trends for 2020

Smart kitchens

Technology has rapidly been making its way into every room of our house, with the kitchen no exception. Voice-enabled smart devices now assist us in timing our baking, reading us recipes and remembering our shopping lists. Still, the emergence of newer technologies have incorporated smart tech into devices we would have never believed possible.

One of our favourite recent innovations is the smart fridge, monitoring your valuable supplies and letting you know when you are running low on staples. Recent introductions to the intelligent kitchen have been a smart oven, helping eliminate culinary catastrophes by detecting what is put in the oven, adjusting the temperature and cooking time accordingly. Notifications are sent to a smartphone app once cooking is complete, and it automatically shuts off when done. But the smart home is not just limited to appliances. Connecting your kitchen lighting to a home hub enables you to set the mood with your smartphone. 

In homes, kitchen renovations and new kitchens are often constructed ‘smart’ from the ground up – but that doesn’t mean your kitchen is stuck in the pre-digital age. The addition of smart sensors and wifi enabled sockets can quickly and easily bring your kitchen up to date, requiring very little in upfront investment.

Going handle-free

Previously considered a niche addition, a handle-less kitchen has grown in popularity due to the minimalist movement emerging over recent years. 

Handle-free kitchen cabinets present an effortless way to achieve a minimalist kitchen design. Cabinet handles are no longer a necessity and opting for a handle-less alternative adds a streamlined flow to your room which is both efficient and sleek.

Handle-less design can mean installing ‘push to open’ cabinetry, where the door will spring open when a small amount of pressure is applied. Alternatively, in-built handles in the top of the bottom of the cabinet create a gap for your fingertips to allow access, giving the impression of the absence of handles.

Handle free cabinets offer a timeless look that provides an elegant style for years to come – the ‘less is more’ approach has always been on-trend, and we don’t anticipate that changing any time soon. If you have young children in the house, a lack of handles is a sophisticated safety measure to prevent your curious little ones from opening cupboards they shouldn’t.

We don’t have to stop at just the kitchen cabinets. Refrigerators, ovens and dishwashers all now have handle-free options to enable you to integrate the minimalist feel across the entire room.

Golden sinks

The eye-catching combination of a golden sink and tap pairing is an elegant addition to any kitchen. Coupled with a marble or stone countertop, the gold finish can add a classical twist to your room, while set against a matte-black background achieves a more contemporary feel. Gold finishings are offered in various options, including matte, satin and spun gold, providing a muted alternative to the usual brassy golden hue.

Going for a gold sink, why stop there? Adding a statement tap is a guaranteed way to add that wow factor, with unusual handles or industrial looking tapware and exposed plumbing taking centre stage for 2020.

The subway tile

One of the most popular trends we have seen emerge in recent times is the subway tile backsplash – and for a good reason. Subway tiles genuinely stand the test of time and quickly brighten a darker kitchen design.

A tile designed for optimal cleanliness, subway tiles have a wipe-clean glaze meaning they are resistant to staining and easy to clean, quickly becoming the number one choice for bathrooms, kitchens and butcher shops in years gone by. In modern times, this makes them a natural choice for the contemporary kitchen. One of the best selling points of the subway tile is that they are cost-efficient, especially when bought from your local DIY store. Handmade tiles add a unique, one of a kind feel, but come at an increased cost.

The only limitation is your imagination – tiles can be installed in a variety of different arrangements and patterns, used in just the backsplash or to cover an entire feature wall.

Double islands

The popularity of the kitchen as a room for all the family sees the kitchen in newly constructed homes becoming more substantial. For many, the traditional kitchen island is a must-have feature. When space truly is no object, a double island set up provides an abundance of countertop space for you to make and serve meals to the entire family.

If you entertain a lot, the addition of another island means you can have devoted stations for food service, while the second can be used for guests to sit and enjoy a glass of wine. Socialising while cooking becomes easy as you can ensure your guests are well attended without compromising on food prep.

A second island can also double as a kitchen table with the addition of well-matched bar stools, perfect for quick, on the go meals for when a formal sit down gathering is inconvenient.

Vibrant appliances

With appliances taking up so much space in your kitchen and often in dull shades of white and grey, homeowners have long attempted to keep them out of sight. Stainless steel appliances have long been popular for a good reason, and they add a timeless contemporary feel to any kitchen. For 2020, a trend we predict is the emergence of vibrantly coloured appliances which add a homeowner’s unique personality to their kitchens. Ovens, fridges, toasters and microwaves are now offered in a wealth of colours including magenta, coral, cobalt and orange, while some manufacturers are allowing you to completely customise the colour of your appliance to match the rest of your decor.

One particular strategy homeowners are opting for is to pick one appliance to splash with colour, while keeping all other devices neutral, preventing the space from becoming gaudy and overbearing through overuse of bright shades.

Open shelving

The traditional preference of storing all of your consumables and tableware out of sight is shifting as homeowners seek solutions that will allow them easy access to their pantry stock. Open shelving also allows statement cookware and dinnerware to be put on display, increasing the visual attractiveness of the space, seeing a departure from the minimalist approach that has been popular in recent years.

Adding a set of rustic, wooden open shelves will help tone down any flashy materials used in the rest of your kitchen, such as a statement range cooker, at the same time not detracting from the focal point of your space. Homeowners opting for open shelving should take the time to streamline their dinnerware to ensure the kitchen does not become cluttered.

As you can see, 2020 is shaping up to be a year of pushing boundaries and thinking outside of the box when it comes to your kitchen, and two themes that will continue to dominate will be the use of bold colours and functional design.

With the guidance of our team, we can lead you step-by-step through your options, to help create the kitchen of your dreams.