If you’re considering a kitchen renovation in 2022, now is the time to start brainstorming ideas and gathering inspiration!
At James River Construction (JRC)
If you’re considering a kitchen renovation in 2022, now is the time to start brainstorming ideas and gathering inspiration.
Kitchen design and trends are one of the fastest moving areas of interior design. In addition to tastes changing over time, kitchen design is also influenced by technological advances. New, high-tech appliances are coming out all the time, and designers and builders are keeping up by creating kitchen features that accommodate those appliances and special tech needs.
However, the most important aspect of a good kitchen design is whether or not it works for your specific needs. Do you have loads of cookware or barware? Space may be better spent on specific types of storage solutions, rather than a large, six-burner industrial stove. Big family with big appetites? A subzero, commercial sized refrigerator may solve many of your food storage issues. Or maybe the most important thing to you is simply to have sight lines to where your kids are playing and doing homework while you fix dinner. Whatever it is, those needs should trump trends every time.
That being said, there are some recent kitchen trends that can incorporate many of those needs with style. Here are just a few that are on the horizon for 2022
COLOR IS BACK
For the last decade, white and gray kitchens have prevailed. Limited color palettes and traditional materials do have a timeless and minimalist quality that many homeowners love. But color is coming back to the kitchen in specific, thoughtful ways.
In some cases, the color is subtle, as with cabinets painted light blues and greens that are still soothing and easy to design around.
In other cases, the color comes in a powerful pop through backsplash materials and tile. This is a fun way to incorporate trends in smaller ways, not to mention in ways that can be changed down the road as your taste evolves.
LET THE SUNSHINE IN
Incorporating natural light has been a major trend in kitchen design lately. In the past, wall space for cabinets and storage superseded windows and doors in a kitchen. Under cabinet lighting and fluorescent fixtures were used instead. But these days, homeowners are leaning toward surrendering some storage space for more natural light.
Often kitchens are designed to be in the center of the home, so windows are not always possible, but when they are, modern metal framed and side-sliding windows have been all the rage. Windows with lots of trim or interior grids (also called “grids between glass” or GBGs) have become less popular in favor of using every inch to let more light in.
When a kitchen is positioned away from windows, opening up walls to other light-filled rooms is another solution. Sun tunnels or sky lights may be another way to incorporate natural light when windows are not nearby.
FRAMELESS CABINETS
Let’s get technical for a second to make a design distinction. Traditional framed cabinets place the doors on the outside of the cabinet frame, and they are attached to the cabinet box with hinges, and often (but not always) those hinges are visible on the outside of the door. Frameless cabinet doors are inset in the cabinet box so the door is flush with the cabinet and no hinges are visible.
Frameless cabinets have become exceedingly popular lately as they have a more minimalistic, streamlined look. They also offer more accessibility and storage space because there is not an inside edge of a frame inside the cabinet opening. This allows more flexibility with what will fit inside a cabinet and the ease in which you can get things in and out.
Framed cabinets will likely be around forever, and have their advantages including the ability to reface cabinets more easily (again, as your taste evolves), and providing a traditional millwork style that many people prefer. Ultimately, whether you go with frameless or framed cabinets is entirely up to taste as both are equally durable over time.
FLEXIBLE STORAGE
As we incorporate more countertop appliances and kitchen gadgets into our lives, the need for storage increases. Flexible, well-designed storage should always be at the core of any good kitchen design. However, not all storage solutions make sense for everyone.
For some, floor to ceiling paneled cabinets are a must to store appliances, dishes, gadgets, lunch boxes, water bottles and more. In this case, keeping the clutter at bay and out of eye sight is paramount.
For others, a large pantry with room for homesteading supplies and food staples is key. A sliding barn door means major pathways in the home aren’t blocked while you’re looking for that one ingredient you need.
And for others, open shelving or glass cabinet doors allow them to display special pieces while keeping the space light and open.
At the end of the day, the biggest “trend” in kitchen storage and design truly is making sure that the solutions you come up with alongside your designer, architect and builder are ones that work for you and your family’s needs.