Kitchens have always been a place where people can feel at home, whether it’s cooking or just spending time with friends and family. Kitchens are often the heart of our homes and serve many purposes; from being functional spaces for food preparation to emotional points within rooms that represent who we really want ourselves to be.
In 2022, the kitchen will continue its hybrid role as we get more inclined to introduce permanent solutions and take a fresh look at home working. We are increasingly seeing neutrals and greys replaced with deep blues and forest greens combined with brass hardware, feature flooring, and new, innovative approaches to kitchen lighting.
We’re going to look at some design trends we think will lead the way this year. If you are in the market for a new bespoke kitchen, make sure you call us on 01344 627150 or email us.
Pantries
While pantries and larders may conjure images of an idyllic Enid Blyton breakfast, they are far from old-fashioned. In fact, the breakfast pantry is increasingly becoming a popular addition to many modern kitchens. Not only do they enable you to free up space for more decorative touches but also this ‘less functional’ outlook can make a kitchen feel more ‘lived in’ and homely.
Breakfast pantries can be large enough to house a toaster, microwave, and kettle, as well as all the necessary dry goods and crockery required for a decent breakfast. Of course, it’s just a name, we have seen many uses for these spaces and they don’t have to be meal specific – one client dedicated the entire pantry as a ‘confectionary cupboard’ – shhh don’t tell the kids.
Metallics
When you have expertly crafted kitchen cabinetry, you want to draw attention to it without stealing its thunder. Antique metals are the perfect solution and they add warmth to your kitchen, particularly when combined with matching handles, taps, hinges and even some artistic lighting.
Brass finishes are one of the most eye-catching materials with which you can accentuate your new kitchen, especially combined with a dark colour scheme; metallics in the right balance can give a timeless feel to your kitchen.
Nature’s Colour Palette
We have seen a shift in the types of colour palettes our clients are looking at, even this early in the year. Deep blues and woodland greens are proving popular as people get increasingly brave about their colour choices and are keen to make a bold statement. We love this kind of adventurous colour selection, it’s as exciting for us to work towards as it is for the client.
The beauty of blues and greens is that they work beautifully with the aforementioned antique metallic finishes. Bringing warmth, sophistication and timelessness to the heart of your home is a wonderful way to really make a statement.
Lighting
Getting the lighting in your kitchen right is one of the most challenging aspects of kitchen design. With the amount of time we have spent over the last two years we have become ever more aware of the shortcomings of our homes as they stand.
So, when designing your kitchen lighting will need to be layered. We have always recommended a layered approach to cater for all of the different uses your kitchen will have to cope with. How will your space look during the day, dusk and evening? A layered approach will enable you to accent the design of your kitchen and also illuminate the functional areas as and when they need it.
Whether it’s under-counter lighting or floor lighting, we see this being a huge part of kitchen design in 2022.
Zoning
The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that many people have been spending more time at home than ever before. As a result of this, we have all had to change the way we live and work and so we have created zones in our home which are for more specific activities. This means that we can now separate our living and working lives while remaining in the same building.
We think we are likely to see more of this throughout 2022 as the ‘new normal’ continues to evolve. Kitchens are usually well-lit and can make very convenient workspaces – never more than a couple of metres from the coffee machine, we think that the addition of work nooks or small desks will be a popular trend this year.
Flooring
Kitchen flooring has to be able to tolerate a lot of abuse. Kitchens are high traffic areas in the home and also are subjected to the dropping of all kinds of things – so, they need to be hardwearing, functional and durable. This doesn’t mean, however, that they can’t be a bold part of the design.
We have seen some demand for what you might call “feature flooring”. Whether that is giant flagstones, patterned tiles or hardwearing vinyl – people are paying more attention to their flooring than ever before and we think this is only going to continue into 2022 and beyond.
Get in Touch
If you are looking to add something special to your home with a custom, handmade kitchen, make sure you get in touch with us. You can call us on 01344 627150 or email us. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn if you’re looking for inspiration.