Learning Centre

Top Kitchen Design Trends for 2024

Written by Deslaurier | Dec 1, 2023 2:00:00 PM

Estimated Read Time: 7 Minutes

The upcoming year is bound to see the retirement of some old trends like marble patterning and bold backsplashes and the introduction of many new ones. 

 

This year will see a continuing shift to the organic modern kitchen style we have all embraced and are looking for more of.

 

Deslaurier Custom Cabinets has over forty years of experience designing custom kitchens. Working on thousands of luxury kitchen renovations, we keep our finger on the pulse of each year's incoming trends. We take pride in our industry knowledge and helping customers design kitchens they love.

 

Today, we will talk about all the top trends for this upcoming year and provide you with new insight into the 2024 trends brought to you by NKBA's (National Kitchen and Bath Association) research. 

 

You can incorporate one or all into your upcoming kitchen redesign, whether a complete remodel or just a few slight tweaks here and there. 

 

Table of Contents

Kitchen Islands as the Focal Point

Beverage and Entertainment Zones

Wood Over White Cabinets

Natural-Inspired Hues

Gold Accents

Quiet Qualities in Appliances and Cabinets

Savvy Storage Solutions

Emphasis on Nutrition

Well-Curated Lighting

Environmental Consciousness

Design with Deslaurier Custom Cabinets

 

#1 Kitchen Islands as the Focal Point

 

Kitchen islands continue to be a massive trend in modern kitchen design. 

 

As a focal point, they draw your eye to the center of the room, and the trend continues to shift to larger, more multifunctional designs. 

 

As the kitchen is the heart of your home, these expanded islands are multipurpose as dining, socializing, and food preparation areas. 

 

 

Innovative technology will continue to involve these islands, including built-in charging stations, touchless faucets, and other technology that aims to make your life easier. 

 

The benefits of larger kitchen islands allow one side of the island to have bar-height seating so that others can sit and chat as you meal prep. They also make for a great breakfast bar or even a study area. 

 

The large island also allows multiple cooks to work simultaneously in the kitchen, perfect for dinner parties and holidays. 

 

When looking to add a custom island to your kitchen, it is wise to work with an experienced kitchen designer, as they can be quite an investment, depending on the features added. Check out our article here if you'd like to learn more about designing a kitchen island. 

 

 

#2 Beverage and Entertainment Zones

 

As kitchen islands continue their popularity, so do beverage and entertainment zones, though they continue to expand. Wine and coffee bars have been hot trends for years, but those for the health-conscious have been gaining speed and will do so in 2024. 

 

Wine bars with integrated wine fridges, coffee bars with espresso machines, and space for milk frothers and syrups bring the cafe experience home. 

 

Wine bars in small areas can benefit from going vertically, storing wine in wine fridges or wall-mounted racks, and keeping glasses on open shelving, making them beautiful and functional.

 

 

Coffee bar design has come a long way as it is now designed to mimic a local coffee house with high-grade machines for brewing, grinders for the freshest coffee beans, and multiple kinds of coffee brewers, including pour-overs, french presses, and traditional drip coffee makers.

 

For beer lovers, beverage technology allowing in-home taps means having multiple brews at the touch of a bar top lever. This is great for entertaining and for those who are lovers of a good microbrew. 

 

Entertainment zones featuring dedicated glass storage can keep beer mugs cold and frosty and store your wine or other cocktail glasses within easy reach and displayed beautifully.

 

Juice and smoothie bar popularity is rising, with amenities allowing for easy storage and preparation of your favourite ingredients. 

 

If you make a daily protein shake or green juice, this can be a real-time-saver and a great addition to your modern kitchen design.

 

 

#3 Wood Over White Cabinets

 

The shift in cabinetry is to trendy kitchen cabinet colours like warmer wood tones that, when mixed, can bring in a more modern yet eclectic look. 

 

The trend of wood cabinets over painted ones goes back to a few decades ago when wood cabinets were all the rage. 

 

In addition to cabinets, you can bring wood tones into your kitchen by incorporating open wood shelving to display dishes and glasses, choosing wood cabinets over the popular white alternative, or adding accents such as wooden bar stools or accessories.

 

 

Mixing wood tones can feel tricky, as can picking the right shade for your space. This is a great time to work with a kitchen designer who can help you design a kitchen that incorporates the warmth of wood while keeping your kitchen looking clean and modern.

 

Insets of wood in cabinetry, two-toned cabinets, or uppers and lowers in different materials are all options they can discuss with you.

 

If you are interested in making oak look more modern, we have an excellent resource for you here

 

#4 Natural-Inspired Hues

 

2024 will be about embracing earthy tones and natural colour palettes in our homes, including the kitchen. 

 

Think shades of green and blue that mimic the grass, trees, sky, soft whites, and toupes over the more stark whites we saw in years past. 

 

The shades are also seen in bringing textures through woven fabrics, natural fibre rugs, and finishes on cabinetry that are more texturized than the popular shiny brass of years past. 

 

 

Incorporating greenery and botanicals through houseplants will continue to bring life to kitchen spaces and further accentuate the nature-inspired organic modern kitchen design style. 

 

Natural light will also play a huge role, so if you work with a contractor or kitchen designer on a kitchen renovation, consider skylights or larger windows to bring lots of light and welcome nature into your indoor space.

 

#5 Gold Accents

 

Gold accents are necessary if you want to implement a luxury kitchen design. 

 

Gold accents for cabinet hardware, lighting, and other fixtures are a great choice for the neutral and earthy tones that will be popular in 2024. 

 

They also pair excellently with warmer cabinet tones that look slightly off or washed out when paired with nickel or chrome hardware.  

 

 

Mixing metals in your kitchen is a great way to balance gold elements and other finishes. 

 

A kitchen designer can show you a variety of hardware finished in a showroom and help you design a space that includes golden and other accents to create the perfect harmony without one outshining the other. 

 

Achieving the luxury look with gold detailing is all about the perfect quantity and placement.

 

#6 Quiet Qualities in Appliances and Cabinets

 

While we agree that the kitchen is the heart of your home and is where everyone likes to gather, that doesn't mean it should always feel noisy and hectic. 

 

Creating a serene kitchen environment to go along with all the neutral, warm tones and natural elements also means a space that can be quiet when you are enjoying making your morning cup of coffee and a glass of wine at the end of the evening.

 

Today’s homeowners are increasingly interested in silent or low-noise kitchen appliances that fit beautifully into remodels and help the space be quieter. This trend is something kitchen renovators see continuing in 2024 as more customers specifically budget for these appliance upgrades in their renovations. 

 

In addition to quiet refrigerators and dishwashers, soft-close cabinets can also be a great investment.

 

Soft close cabinets mean you don't have to worry about slamming drawers and cabinet doors disturbing the peace. This is an ideal choice for busy families with kids who may not always close things as gently as one would like.

 

Talk to your kitchen designer about the makes and models available that will fit beautifully in your space and help it be noise-free. 

 

#7 Savvy Storage Solutions

 

Storage is a trend that will always stay in style! Whether you have a small or large kitchen, utilizing your space to the best of its ability is key. 

 

With busy lifestyles that can include work, hobbies, family activities, and travel, the organization isn’t merely about keeping things in their place anymore. It’s about optimizing your life and efficiency.

 

Customized cabinets are the ultimate example of this, as they can be designed to fit exactly how you use your kitchen. 

 

Whether you bake and need all your mixers and essentials accessible with pull-out drawers or are a home chef who needs the built-in spice rack of your dreams, custom cabinets can give you that.

 

Maximizing vertical and underutilized spaces by extending cabinets to the ceiling and ensuring storage solutions make every inch of your inner cabinets reachable is a great investment in effectively using your valuable storage space. 

 

If you've never considered taking your kitchen cabinets to the ceiling, you can learn more here.  

 

A well-designed modern kitchen will help you maintain a clutter-free aesthetic, and a kitchen designer will work with you to ensure your new space works perfectly and has a place for everything.

 

#8 Emphasis on Nutrition

 

Kitchens designed to make healthy eating more accessible and more efficient is a trend that is rapidly increasing in popularity. Three of the most significant ways are through fridges, pantry organization, and technology. Let's talk about these below.

 

Smart fridges are no longer something out of a Jetsons episode. They are a popular appliance that makes healthy eating and shopping easier. 

 

With the ability to create lists through compatible voice-activated apps, doors that allow you to see what is inside without opening the door, and several other features, you can make healthy and delicious recipes with the help of your fridge. 

 

Temperature-zoned fridges are also becoming more commonplace and affordable, beyond just the crisper bin in your old refrigerator. These can keep all your groceries at the precise temperature to retain their nutrients and freshness the longest.

 

Organizing your custom pantry to keep the ingredients you reach for the most often helps home cooks spend less time searching for ingredients and more time cooking.

 

In contrast, smart home technology makes accessing recipes easy and mess-free without an old-school cookbook.

 

#9 Well-Curated Lighting

 

The continued trend of layered lighting for functionality and aesthetics is pairing in 2024 with statement fixtures that bring an impact factor to your space. 

 

Task lighting under cabinets and beautiful fixtures above large kitchen islands are still popular choices, and installing smart lighting systems that can be programmed for the time of day or controlled by your smartphone is becoming a staple in luxury kitchen design ideas.

 

Curating your lighting for the separate areas in your kitchen ensures that no part of your space goes unlit but that you can also control exactly what you are illuminating and when.

 

#10 Environmental Consciousness

 

Today's consumer demands more than just beautiful kitchen hardware, cabinets, and countertops. 

 

They want to know that what they are installing in their home will be not only long-lasting and durable but also eco-friendly and sustainable so that generations to come will have a greener planet and beautiful kitchens at the same time. 

 

When starting the design process for your kitchen remodel, visit a kitchen showroom and speak to a designer about the materials they recommend for creating a green and sustainable renovation. 

 

Water-based paints and staples that are environmentally safe, flooring and countertops made from sustainable and recycled materials, and energy-efficient appliances can all be part of your plans. 

 

As they become more widely accessible and used, their affordability has increased dramatically, and they are no longer out of budget for most homeowners. 

 

To learn more about environmentally friendly kitchen materials, check out our article.

 

Design with Deslaurier Custom Cabinets

 

The upcoming year will be filled with beautiful kitchen remodels that include some, if not all, of the above trends.

 

If you are looking to work with a modern kitchen designer and need a custom kitchen cabinet maker, then Deslaurier Custom Cabinets should be at the top of your list. 

 

We know how to keep you up-to-date with this year's hottest kitchen trends.

 

With over 40 years of experience and an outreach of over 30 dealers across Ontario, we provide our clients with a customized design process with our talented team of designers. We are here to help you customize your dream kitchen.

 

Book a free consultation with a Deslaurier kitchen expert at our Ottawa showroom!

 

Live outside the area? Find a Dealer to connect with near you! Interested in becoming an authorized Deslaurier dealer? Visit our Become a Dealer page to learn more!