Top 2021 Kitchen Trends

Mix and Match Metals
People are beginning to turn away from a kitchen of solid stainless steel. “Mixing different materials on appliances, sinks, faucets, lighting fixtures, and cabinet hardware creates a deeper, more dynamic design, which can make the kitchen a cozier, more interesting room to be in.”
Smart Appliances
One of the most popular 2021 kitchen trends in smart appliances is touchless faucets. Covid-19 has driven the desire for touchless technology, and 78% of professionals say there is an increased interest in easy-to-clean surfaces. Growing in popularity. copper and brass are anti-microbial – so you can be on-trend AND extra hygienic! Two other top trends are smart refrigerators and smart ovens. Technology has driven the desire for, well, more technology.
Quartz and Quartzite Countertops
While most industry professionals believe that engineered quartz will still be the top choice for new kitchen countertops, quartzite is trending higher than before. There are likely two reasons for this: 1) some want to use a natural material in their kitchen that differs from the standard granites, and 2) quartzite offers some dramatic options to meet a growing demand for bolder countertops. That being said, quartzite is more expensive than either quartz or marble, and can cost hundreds of dollars a square foot before installation.
Three-Tone Color Palettes
We’ve done the all-wood kitchens, the all-white kitchens, and the two-tone kitchens. Looks like 2021 is the year for trending three-tone kitchens! This means mixing wood and painted cabinets, as well as more color in backsplashes.

Predictions for 2021 Kitchen Trends

A couple other things I see trending in kitchen design include larger-scale backsplash tiles, colored and mixed cabinetry, matte finishes, copper accents, area rugs, statement hoods, lots of plants, and the addition of “prep” kitchens.

If you are planning to sell your home within the next several years, you can stop reading here and just focus on the Houzz and FIXR 2021 kitchen trends reports. If you plan on staying where you are for the long haul, then read on! My predictions really aren’t specific to 2021, but to the next 5-7 years. You can do like most, and pick and choose a few to embrace to freshen up your kitchen. Or, you can embrace your inner designer and create a uniquely personal space where you can nest (and cook) to your heart’s content, as I predict that 2021 will be the year of The Decorated Kitchen.

Kitchens, like the rest of interior design, are warming up. Moody palettes have been gaining popularity, thanks in part to the edgy deVol kitchens we now salivate over. Green is gaining traction for the kitchen cabinet color of choice, be it emerald, hunter, olive, sage, or mint. English and “heritage-inspired” kitchens are capturing the imagination of design-forward homeowners, incorporating furnishings like vintage hutches, plate racks, and artwork that might have only hung in a living or dining room before. Kitchens aren’t all about cooking. We long for them to be more livable and inviting – maybe there’s room for comfortable chairs, a fireplace, a place for the kids to do homework while dinner is being made.

We’ll be seeing lighter and mid-tone woods mixed with painted cabinetry and woven light fixtures that look handmade.

Square, textured backsplash tiles will be popular, while other interesting shapes emerge to offer a change to those tired of white subway. We’ll see larger tiles and tile patterns, leaving the smaller glass mosaics behind in the previous decade.

Encaustic-type patterned floor tile will continue to be popular, but we’re moving away from the grays and towards warmer color palettes. Terra cotta and brick kitchen floors will begin cozying up rooms, as well.

Wallpaper is becoming an option for kitchen backsplashes and walls again, and the available variety can help you create the most un-cookie cutter kitchen of your dreams.

With such a small amount of wall space in most kitchens, it makes more sense to put the COLOR up top – on the ceiling. We’ll see more architectural ceilings, including painted or stained panels. Wallpaper is trending, and placing it on the kitchen ceiling will lift your gaze and your countenance in 2021!