A lot to celebrate
So much has happened to kitchen design trends in the last decade we could write a thesis about it, but there are some clear style, colour and function winners that really must be highlighted, applauded and celebrated.
It was the decade that kitchen islands became an absolute must, splashbacks and pendant lighting were all the rage, huge farmhouse double sinks grew enormously in popularity and the range of bench top finishes just exploded!
Hub of the home
Probably the biggest kitchen design trend involved the room itself. Kitchens have come a long way in the last decade in relation to their status in the home.
Back in grandma’s day, kitchens were rooms that you cook and cleaned in, but in the last 10 years they have become the hub and heart of the home. It’s where we all want to hang out to eat, drink, check our digital devices and have a relaxed chat at the end of a busy day. Many families probably spend as much time – if not more – in the kitchen as in the living room.
Big wishlist
That shift in emphasis has meant that we want more from our kitchens when it comes to its design, feel and function. Not only do we want to create a “working triangle” where the cooktop, fridge and sink area are all carefully spaced in relation to each other in the kitchen, but we also want the room to be light, airy, comfortable, warm or cool and super practical.
A reflection of ourselves
A great kitchen can vary from having everything neatly put away in large drawers and cabinets to a more “arty” expression of its owners with a feature piece of furniture, for example, showing off beautiful glassware or china.
Large or small, a kitchen needs to have one element that stands out as a “wow-factor” – it could be a stack of gorgeous old and new cookbooks or some op shop cups and saucers.
In other words, one of the most noticeable kitchen design trends of the last decade has been that the kitchen has become an expression of who we are – and that doesn’t always need to cost a fortune.
Flatpack to the fore
It goes without saying that one of the most important kitchen design trends of the last decade has been the flatpack kitchen, allowing DIY enthusiasts and those wanting to maximise their budgets to find guaranteed quality products and workmanship while also meeting their kitchen design needs for cabinetry, drawers and pantry storage – something SmartPack knows only too well thanks to its quality range of kitchen accessories ranging from lazy susans to bin storage.
Colour and light
While there have been many kitchen design trends over the last decade, one thing has remained constant: good taste and never turning one’s back on the classics including using white as the feature colour throughout and ensuring that the kitchen complements and enhances the rest of the home.
It might be bold, but there is little point having a country style kitchen, for example, if the rest of the house’s signature style is modern, sleek and industrial.
Having said that, some kitchens do remarkably well when given a signature “bold statement” such as a fiery-coloured splashback or the flooring is the classic monochrome design (black and white never goes out of fashion, ladies and gents!)
New decade with confidence
Whatever your favourite kitchen design trends of the last decade, and we are sure you have many, you can start a new decade in the knowledge that whatever flatpack kitchen design you feel is right for your home, you are in the process of putting together something wonderful for you and your home. Is there anything better than that?
If this blog has inspired you to get started on your DIY kitchen flatpack project with SmartPack and you would like to find out more about how it’s done, read more at smartpackkit.com.au.