A new year means you may be planning for the months ahead. Have you got a kitchen that’s in need of a bit of TLC? Are you looking at your units and going “it’s time”? Our design experts are here to give you an overview of coming trends this year, to make sure your kitchen is Good Housekeeping-ready!
All the below looks are budget-independent. You can go to town on a fully fitted extravaganza, or replace just a few touches to bring a world of change to your home’s heartbeat. Whatever you have the capability to do, you can achieve a heart-stopping look in your kitchen.
Let’s explore some of this year’s most on-trend styles below…
Bold Colours
Perhaps a cool and minimal look just isn’t your thing? In this case, you’ll be pleased to know that bold colours are likely to be making a comeback in 2024. Whether it’s the freezing temperatures or the dismal news in the papers, the mood-enhancing effect of colour might be just what your kitchen needs. Whether it’s on the walls, on the counter-tops or in your accessorising, being brave with shades and freeing your workspace from simple function will make your kitchen pop.
Colour Blocking
Not only is colour back, but using colour as a feature is too. Colour blocking is a beautiful way to bring in a shock of extravagance while keeping the chic look of your contemporary kitchenware. This touch works best when paired with neutral countertops – wood or stainless steel can be contrasted with a single feature wall painted a vibrant hue, or tiles in a deeper colour. It’s a more restrained way to assert your personality in a modernist kitchen.
Kitchen Jewellery
At French Furniture Fittings, accessorising your kitchen properly is what we do. With this in mind, we’re delighted that kitchen jewellery is very much in the mix for 2024. Best of all, this look can be achieved both easily and on a budget with our range of handles and knobs. Install simple units or use your existing ones, then go wild with accessorising. Whether you want sleek and low-profile or opulent and decorative, this look brings imagination and intricacy. Remember to have an overall effect in mind and unify your choices – including things such as light fittings, decorative pans or cutlery can be the difference between amateur and professional finishes.
Freestanding Storage
While a fully-fitted kitchen is aspirational and often beautiful, it truly isn’t necessary to treat your kitchen as one piece of furniture. Incorporating some freestanding storage adds interest, as well as being easier and cheaper to achieve. A set of nicely-made wooden drawers or cupboards, complete with a usable work surface on top, extends your kitchen’s utility and can make a beautiful centrepiece. This is generally thought to be a rustic look, tied to country and rural environments, but there is no reason that this couldn’t work in different styles – have a think about what types of furniture you prefer, and you’re sure to think of something suitable.
Wallpaper
While clean surfaces rarely go out of fashion, it’s good to see wallpaper getting its due for 2024. Imaginative, tasteful and coherent, the right wallpaper is a magic trick and can do great things in the kitchen. Be sure to choose something hardwearing, or keep it away from any potential splashbacks or spillages to maintain the finish. There’s of course nothing wrong with a classic pattern, but your grandmother’s kitchen this is not – think modern and be confident in your choice.
Stained Wood
Staining bare wood is a fantastic way to give your units a pulse of colour. Whether you use natural wood or earth tones, or brighter colours that emphasise the stain, done correctly it’s a look that works in almost every kitchen, from city apartment to country pile. The same principle applies to your kitchen as it does to any other room – lighter tones will create space, darker ones will shrink it. Bear this in mind when thinking about the size of your kitchen, and whether you want to make it airier or more intimate.
Sustainable Design
It’s no surprise to us that sustainable design would feature very heavily in trends for 2024. With prices going up, resources ever-dwindling and environmental catastrophes often in the news, we’re as aware as anybody of the need to make sustainable choices. Whether using recycled materials such as reclaimed timber or recycled plastics, or installing something rugged that will last, such as stainless steel fittings or stone counters, this is an environmental imperative as well as a stylistic one. Thankfully the brief for this is very broad, with many manufacturers making huge strides towards sustainability. Ecologically-sourced timbers are a good starting point, as is furniture made locally. Incorporating antiques and repurposing older items is also a great way to keep minerals in the ground. All in all, “sustainable” doesn’t have to mean “worthy” – there are countless beautiful and imaginative ways to incorporate this thinking into your grand plan.
Of course, style is always personal, and the above is just a guide for the curious. Whatever you have in mind for your dream kitchen this year, French Furniture Fittings can help give you a harmonious and beautiful workspace, on-trend and under budget.
Have a look at our range of fine, high-quality kitchen fittings here.
