Kitchens nowadays are much more than just a space for cooking – and building and timber supplier Buildbase has a few pinpointed some of the latest trends that turn cooking into a new kind of experience.
Open plan designs are now common place, turning kitchens into the heart of the home, and as appliances get bigger, so too are the units that fill the room.
Peter Loftus, a divisional showroom manager for Buildbase, said: “What has also changed is the finish of kitchen furniture; where timber finishes were previously popular, the finish is now painted. So the kitchen needs to be more in tune with the overall decorative theme of the home.
“This trend of painted wood in kitchens today has created a fusion between a contemporary and classic kitchen atmosphere. It’s not necessarily ‘olde worlde’ as you can also see chrome handles, but furniture with a relatively traditional look and a painted finish tends to mimic high end design.”
Meanwhile, the appliances themselves are becoming more intelligent, with control of lights as well as the number of locations in a kitchen for lighting have changes considerably.
According to Loftus, “lighting has become an even more vital element as kitchens have transformed into a multi-function and multi-experience room in the house.”
In another trend, rarely-used corner units are now being removed – or replaced by taller units or a closed corner.
“If the corner unit stubbornly remains, today it’s a much larger space which is easier to access or only is featured in the most basic kitchen designs,” Loftus offers. “Particularly at the higher end of kitchen furniture you will find ends of units that curve, which are more ergonomic and enhance visual appeal.”
