Kitchen 2024: Trends and New Solutions (Kitchen Design)

2024, the year of the dragon, continues the trend of previous years, relying mainly on sustainability in kitchen design. We are talking about eco-friendly materials that have minimal impact on the environment, and which look unique and impressive in the final solution. New life from reclaimed wood, recycled plastic or glass, and your favorite designers bamboo, cork, etc. All these materials can easily turn into the highlight of the kitchen: from luxurious table tops to expressive facades.

What trends will there be in the new year?

Combination of kitchen and living room

Combined kitchens with living room do not lose popularity, which means they continue to be in demand hidden kitchens. There are many types of technical solutions, one of them is accordion doors that pull out from the headset pocket.

The world is changing, interests and habits are changing, and there is an understanding that there should be more space around us. The wall between the kitchen and living room collapsed long ago, leaving the owners to breathe deeply without being separated from the guests. Open layouts have become firmly in fashion, and now the design of the kitchen and living room (and maybe the work area) is becoming a single whole. A kitchen with a smooth transition to the living room is made in the same style to eliminate a clear transition and zoning, which is gradually becoming a thing of the past. But don’t forget about all sorts of partitions, also remaining in trend: these can be translucent sliding doors covering the kitchen space, open shelving, etc.

Facade

The era of monochrome facades gradually faded away. The trend of recent years (and probably several more) is a combination of colors, mainly two. The variety in the texture of materials and the decoration of facades creates truly interesting and beautiful kitchens. The cool but sophisticated gloss is no longer as popular, leaving room for more matte finishes.

A new trend in the kitchen world is the rounding of the corners of the facade (cabinets, kitchen cabinets and islands). We are not talking about large roundings that change the shape, for example, of a corner wall cabinet, but only the corners. Look at the photo below.

Mounted base cabinets are also a trend. Visual levitation and open space - this can be achieved by hanging cabinets a few tens of centimeters above the floor. No need to worry: this solution is absolutely reliable, and at the same time an unusual design technique.

At exhibitions of Italian kitchens, it was noticed that the height of the set does not always reach the ceiling. On the contrary, the size varies, and there is no specific figure. This could be a cabinet with a height of 2 meters, 2.5, etc.

The working area is combined with the hob. When not using the burners, the surface easily turns into a regular tabletop as in the photo below.

Kitchen island

Island, a trend of recent years, still remains a leading element of modern kitchens. Of course, we are not talking about a small room. The island is suitable for medium to large kitchens and, of course, for private homes. Its size can be any, as can its location.

An island can be not only a convenient place for cooking, but also a place for regular spending time with guests. The manufacturers' proposal for combining the two actions is very simple: sliding modules that can be used to cover both the sink and the oven surface. See the photo below for a sample. The engineers were prompted to create such a solution by people’s desire to maximize kitchen space, which is important for oversized rooms. But not only. Fashion also had a hand in hiding everything.

The kitchen island now has sides, which is convenient for its use. The countertop itself and the island space are located lower in level.

Glass shelves (including those with mirrored walls) in any form will appear on the kitchen island in 2024. Full transparency and location on the island is a bold, but interesting and very unusual decision. However, glass care must be constant, and things placed on the shelves in the form of kitchen utensils or decor should not spoil the visual perception.

A dining table (dining area) of different shapes can be adjacent to the island: rectangle, oval, etc. Most often, the table is made of the same material as the tabletop, or from solid wood, a more economical version of which is wood-look laminated chipboard.

Tabletop

The main trend of 2024 is to be as thin as possible table top (both at the island and at the kitchen unit). Minimalism has become so popular that even the countertop has become barely noticeable. It seems that engineers have discovered new technologies, because some specimens are several millimeters wide! Despite their external fragility, thin countertops are resistant to daily use and durable. Such countertops make the kitchen light and trendy.

But that's not all. The distance between the table top and the lower storage drawers is now so minimal that it is barely noticeable.

Minimum gap between the countertop and the facade - maximum aesthetics.

Let's jump ahead a little, because we will talk about materials in the 2nd part of our article. If we talk about the material used for the countertops, natural stone and marble are unlikely to go out of fashion in the next decade. They are beautiful, and their strength and heat resistance guarantee an aesthetic appearance for many years.

There are also few changes with the hob: it is built into the countertop with a removable (invisible) hood.

And now about the numbers. The standard tabletop width is 60 cm. However, manufacturers suggest increasing the distance to 80 cm. Now there is additional space along the apron (along the entire length of the tabletop) with various consoles where you can place spices, books, hide cutting boards, etc.

Sink

The slogan “hide everything, even the sink” continues to live. That's why sinks built into the countertop also do not go out of fashion. On the contrary, this solution is constantly being improved, more complex and interesting options are offered. Sinks are made of the same material as the countertop, leaving no room for seams and crevices into which crumbs and other debris are always clogged. The sink integrated under the countertop creates a holistic look and excellent visualization.

Wall panels and pencil cases

All little things should be hidden, says the trend of recent years. And the main assistants in this are wall panels, covering the entire wall. If the kitchen set does not have wall cabinets, then panels are an excellent and modern solution. Their height can be different, like the main facade: under the ceiling or not reaching it. A popular option is still pencil cases along the entire height of the kitchen, as well as the entire length of the wall, from edge to edge.

Everything is hidden in pencil cases: household appliances, storage boxes, shelves, etc. By the way, built-in refrigerators now come in large volumes, so there is debate about whether they are inferior to free-standing ones, have sunk into oblivion. The doors of the pencil cases can also be folded into pockets, as we wrote above about the facades. The material of the panels is best combined with the main facade and countertop.

Wall panels are very popular, and the number of pencil cases can be any. A new trend is to install an open shelving unit in a group of pencil cases and, of course, with lighting. In modern kitchens one can see symmetry, but this is not a mandatory item when creating a kitchen. Symmetry can be both among pencil cases (for example, relative to a rack located in the center) and the main kitchen unit (location of wall or bottom drawers, shelves, etc.). Look at the photo below.

Apron

Profile (railing) along the apron near the work surface - this is what kitchens in 2024 are equipped with. You can hang anything on it: from mugs and knives to decor. You can also place sockets on the apron that move along the bus.

The trend for 2024 is a functional apron. And we are, of course, not only talking about roof rails, but also open shelves. In the new year, the shelves have a minimum width (the cost of the kitchen immediately increases, since these are new technologies). And it doesn’t matter what material they are made of: wood, glass or metal. As a result, we get aesthetics and minimalism. In inexpensive kitchens, laminated chipboard, a thicker material, is used to create shelves.

An interesting solution was seen at an Italian kitchen exhibition - a frosted glass apron is illuminated not with an LED strip, but across the entire area. That is, the lighting is installed along the entire back surface of the apron. As a result, the housewife receives pleasant diffused light in the work area. This technique is also used in shop windows.

However, the fashion for patterned aprons has not completely disappeared. The main thing is to choose the right shades. It is better to choose a design that is discreet, muted, with natural tones, for example, large vegetation. Let's look at the photo.

Designers who visited various exhibitions in Milan noted a new trend in creating aprons. We are talking about the use of two different materials: the lower half of the apron is a continuation of the tabletop, the upper half is, for example, wood.

Wall cabinets

Wall cabinets are beautiful, practical, functional, but no longer fashionable. They were replaced by open shelves. However, some kitchens still have wall cabinets, but in minimal quantities and, most often, located symmetrically relative to the shelves. None of the manufacturers have completely switched to the new trend, so classic facades (with full-fledged wall cabinets) are also appropriate.

Detailed report from the Furniture 2023 exhibition in Moscow. Video