Kitchen Trends 2022: The New Inspiring Design Looks You Need To Know About
Image Credit: Laura Marin for Harvey Jones Kitchens
Last week, I did an Instagram Live with a Harvey Jones Kitchen Designer to talk about kitchen trends for 2022. The designer and I were both in agreement that there will be some key looks that will prevail within kitchen design for the year ahead, but while we labelled these looks as ‘trends,’ they shouldn’t be considered ‘faddy’ just because they are gaining in popularity - these trends are chic and timeless and are not something that you will want to get rid of in a couple of years’ time!
Surprising Kitchen Cabinet Colours
Navy blue or deep green cabinet colours have long dominated and are now classic shades to use in the kitchen, but this year we will definitely see the increased use of unexpected hues on units such as burgundy, plum, lilac, and rich mustard yellows. The trick is to use these colours sparingly - just feature them on the island or on the base units so they do not overtake the room and feel imposing. The finish should also be a nice dead flat matt rather than shiny gloss (which will ping the colour all around the room and make it feel unbalanced). If you fancy whipping out the paintbrush and updating your kitchen cabinets in these colours, try deVol’s new Refectory Red or Scullery Yellow shaker colours, or Rust-Oleum’s Iris or Lilac Wine kitchen cupboard paint.
Cabinets painted in ‘Deep Reddish Brown’ by Farrow & Ball. Image Credit: renovating_the_house on Instagram
I love this kitchen - it’s a bold colour choice without feeling garish, and a great use of a pastel tone without feeling sweet and childlike. Image credit: Jones Crow.
The Return Of The Neutral Kitchen
If vibrant colours are really not your thing, you’ll be pleased to know that neutral and off-white kitchens have made a huge comeback after jewel-tone kitchens have prevailed of late. Neutral kitchens feel fresh and clean and work really well with unlacquered brass taps and hardware. I’m particularly drawn to the rise of cabinets painted in shades of butterscotch and cashmere; they have a warm quality and work well with both dark and light worktops.
Cashmere colour cabinets in a neutral kitchen. Image credit: Dustin Aksland who photographed this for Elizabeth Roberts Architects.
This beautiful South London kitchen is owned by Jess @gold_is_a_neutral. Jess has a wonderful eye for design and colour and she had her John Lewis Of Hungerford kitchen sprayed in this warm off-white (‘Tusk’ by Little Greene), which pairs perfectly with the lighter shade of white on the wall (Slaked Lime, also Little Greene). Image credit: Ryan Wicks Photography for John Lewis Of Hungerford.
Slab Splashbacks
Slab splashbacks not only look aesthetically pleasing, they are a real problem solver if you have long-desired a thickly veined marble worktop (but want it to remain stain-free). Natural marble is a beautiful material but it is really porous - one spill of cooking spices or red wine will leave a permanent mark. Worktop manufacturers always offer a ‘marble-like’ version of their hard-wearing granite or quartz, but sometimes there is no replication for the wonder of nature. By erecting real stone onto the wall you’ll get all the dramatic beauty of marble without it continuously coming into contact with food prep. For small and inexpensive real marble splashbacks, pay a visit to your local stone yard - most tend to sell marble offcuts from large-scale projects at a reduced price.
Image Credit: DecorPad
Smart Kitchens
While I feel that a lot of smart kitchen design is ‘gadgety’ and pointless (do you really need a door screen to show you what’s inside the fridge rather than just opening it and taking a look?) there has been an increase in certain fittings and appliances that really suit our modern lifestyles. With more of us cooking off recipes on our phones (rather than traditional books), charging points need to be a key factor when deciding on the kitchen layout. It’s also worth considering touch-free hot taps - they save time and make cooking in a busy family kitchen a lot easier.
GROHE Red Duo Hot Water Tap. Image credit: GROHE
Glass Door Pantry Cupboards
Two recent big kitchen trends - open display shelving and the organised pantry - have combined for the ultimate kitchen trend for 2022 (if you are lucky enough to have the space): glass door pantry cupboards. Over lockdown, social media exploded with people dedicating their time to creating Instagrammable food storage by labelling clear glass jars; after all that hard work the pantry is a place to be seen, not tucked away closed off in the corner of the room.
A gorgeous glass door pantry in the home of By Shnordic.
Wood Kitchens
Say the words ‘wood kitchen’ and you are inclined to think of those orange-tinged pinewood horrors that you instantly want to rip out or paint over. However, the 2022 wood kitchen is light, organic and Nordic in style. The trend comes from the appeal of wood as a relaxed, nature-inspired and sustainable material. Custom Fronts sell plain-washed wood kitchen doors that you can install on your existing cabinet carcass, while you can also find joiners who can build you a kitchen from reclaimed wood.
Soft wooden cabinets in this kitchen featuring the new Huntingdon lighting range from Hudson Valley Lighting. Image Credit: Hudson Valley Lighting.
This Sebastian Cox for deVOL kitchen in the home of Nina Plummer. Styling & Imagery: Nina Plummer.
Beautiful Hardware
Hardware should no longer be an afterthought - hardware goes a long way in making or breaking a kitchen design. Thanks to a surge in UK hardware manufacturing there are a variety of gorgeous kitchen cupboard handles and pulls to choose from. If you are not investing in a new kitchen (but instead are looking for a simple freshen-up of your existing space), new hardware can transform your cabinets in minutes. Try Beata Heuman, Corston Architectural Detail and Plank Hardware for leading designs.
The Bow handle by Beata Hewman.