Remodeling in today’s home kitchens go far beyond utility and allow you to customize your kitchen to suit both your lifestyle and your taste. Whet your appetite with these popular kitchen designs to consider for your West Lafayette kitchen remodel.

Walk-in Pantry

Older kitchens never seem to have enough storage, so consider adding a walk-in pantry to your kitchen design. Store non-perishable foods and large and small appliances out of sight, but within easy reach, and create stations like a coffee bar with its own electrical outlet, or a kid-friendly snack or cereal counter. Organize by zone, creating groupings for baking ingredients, beans and rice, canned goods, cereals, and herbs and spices, for example.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Adding a Walk-in Pantry

Zero- or Low-maintenance Surfaces

Cut down on cleaning time with low-maintenance or zero-maintenance surfaces throughout your kitchen.

• Countertops: Quartz is a good, hardy choice to resist countertop scratches and stains. It offers easy clean-up with a wipe of a soft cloth or sponge.
• Cabinets: Flat-panel or shaker-style cabinet doors have less detail to collect dust and grime. Select them in white or a medium-toned woodgrain to hide fingerprints.
• Flooring: Vinyl flooring can look like laminate or hardwood, yet protect your kitchen floor against water, stains and scratches.
• Paint: While high-gloss paint may be the easiest to clean, it can be overly shiny and reflective. Instead, consider satin paint for walls and semi-gloss paint for trim and baseboards.

Ceiling-Height Backsplashes and/or Slab Backsplashes

Backsplashes aren’t just for behind the stove. One of the most popular kitchen design trends is “wow factor” walls of tile or marble that span the space from counter to ceiling or wrap around the entire kitchen prep area. It’s an easy way to add drama, color, and texture to your kitchen design.

Use of Mixed Finishes

Tired of your “matchy-matchy” kitchen? It’s okay to mix and match finishes to create your own custom look. Combinations can include stone and natural materials, a mix of dark and light stains and paint—or any combination you imagine. To avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many colors or finishes, it is best to use finishes to create a focal point.

Geometric Tiles

Geometric tiles infuse energy and style into your kitchen design and are a popular choice of designers. Go bold with an entire floor of geometric tile, or use them to create an artful display with square, rectangular, hexagon, diamond, or triangle shapes. Geometric tiles offer a full range of looks—from elegant, subtle, or classic, to a contrasting, contemporary feel with a bright pattern and artistic effects.

Built-in Coffee Station

Create a dedicated spot where everything you need for your morning coffee is easily at hand, with a coffeemaker, mugs, coffee, sweeteners, and electric outlets stored together or within easy reach. Some of the popular kitchen design ideas for coffee stations include a built-in espresso machine, a mug warming drawer, Keurig K-cup or Nespresso capsule storage, coffee-shop art, a hidden refrigerator, or refrigerator drawer, a water supply, and an adjacent sink.

Accent Colors

Add a pop of an accent color in your accessories or décor, or incorporate an accent color into your backsplash, wall, or cabinet colors to add personality to your kitchen. Use a little or a lot, depending on the impact you’d like to have. Some of the more popular kitchen design ideas for accent colors include red, green, navy, turquoise, and gold.

Two-Tone Cabinetry

When done correctly, two-tone (or even three-tone) cabinetry can create visual interest in your kitchen. Ground the lower cabinets or a kitchen island with a darker color. Pull accent colors from a lovely backsplash. Create a cozy feel with darker upper cabinets. Or tie in with accent colors. Two-tone cabinetry can be dramatic with bold colors, or provide just a hint of color, depending upon the look you’d like.

Gold or Brass Hardware

Kitchen hardware has endless choices, but what’s trending are the gold tones in brass and gold finishes. Instead of the gaudy, bright gold that you might be imagining, gold finishes in brushed gold, are soft, warm, and inviting and pair well with both light or neutral-colored cabinets, and deep, rich colors. Brushed brass offers a warmer tone that contrasts well with dark surfaces, pairs beautifully with jewel colors, or brightens up a white kitchen.

Vintage Pieces Mixed with Modern for an Eclectic Look

A “vintage” piece can be anywhere from 20 to 40 years old, as opposed to “antique” which is anything older than 100 years, and “vintage modern” is the design trend of mixing old and new. Ways to inspire vintage modern into your kitchen for an eclectic look can include the use of patina, color, style, fabric, and metals.

Cabinet Accessories

There are a plethora of ways to customize your kitchen with the popular selection of cabinet accessories available today. The options for both storage and convenience are endless. Some of the popular options include cutlery and utensil drawer inserts and partitions, plate organizers, roll-out tray shelving, a pull-out pet feeding station, open accessory or cookbook shelves, glass-front lighted cabinets, blind-corner shelving, custom herb and spice storage, towel bars, waste and recycling centers, and pegboard storage.

To Choose Which Popular Kitchen Design Ideas to Consider, Work with a Qualified Professional Design-Build Firm like Riverside Construction

There are many exciting decisions to be made when designing your perfect kitchen, and at Riverside Construction, it’s our job to help you make them. You’ll work closely with our design team and interior design staff who will walk you through the decision-making processes of choosing the exact features you require for function and style.

As a design-build remodeling firm, Riverside Construction guides you through our well-managed process from design to selections to construction, to ensure a smooth project—delivered on time and on budget. For kitchen design inspiration, view our kitchen remodeling portfolio.

A kitchen remodel adds beauty and function to any home—and increases your home’s value. If you live in West Lafayette or near the Lafayette, Indiana area, schedule a conversation to talk to us about what you have in mind for your kitchen.