By: Jonathan Gordon, Design by the Jonathans
What is a modern kitchen? As with most topics that involve style, it depends who you ask. One interpretation is a kitchen that functions for our so-called modern lifestyles – a space that is open to other rooms, has seating incorporated into the design, incorporates updated appliances, and has more recently-invented functionality like soft-close doors and drawers and fancy cabinet inserts. The other major interpretation is stylistic – a modern style, which might mean Euro-modern, or contemporary, or midcentury moderns, or even certain transitional styles. Like any good blog, we’ll explore both of these interpretations as a series of tips and tricks. Here are my top six essentials for modern kitchen design.
MINIMALISM
Something that a good, modern kitchen design will almost always incorporate is a minimalistic approach, which means a clutter-free and straightforward space that only keeps what you absolutely need in plain sight and either hides or eliminates completely anything that you don’t need. This looks is described as “clean” but I like to think of it as “easy to clean”. The lack of elaborate moldings and complex surfaces make a minimalistic kitchen very easy to use and maintain. To achieve this style, you need to use clean lines, simple color palettes, and streamlined appliances. Some versions of this type of kitchen panel the appliances so that they completely blend into the rest of the cabinetry, which eliminates additional finishes such as stainless steel. The simpler and more volumetric the design, the more minimalistic your kitchen will feel, and the better it will function as a modern space.
POPS OF TEXTURE
If you find minimalism to be a bit boring, there’s an easy cure for that – texture! That doesn’t mean opting for a pattern, something like patterned like a classic subway tile is anathema to the current modern aesthetic. Texture can be found in a heavily-grained walnut cabinet front, or a honed marble countertop, or even a stainless steel micro-mosaic backsplash tile. You can use texture effectively by wrapping your countertop up the wall as your backsplash, or making a hood surround out of figured wood or even stone. Different types of glass doors, like frosted or reeded, can add a layer of texture to your space and add both modernity and drama. It can be a bit overwhelming, do stick to this rule: something shiny, something matte, something bumpy, something speckled, and something swirly – choose three or four, and combine to maximum effect.
SMART APPLIANCES
Nothing says modern more than an appliance package that’s smarter than you are. In all seriousness though, sleek and stylish appliances packages often come with advanced features and technologies – refrigerators with touch screens, ovens with built-in air fryers, cabinet-mounted coffee and espresso-making stations, and voice-controlled microwaves and ranges are just some of the new full-featured appliances you can incorporate into your kitchen of the future. So many appliances are currently Wi-Fi enabled, so your refrigerator can tell you when it needs its water filter changed, and your oven can tell you when your turkey is done (or on fire). While some technologies are more useful than others, a hallmark of modern design in this era is hi-tech.
LIGHTING
Yes, all kitchens need ample light to be fully-functional. I’ve been accused of over-lighting kitchens that I’ve designed, but my clients are always very thankful for that extra light once they start using the space. For a modern approach, the key is using multiple light sources – combining overhead recessed lighting with under-cabinet accent lighting is important for a modern kitchen. Smart lighting is also a fantastic new addition to kitchen design, which can be programmed to turn on or off at certain times, change colors, or all sorts of other features. A really good way to reinforce a modern look is with a decorative “statement piece” light. This could be a series of tiny, shiny pendants, or a giant sculptural chandelier over and island, but the correct light fixture draws the eye in and makes the kitchen definitively modern.
FUNCTIONALITY
Bringing it all back full-circle, a modern kitchen needs to be a fully-functional kitchen by our modern standards. This means plenty of specialized storage space, such as deep drawers and pull-out shelving in door cabinets. This also means modern amenities such as soft-close doors and drawers, pull-out spice racks and inserts, mixer lifts for those heavy countertop appliances that are a bit too much to lug down from the storage closet, specialized sinks for prep work and cleaning, and specialized appliances so you can cook in a way that suits your needs.
CONCLUSION
These six tips are the foundation of modern kitchen design – it all starts here. Now that you’ve learned the baseline for creating a modern and stylish kitchen that is both functional and visually appealing, I can share the secret *seventh* tip to make sure that your modern kitchen is absolutely perfect: hire a designer! Design by the Jonathans would love to design your kitchen with you, but regardless of who you hire to help you make it happen, sticking with my six tips will guide you towards a phenomenal modern kitchen that you can use and enjoy for many years to come.