If your kitchen is due for a quick refresh or a full-on remodel, give it a contemporary makeover inspired by our favorite modern kitchen ideas. From two-toned cabinets, statement light fixtures, and mixed metals, tounique backsplash ideasand amonochrome color palette, you’ll see that a modern kitchen is anything but cold and sterile. We’ll show you how to add character, warmth, and modern style no matter the size of your kitchen or budget. Minimalist design is huge right now and looks timeless when used in a kitchen design. For a minimalist colour palette, you can’t go wrong with a duo chromatic palette. A predominantly white kitchen is soothing, clean, fresh and ageless.

The Houston-based firm updated this kitchen from the 1980s with a concrete backsplash, decked out in a cool geometric pattern that harkens back to the space age. This dainty pastel was all the rage in the 1950s — and still holds up nicely in modern times. We love how Ursula Carmona of Homemade by Carmona paid tribute to this old-school shade with a mint ceiling fan and cookware. In this Art Deco-inspired home, designer Melissa Wood’s clients hang a vintage panel in front of their kitchen window and lines floating shelves with collectibles. Cooking books, canisters filled with ingredients and glassware are functional, but don’t be afraid to layer in decorative items .

Upgrade to a Blue Backsplash

They tie in the white cabinets and backsplash, while the metal chairs pop against navy blue walls. Bright white cabinets and trim and lots of natural light create a sense of openness and oak hardwood floors warm up the space and play off the warm tones of the copper furniture. The kitchen designs, modern or traditional, have some distinctive features themselves.

Leaded-glass doors on the upper cabinets further the vintage style and provide breezy counterpoints to solid base cabinets. If you’re running low on space in a small kitchen, find another home for bulky pots and pans to clear up some room in your cabinets and drawers. Easily mount a pot rack to the wall or ceiling and hang your pots and pans for an easy kitchen storage solution. Completely removing a wall to create an open-concept kitchen can cost a pretty penny and isn’t always feasible structurally.

Play With Negative Space

Painting your kitchen cabinets is a great way to update your kitchen design and refresh old fittings. Coloured tiles can add personality to your kitchen, whereas patterned tiles are better to jazz up what could be a more traditional kitchen, without it becoming overwhelming. Possibly the most common type is a fitted kitchen island with base cabinets and a countertop that matches the rest of the kitchen. Navy blue cabinets look great with gold metallic handles and hardware, while forest green cabinetry works surprisingly well with pale pink tiles or splashbacks. Light colours make spaces look larger because they bounce light around the room.

The sink fittings are by Rohl, the range is by Wolf, the refrigerator is by Sub-Zero, and the wall tiles are by Walker Zanger. This is another unique way to make use of those hard-to-reach spaces above your upper cabinets. We love how custom it looks to add a woodgrain surround to the fridge, extending up toward these shadowbox-like spaces for displaying treasured objects or corralling cookbooks. While these open shelves don’t offer the level of dust-and-grime protection that closed (or clear-front) cabinets would, they do provide a bit more shelter than a traditional open shelf .