Timeless Kitchen Design: Five Choices That Won't Date
Interior trends change constantly, and something fashionable one year can look dated the next. It is easy to have your head turned by whatever is in the magazines this season, but a new kitchen is a large investment and you want it to look as right in fifteen years as it does on the day it is fitted. These are the choices that have stayed consistently popular across our kitchens, and why they last.
Timeless Kitchen Design at a Glance
A timeless kitchen relies on features that are useful first and fashionable second. The five that have lasted best are: a kitchen island, which gives a focal point and a great deal of function; glass-fronted cabinets, which break up solid doors and display what you own; quartz or granite worktops, which are durable and suit almost any scheme; a traditional mantel over the range; and built-in banquette seating. Pair them with well-proportioned cabinetry and a restrained colour, and the kitchen can be refreshed with paint and accessories rather than replaced. Handmade Kitchen Company design and hand-build kitchens from our workshop in Essex.
A kitchen island
The
has lasted because it is useful. A central island gives the room a focal point and lets the rest of the kitchen be designed around it. It can hold the hob or sink, seating in the form of a breakfast bar or banquette, a large amount of storage, and extra worktop.
Glass-fronted cabinets
have been a feature of fine kitchen joinery for a very long time. They break up a run of solid doors and put decorative pieces on display, which gives the kitchen form as well as function. If you would rather not have everything on show, frosted or reeded glass blurs the contents while still letting light through, which works particularly well when the cabinet is lit from inside.
Quartz and granite worktops
Quartz and granite have both stayed in favour for good reasons. They come in a wide range of colours and finishes, and because they suit most schemes, the rest of the kitchen can be updated around them without the worktop looking out of place. Quartz is an engineered surface with an excellent balance of look, performance and cost: durable, low-maintenance and consistent in colour. Granite is a natural stone made mainly of quartz, feldspar and mica, and because it is quarried, every slab is unique.
A traditional mantel
A
over the range or hob draws the eye to the cooking area and gives the kitchen a natural focal point. It is practical as well: it can conceal the extractor and provide a shelf. Keep it simple and well proportioned, and it will not date.
Banquette seating
has long been a feature of well-planned kitchens, and it has become one of our most requested pieces. It gives the family somewhere comfortable to eat everyday meals, often with storage beneath, while a more formal dining table can sit elsewhere. It has to be designed in from the start rather than added afterwards, and it earns its place particularly where space is at a premium, since it seats more people in less floor area than chairs.
Timeless Kitchen FAQs
What kitchen style never goes out of fashion?
Shaker cabinetry in a restrained colour is the closest thing to it. Its simple, well-proportioned doors have outlasted almost every trend of the last few decades, and it suits period and modern houses alike.
How do you make a kitchen that won't date?
Put the permanent parts, the cabinetry, layout and worktop, into classic choices, and let the easily changed parts, paint colour, handles, lighting and accessories, carry the fashion. That way the kitchen can be refreshed rather than replaced.
Are quartz worktops timeless?
Plain and softly veined quartz has proved very durable in both senses. Heavily patterned or fashion-led colours date faster, so if longevity matters, choose a quiet finish.
Is banquette seating a trend?
Banquettes have been part of kitchen and dining design for a long time. Their popularity has grown because they are practical: comfortable, space-efficient and good for storage.
Where does Handmade Kitchen Company design kitchens?
We design, hand-build and hand-paint bespoke kitchens from our workshop in Essex, for clients across Essex, Hertfordshire and North London. Take your designer's advice on tried and tested styles rather than current fads.
today to talk about a timeless bespoke kitchen. We look forward to hearing from you.
