8 Kitchen Design Ideas
Updated: Mar. 04, 2024
Get inspired by these eight Instagram-worthy kitchen designs.
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Color Kitchen Design Idea
Musician Katy Vernon, on Instagram @KatyVernonMusic, and her husband Randy Vanderwood redid their kitchen themselves on a budget. Vernon did color design and painting while Vanderwood handled the concept, layout and carpentry.
“We wanted to add color to brighten up the room, and I love how it highlights our vintage dishes and accessories,” she says. “I love using old Pyrex and vintage jars and pitchers. I don’t use them just as decor. Items were made so well back in the 50s and 60s, and in my opinion make the house more of a home.”
The pair reused all their cabinets, repainting and replacing the knobs and pulls. Opening up some wall space for open shelving and making room for an island were challenging, but they did this by making an L-shaped counter. “It also allows us to walk through to the back door more easily,” she says.
Shelves and countertops were repurposed from large school tables from the University of Minnesota ReUse Center. The only new piece of wood purchased? Butcher block, for the island. Inventive!
English Cottage Kitchen Design Idea
Andrea Francavilla of @PineandProspectHome has been drawn to the English Cottage style since she was a child, from reading books like Peter Rabbit with her parents. But she also loves the details of cottage style: simple neutral tones, wood beams and stone accents.
Here, the cabinets and countertops, among other things, were already in the house. The renovation updated finishes, fixtures and more. Francavilla’s husband Mike cut and installed the barnwood beams and dishwasher cabinet front.
Old World Meets Modern Influence
When Jessica and Adam Miller of @OldHouseAdam bought and renovated this 1906 Early American Colonial fixer-upper — Jessica’s childhood home — they embraced the romance of a remodel. Looking for traditional hominess-meets-modern-lifestyle, they nailed it with slab backsplashes and traditionally appointed but modern appliances from The Big Chill.
Kids Corner Kitchen Design Idea
@showcasekitchens designed a kitchen around raising a family.
Instead of adding a traditional wall unit for storage in this Manhasset, New York home, John Starck, president and CEO of Showcase Kitchens, and interior designer Annie Mandelkern created a place for their four young children to hang out while they prepared meals.
“Along with designer @russoarchitect and @annie.mandelkern, we came up with a solution that includes a cozy banquette, lots of storage and a place to hang the day’s art masterpieces,” Starck says. “This unit fits beautifully into the kitchen decor, yet was designed with the kids in mind.”
Dark Cabinets, Light Countertops
This contrasting pairing is back, according to Jon Christensen, the CEO of @bidmii, a website for sourcing contractors.
“This kitchen features an island with a sink and plenty of counter space,” he says. “The dark cabinets are offset by the white countertops and backsplash. This creates a beautiful contrast that is both modern and stylish.”
Green cabinetry continues to trend as a hot alternative to more classically neutral tones.
Minimalist Modern
This clean-lined white kitchen from @Block Renovation keeps things simple but not plain, thanks to smart design choices and bold accents.
“Opting for a mix of open and slide-out shelving is a great way to showcase your best dishes and more sculptural pieces, while also giving you enough space to keep all of the messier parts of your kitchen tucked away,” says Leo Kim of Block Renovation.
Tea and Coffee Bar Bungalow Kitchen Design Idea
Designers at @Blythe Interiors planned a kitchen around the fun, funky, love-to-host personalities of the homeowners. “By choosing an overall neutral palette and pairing it with these marine-blue shaker cabinets, we created a beautiful balance between trendy and timeless,” says founder and CEO, Jennifer Verruto.
The functionality of this tea and coffee bar can’t be beaten. “A space that was once a confusing, junk collector of a corner is now a sleek, organized and functional area with plenty of extra storage,” says Verruto. “The floating shelves allow our clients to showcase their personality through artwork and fun, decorative objects.”
This kitchen design, she says, embraced the existing historical Craftsman style, updated with top-quality materials.
Color-Coded Kitchen Design Idea
Stylista Melissa Oholendt of @oho_interiors needed to create “visual zones” for each purpose in her kitchen areas without actual barriers. “We did three cabinet colors to help separate the spaces in an area that had sight lines from one space to the other,” she says. This is a great tip for anyone with an open floor plan.
The colors — Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige on the kitchen cabinets, Cascades on the wet bar, and Ancient Marble on the family room cabinetry — established that visual definition without being too busy or clashing with other views of the rooms.
Originally Published: September 30, 2022
