19 Modern Kitchen Tips
1. Mix modern with craftsman
This kitchen is uniquely modern with a craftsman twist which makes it interesting. The wood trim gives it a craftsman vibe, but the high gloss cabinetry and simple design give it an overall modern look.
2. Use many materials in straight lines
There’s a lot going on here. Stainless steel, wood and acrylic finishes make up this kitchen design. The under cabinet lighting, which is not subtle gives an extra sheen not seen in most kitchens.
3. Mix acrylic high gloss with natural wood
The dark high gloss acrylic cabinets juxtapose very nicely with the light natural wood countertops. You’ll see wood often used in modern designs to temper the coolness of acrylics and metals.
4. Be bold with red and embrace the steel
This screams modern. It’s a bold red with acrylic cabinetry mixed with plenty of stainless steel. Straight lines throughout.
I’ll say this; the red tempers the stainless steel better than one would think without actually seeing it.
5. Gray, White, and Chrome for Small Kitchen Spaces
I love this look. That warm gray is popular for kitchens; it definitely has a warming effect, which you wouldn’t expect gray to do, but the grain does the job. The high gloss white cabinets and modern chrome stools tip this kitchen into modern style nicely.
6. Modern isn’t always “sleek straight lines”
Sleek, straight lines describe modern, but modern isn’t always straight lines. Check this kitchen out with curves throughout combined with red, high gloss cabinetry and stainless steel.
7. Pour in the concrete
Perhaps modern industrial best describes this concrete kitchen. It looks very cool with the concrete wall and island in an overall minimalist design.
8. Skip the cabinet hardware
This design has flat-faced dark gray cabinets with no cabinet hardware. It gives off that “sleek” look. The consistent use rectangles provide the subtle texture this otherwise austere kitchen needs.
9. Toss in Geometric Shapes All Over the Place
Eye-catching geometric shapes is a modern design hallmark. Below is a terrific example of a kitchen filled with interesting rectangles and 3D cubes making up the design. It’s a very effective technique for a modern vibe despite the very un-modern color scheme.
10. The Modern Kitchen Cave
Many apartment kitchens are tucked away in the corner and are tiny. Many have no windows making it cave-like. That’s okay. You can embrace the darkness with a dark modern look like the example below.
11. Thick, open design
Take a look at the island. It’s I think, a continuous open shape that gives off both solidness and openness at the same time. It’s fabulous (although the lost storage space is unfortunate). You’ll also notice the combination of 90-degree angles and spheres which make for an interesting look.
12. Crisp White Throughout
One way to achieve that uber-modern design is to grow high gloss, all-white cabinets. Add white ceiling, walls, and flooring and you have one cold, but staunchly modern design. The only texture in the design below is the checkered stool backs.
Amazingly, those stools stand out in this kitchen whereas they wouldn’t in so many other designs with far more texture.
13. Use Lots of Glass
Glass-faced flat cabinets are a strong modern feature which is seen throughout the example below. It’s tempered with white stone which I think is a terrific combination.
14. Modern backsplash = modern kitchen?
This is not entirely a modern design, but I included it to show you how the backsplash choice can tilt a kitchen toward a particular design. The glass tile here gives it a very contemporary look. Imagine the backsplash a terra cotta or Mediterranean tile.
This would be a very different kitchen.
15. Flat-panel cabinetry and appliances
Flat-panel appliances aren’t as popular as you’d think for good reason. Stainless steel appliances add variety in a kitchen. Specifically, they cool down the extensive use of wood.
You can see that here. I personally think stainless steel refrigerator would improve this kitchen yet not compromise the modern flat-panel cabinetry. Another notable feature is how the cabinets extend to the ceiling.
That exaggerates the minimalistic effect of the flat panel cabinetry.
16. Combine high gloss white with jet black
The black and white look is classic. It needs careful implementation, but when done well, it’s fabulous. The example below is mostly white but tempered with a jet black ceiling, backsplash and floor.
You don’t often see a black ceiling; usually the black is woven in other ways, but in this case, I think it works.
17. Modern mixed with traditional
I know it’s crazy to suggest a kitchen is both modern and traditional but that’s the sense I get when analyzing the example below. Space doesn’t scream modern, yet the cabinetry and island are definitely modern. I think it’s those pendant lights, uninteresting ceiling, the failure of cabinets rising to the ceiling and wood floor that compromise the overall modern design.
Nevertheless, one can understand how tempering modern to some degree is desirable.
18. White, black and… Glass?
I think this example is clever in how the warmly lit glass-faced cabinets provide the warmth to counter-balance the cool black and white cabinets and flooring. Speaking for the floor, check out that black and white floor. It’s definitely effective.
19. White lacquered cladding
The wood and lacquer woodwork combine to perfection with the natural oak parquet. The white lacquered cladding starts at the entrance and connects with the kitchen, separated by a pivoting door fittings. The shelves in the backsplash are decorated with wooden structures that has multiple purposes.
The stand-out white modern cabinetry matches with the white ceiling and complemented by the hardwood flooring.
Related: Seaside House | Modern Home Barefoot Luxury
