The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your house - after all, the average person spends just over an hour in it each day. It's used for cooking, entertaining, and is a gathering place for friends and family. If your kitchen isn't working out for you anymore, it may be time for a change.
Modern kitchens are increasingly popular as the style continues to change to match modern technology. They're versatile, clean, sleek, and often minimalistic, but still fun. Best of all, modern kitchens are perfectly adapted to fit anyone's needs.
So, how do you design one?
Understanding the Modern Style
First, you must understand what the modern style truly is. Many think modern is cold with contrasting blacks and whites, but that's not the case. Modern is minimal, warm, compliments open floor plans, and brings kitchens back to their roots as a place of elegant and organized entertainment.
It means so much more than white too. It means exposed beams, straight lines, a celebration of natural light and natural materials, and organization. It is perfect for those who enjoy uncluttered practicality that draws the eye to a few statement pieces.
Modern can refer to the current-day modern tech. It can mean smart design and even smarter appliances. Nowadays, the two definitions often go hand-in-hand. So let's blend the lines and see what it takes.
What a Modern Kitchen Is
A modern kitchen isn't basic. It shows off exactly what you want, while hiding what you don't want others to see.
A Modern Kitchen is Versatile
You can ditch the black and white goodbye and replace them with grays, browns, blues, and natural tones. A popular choice are dark espresso cabinets with light fixtures. The rich tones are brilliant at warming up cold and bland spaces.
Or if you want something different, stainless steel and modern styles go together like strawberries and whipped cream. That is to say, flawlessly. Stainless steel is cool, clean, and timeless. It's easy to clean and matches all appliances, faucet, hardware, and staple fixtures.
If you're a fan of wood, modern kitchens are also for you. You don't have to use dark tones either - blond wood is the perfect compromise for light neutral tones without it being too harsh of a contrast. It works well with stainless steel and most stone counters too.
A Modern Kitchen is Smart
Smart appliances are built for the modern-day kitchens and modern-day cooks. Smart refrigerators can notify you when you need to buy certain items, their power consumption can be monitored from your phone, and you'll never have to worry about storage space again.
Smart ovens cook evenly and some can monitor how well things are cooked and automatically shift into warming mode until you're ready to eat
It doesn't stop there either. You can get smart coffee makers, air fryers that connect to the wifi so you can start meals with your phone, smart scales for food portions, and more!
A Modern Kitchen Is Fun
Modern is anything but bland and cold. It's about mixing geometric shapes and fun pops of color to really bring out the space's personality. You can have dark cabinets, marble countertops, yellow barstools, and an artistic backsplash that's full of different complimenting tones to really bring out the personality of the room without sacrificing the modern feel.
How to Design a Modern Kitchen
If you like the idea of everything you just read, then it's time to design your dream kitchen. The first thing you should do is figure out your budget. Talk with your partner and financial institution to find a budget that works for you.
Once you have any idea on how much you can spend, then you can move on to the fun parts like picking a color scheme and what natural elements you want in your kitchen. Do you want exposed wooden beams on the ceiling? Do you want dark or light cabinetry? What kind of countertops do you like?
At this point, you can also pick out some appliances that are must haves, and other elements that you know you'll want included.
Once you have your dream kitchen in your head, it's time to find a contractor.
Picking the right contractor can be difficult. If you need help getting started, start with The BC Team to get an idea of everything you'll need from a contractor. You'll want to find someone who is certified to work in your state, who has years of experience with the modern style, and has raving reviews. You find them through word of mouth, online research, or previous experiences.
Here's a checklist as well. You'll want to know all of the following:
Can they work in my state?
Do they know what permits will be needed?
Do they have experience in kitchen renovations/builds?
Do they have experience in the modern style?
Do they have past projects to show me?
Do they use the brands I want?
Can they work within my budget?
Once you've chosen a contractor, they should work with you to incorporate all of your needs and your wants into the design. At this point, all you need is the patience to wait for your brand new modern kitchen! Happy cooking!
