Kitchen Trends to Look Out For in 2023

The kitchen is the heart of the home. A sentiment that continues to resonate in 2023. As well as an essential room for cooking and dining, these versatile spaces provide functional solutions for a variety of activities: a place to entertain, relax, socialize, and even work. Alongside these practical considerations, however, our kitchens will inevitably reflect our personalities and taste through the design choices we make.

On the journey to creating your dream freestanding kitchen, we should celebrate our aesthetic preferences and choose features that align with our lifestyles. At Hugo & Blake, we prioritize our customers throughout the design and building process, ensuring that each kitchen meets your particular needs and desires.

So, let's explore some of the popular design trends for 2023 and discover how we can incorporate them into your dream kitchen.

Wave goodbye to all-white kitchens and upper cabinets

While an all-white kitchen might never go completely out of style, there has certainly been a reluctance to embrace the stark, white-on-white aesthetic which had been popular in kitchens over the last few decades. Instead, the trend is leaning more towards distinctive freestanding kitchen islands, boldly painted cabinetry and custom-coloured appliances.  Homeowners, more and more, are looking for a statement kitchen.

Meanwhile, as minimalist kitchens remain a highly sought-after design choice, questions are being asked with regard to upper kitchen cabinetry. Are they really needed for a functional space? Open-shelved freestanding units have emerged as a desirable choice for many modern kitchens, with shelves offering a trade-off between additional visual space and smart, practical storage. 

Open shelving can be a convenient option to store everyday essentials within easy reach. They’re an excellent solution for smaller kitchens, too, as they offer versatile storage without the room feeling too restricted or top-heavy.

Eclectic Cottagecore

A kitchen that fully embraces rustic design; one that’s inspired by countryside scenes, traditional craftsmanship, and natural, sustainable materials, ‘cottagecore’ is the aesthetic antidote for modern minimalism. At its heart, cottagecore embraces vibrant colours and handmade kitchen furniture.

The aim of this design trend is to create a homely, warm living space with plenty of character; adding eclectic touches to your kitchen to establish the desired effect.  From hand-built timber cabinets and kitchen islands, to traditional range cookers and antique-style dressers. Incorporate some mismatched statement piece crockery sets and appliances within your space and you’re some way to achieving the look you’re after.  Opt for materials that feel organic rather than synthetic, all the while adopting individual touches to reflect your own personal tastes.

Where traditional meets industrial

One of the most desirable kitchen design trends of the last few years looks to explore the dichotomy between spaces inspired by old factories and industrial buildings—and traditional country-style kitchens. Using exposed brick feature walls, concrete pillars, and metallic elements—offset with the softer feel of natural timber cabinets—can create a highly desirable effect.

One that, despite its stark visual qualities, can result in a kitchen space full of character, particularly when introducing more traditional features such as wooden work surfaces and painted freestanding dressers. To help achieve the industrial/traditional theme into your kitchen further, why not choose a handmade open-shelved freestanding cabinet? With these stylish, highly versatile units, you can showcase some good-quality copper pans and utensils to enhance the feeling of rustic charm. 

Colour...and lots of it!

While a classic shaker-style kitchen remains a hugely popular trend, it seems 2023 is a year in which we will continue to embrace more bold colours in our modern kitchen plans. 

Homeowners, it seems, are more than willing to introduce bolder and darker shades throughout their cabinetry—think teal blues, vibrant orangey reds, and forest greens to add a sense of vibrancy to your kitchen space. With literally thousands of paint colours to choose from when it comes to designing your dream kitchen with Hugo & Blake, the possibilities to embrace this trend are more than achievable

Vibrant oven splashbacks

As homeowners continue to look for interesting ways to inject bold colours into their living spaces, statement splashbacks for their range cookers are a popular trend in 2023. Customers are willing to take risks with their design choices, experimenting with colour, shade, pattern, and texture—and nowhere is this more apparent in their choice of splashback. 

Gone are the days when stainless steel was the standard, now the possibilities for homeowners to impart their individual style within their kitchen features are endless. From vibrant glazed tiling, to eye-catching velvety matte finishes, there’s tremendous scope when it comes to choosing the splashback to suit your kitchen.

Handmade, lasting furniture pieces

Natural timber cabinets are timeless furniture options that are simple to combine with a variety of design preferences to enhance the kitchen experience. Increasingly, homeowners are on the lookout for quality when it comes to choosing their kitchen cabinets, something you can’t always guarantee with mass-produced or flat-pack options.

By choosing a bespoke handmade kitchen, you have opted for a classic piece of furniture design. Shaker-style cabinetry has been around for centuries, and the traditional techniques used by the master craftsmen that make them are tried and tested. So, when you invest in a handmade kitchen from Hugo & Blake, who use nothing but high-quality natural materials, you can be safe in the knowledge it’s been built to last.

Modern farmhouse style

Modern farmhouse kitchens remain on trend in 2023, thanks to the comfort and warmth the aesthetic creates. With an informal, eclectic country feel, a modern farmhouse kitchen offers plenty of opportunity to unleash your creativity and add personal touches and flourishes; from feature walls to patterned textiles and decor.

Here at Hugo & Blake, our design team has years of experience creating that country-look kitchen for both traditional and modern spaces. Indeed, a quintessentially English country kitchen can be the perfect solution for those looking to avoid the sleek, streamlined minimalism of an ultra-modern design. 

That’s not to suggest you should abandon your modern luxuries, but combining them with the rustic charm of flagstone floors and hand-painted wooden cabinets, you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

How can we help?

So, plenty to think about. If you’d like any advice or guidance on how to incorporate these latest design trends into your freestanding kitchen, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Whether it’s choosing the perfect painted wooden cabinet or deciding how a traditional farmhouse aesthetic would work best for your kitchen space, our friendly design team is always on hand to offer assistance. Your dream kitchen is always just a phone call or email away!