2009 Kitchen Design Trends
Looking Into the Latest Kitchen Design Trends
By Paige Thomas
Thanks to Susan for so graciously letting me write a guest post on her blog. As a writer for my own home improvement blog I spend a good deal of my days in the office looking at Susan’s kitchen posts, and everything else I bookmark from my seemingly infinite roll of design and home improvement blogs.
When you spend lots of time looking at picture after picture of freshly remodeled kitchens, you start to pick up patterns. There are certain elements which keep popping up again and again, illuminating the trickle down popularity of certain trends in the design world.
Here are three trends that seem to be everywhere in kitchens these days. Take a peak and maybe find some inspiration for your own home:
Open Shelving in the Kitchen
The new chic way to create storage in the kitchen isn’t by refinishing your cabinets, it’s by getting rid of them all together. Open shelving in the kitchen encompasses cabinets with no fronts, or simple long shelves for stacking your kitchen gear.
I’ve heard lots of pros and cons on this kitchen design option. Some people love it, some people hate it. I think if you have great dishware, and you’re organized, why not try it? But I know for me, and my yet to be replaced collection of secondhand college dishes, I couldn’t bear to put anything on display. I might consider a combination of both: some open shelving to display my pretty pieces, and some cabinet type options to tuck away my strictly utilitarian ware. Having open shelving as a focal feature over the sink could be a good option for trying out this trend.
Farmhouse Kitchen Sinks
I grew up with a stainless steel double basin sink. To me, this was the perfect kind of sink: one side for washing dishes, and another side for rinsing. It was the epitome of practical. That sink wasn’t a big focal point of my parent’s kitchen. It was just there to do its duty, to get the dishes clean.
These days, however, choosing a kitchen sink is just as important as any other part of a new kitchen design. While the stainless steel sink is still around, it’s no longer the sink of choice for homeowners. While the choices are endless – ultra modern sinks with space age faucets, concrete sinks, aerodynamically thin looking prep sinks – the ultimate trend these days is the farmhouse sink.
Large white, farmhouse basins are practical. They are big and heavy, and give your kitchen a rustic, cottage charm. Plus, their size makes it perfect for washing big dishes easily. If you entertain regularly, or have a large family, these large sinks will likely be on your shortlist of options. Farmhouse sinks offer more charm than other stainless steel or modern options. And one cannot argue that the look and feel they create will truly make your kitchen feel like the heart of the home.
Buy Locally
I love handmade things, and I love being able to support businesses and people from my own community. Luckily I’m not the only one. The popularity, and economic success, of handmade shopping sites like Etsy are proving that people want to support local artists and 
craftsman. You can easily be a part of this trend by simply taking some time to research your local options for different aspects of your kitchen remodel. Looking into local options may surprise you with the range of talent in your city, or even in your own neighborhood. Plus, you’ll be helping the local economy and supporting a local business that you know will put the money back into your community.
One of the other great things about this trend is that it’s affordable for anyone’s budget. You can buy something as small as a print or poster from a local artist to hang on your wall. There is always something, whether a big-ticket item for the renovation or some small decorative or functional objects, that can be sourced relatively near one's home.
Whether you love or hate these trends, designing a kitchen is ultimately about what works for you. Use the trends to guide you, not define you. When you’re designing your own kitchen, worry less about the trends, and more about making your kitchen a reflection of your own personality.
About the Author: Paige oversees all things Editorial at ReliableRemodeler.com a nationwide contractor matching service bringing together homeowners with area contractors for free estimates on home improvement projects. She writes regularly for the company’s home remodeling blog posting on a wide range of topics including the newest home improvement trends, the latest in remodeling news, and the growing green building movement.
Monday, May 11, 2009 at 01:30PM
Reader Comments (10)
We are updating our kitchen this summer, and I will use some of these ideas to achieve the 'modern' look we are going for. Thanks for this info!
Open shelves make it so much easier to access the ingredients you want right away. Makes so much sense. Am not too sure about the sink...
I love Etsy too. They have wonderful stuff.
had definatly already decided I want open shelves. Only have one window, on the side of the existing cabinets, & I want the light to 'shoot' across the wall & not get as blocked as it is now. But want closed storage on the other side for the stuff that needs hiding.
I am worried about everything getting dusty, but I want the light.
We just finished remodeling our kitchen a few months ago, and we put in a 36 inch single bowl Shaw's fireclay apron front sink, and it is one of my favorite things in my kitchen.
It is so big I can fit any pot or pan in it, and I can have things sitting in one end of the sink while I'm washing things at the other end. I've had the standard nice deep stainless steel sink, which I liked okay, and I had a porcelain double bowl sink, which I hated. I can see the appeal of two separate sinks, but I have a separate 15 inch prep sink if I ever need a second sink.I wish I'd had the big farmhouse sink a few years ago, when I could have bathed my kids in the sink. I have twin girls, and I could have bathed them both at the same time!
I love open shelves but I don't have any in my kitchen. First of all, I know me, and I am too messy for open shelves. I know things would get dusty, and I wouldn't clean them enough, and things would get disorgnaized, and it would bother me. I also have 12 foot ceilings, so not sure how open shelves would have worked. But for the right person, in the right kitchen, they are great. I love the way they look.
good setup of furniture,sink & other vessels in kitchen..
It's a good Article for kitchen Design...It's new design generally attracts. I think this ideas will help me for design a beautiful kitchen..
Thank you for this article. Very interesting, especially the bit about buying locally; couldn't agree more.
I love all of the looks for 2009! Another one I came across was a vintage look, check it out: http://www.chdmag.com/article/the-new-vintage
We just bought a house with new granite counter tops but 20 year old cabinets. In addition to that they have placed the refrigerator and the built-in oven right next to each other with no work space next to the oven.
My husband insists that we sould leave the layout as-is. I can't stand having the refrigerator and oven next to each other, it just doesn't look balanced and there is no work space to put hot items from the oven on. There is a island with a 20 year old cooktop in it that we can use.
Can someone with design experience PLEASE inform my husband that this is a kitchen disaster to leave it how it is. I am open to any suggestions how to remedy this problem. We will even consider cutting the granite in the island to put a oven/stove combo in it. We will be replacing the cabinets
I really love the open shelf idea for the kitchen, I'm planning on decorating my kitchen soon and your post has given me a lot of helpful information, thank you.