If you’ve just come to terms with the fact that your favourite skinny jeans are out of fashion, brace yourself: kitchen design has had a shift too. Sometimes it’s obvious a trend has had its day, but often we might not have realised that a certain finish belongs firmly to another era and your kitchen is showing its age. However, kitchens are expensive things to replace, so before you reach for a sledgehammer, it’s worth checking out a faster fix.
The not hot list:
Kitchens that look like kitchens
Back in the day, a kitchen was a kitchen and the dining room – usually separated by walls and doors – was a dining room. Now we’re less hierarchical with our rooms and more come one, come all. It’s actually quite nice to prep food with your girlfriends perched at the island or chat to the kids sprawled in the lounge while you empty the dishwasher. With open-plan living here to stay, the trick is to make the kitchen feel like part of the home, rather than a commercial food-prep zone.
The fix: Introduce the same timber tones, colours, metals and textures you’ve used elsewhere in the living area. Add artwork, a rug or upholstered stools. Have bar stools in a similar style to your dining chairs. Build your kitchen cabinets to the ceiling. Hide any appliances that scream “kitchen” with integrated cabinetry for your dishwasher and fridge. The aim is to blur the boundary between kitchen and living space.
An all-white gloss kitchen
It’s okay – white kitchens aren’t going anywhere, but the days of a completely white kitchen that looks like a science lab are behind us. Clinical is out, warm is in. A softer, more organic feel is what kitchens need to meet 2027, rather than the harsh reflection of an all-gloss surface.
The fix: By all means, paint if you like, but you don’t necessarily have to replace white cabinetry – white is still a great base. But soften it: with timber chopping boards, plants, art, runner rugs and warm-toned lighting. Add texture wherever you can: woven baskets, timber stools, a chunky ceramic bowl or wooden tray.
Built-in office desks
It was a nice idea in theory: a little desk tucked into the kitchen where you could flop down mid-stir-fry and quickly knock off some life admin. Or a handy spot to keep an eye on the child who is meant to be doing homework but sounds suspiciously like they’re playing Minecraft. The reality is it often becomes a messy little command centre, overflowing with paperwork, chargers, school notices and the miscellaneous debris of family life.
The fix: Give the space a new job. If you don’t genuinely use it as a desk, turn it into a bar area or dedicated coffee nook. Alternatively, add open shelving above and use attractive baskets to corral the things that need to live nearby. Even better, turn it into a little pantry-style storage zone with doors to hide the chaos.
Subway tiles or bright glass splashbacks
Splashbacks are like jeans – you can tell what era they’re from just by looking at them. Mosaic tile splashbacks shout ’90s, subway tiles shout 2010s and bright coloured glass splashbacks just shout for help (unless you love orange or red, then by all means, you do you). The problem isn’t that any of these materials are bad – it’s that some finishes have become so strongly associated with a particular decade.
The fix: For subway tiles, changing the grout colour can make a surprising difference – try a warm neutral or darker shade rather than stark white or contrasting black. And if you’re ready for a bigger refresh, replacing a splashback is considerably less pricey than replacing cabinetry. Consider tiles with a handmade look, natural stone or even a warm-toned microcement finish. Choose something with subtle variation rather than a high-shine, high-contrast finish for a contemporary 2026 look.
Steel stools and ghost chairs
Those metal Tolix-style stools and Kartell-style ghost chairs were all the rage for good reason – hard-wearing, easy to wipe down, clean-lined and simple enough to work with most interior styles. But they fit in with the “I’m too glossy” movement – now we want warm and welcoming, not “do you have an appointment?”
The fix: Look for timber, woven, upholstered or textured options, ideally with some shape rather than a hard, industrial silhouette. Natural oak or walnut stools work beautifully, as do rattan or woven seats. Even adding seat cushions can soften a very hard-edged kitchen. Think dining-room chair, not commercial kitchen furniture.
Open shelving
We know – we’ve gone from saying you don’t want your kitchen to be too pared-back and clinical to telling you that having your personal items on show isn’t the answer. What? Well, some of us saw the shelfie trend and went overboard. One or two carefully styled shelves can be lovely; long stretches of shelving groaning with piles of crockery and everyday debris, not so much. You’re not a cafe and your visitors don’t need to see the contents of your inner drawers on display – cracks and chips included.
The fix: Pare it back. Keep your favourite ceramic mugs, a beautiful bowl and perhaps a trailing plant and let everything else disappear behind a door. If you have a whole bank of open shelves, remove some of the clutter and use the resulting space for a piece of art, a mirror or one oversized object, like a bank of beautiful timber chopping boards. It’s another easy way to make the kitchen feel more like a considered living space – rather than an open-air crockery cabinet.
Five things every kitchen needs this year
1. Techy taps
The humble kitchen tap has had a serious upgrade. Instant boiling-water taps mean no more waiting for the kettle to boil when you need a cuppa. Bonus: it clears clutter by making the bench-top kettle redundant. If you’re feeling particularly bougie, invest in a tap that dispenses chilled, sparkling water. Pot fillers are also hot property, allowing you to fill a large pot directly at the stove, saving you from awkwardly carrying a heavy, full pot from the sink. Once you’ve had one, it’s hard to go back.
2. Texture on the island
Plot twist: the 2026 kitchen island has become more of a furniture piece rather than just another cabinet. To do this, Sam McArthur from Wild Bird Interior Design suggests adding timber battening, VJ panelling, fluted panels or even changing the end panels to introduce texture and make a huge difference to the overall look of your kitchen. It’s also an easy way to add colour to your kitchen if you want to. “Olive greens, mushroom tones, warm whites, clay colours and natural timber all create a kitchen that feels calm and inviting,” says Sam. Walnut or oak are still trending hard here.
3. Curves are in
As part of becoming more-living-less-kitchen in style, we’re officially softening the edges. Sculptural islands, rounded cabinetry and benchtops, curved walls and softer architectural details help a kitchen flow into adjoining living spaces rather than stopping it sharply at a bank of square cupboards. Curves are so nice to trail your hand along as you admire your new kitchen space.
4. Layers of light
We’re good at considering different lighting throughout the home, but the kitchen’s always been relegated to boring but practical task lighting – until now. “Good lighting completely changes how a kitchen feels,” says Sam. “Swapping pendants, adding LED strip lighting under overhead cabinets or shelving, or even lighting inside glass cabinets instantly elevates the space. It’s a high-impact update for relatively little cost.” And don’t underestimate decorative lighting: a beautiful pendant or set of pendants can add another level of style to the space, particularly when the kitchen is visible from the living or dining area.
5. Make it a statement – or don’t
Rangehoods have always been the big silver elephant in the room, but now you can go one of two ways: choose one with an architectural form to make it a standout feature or hide it completely in your kitchen island. In 2026, statement rangehoods include sleek giant cylinders, marble-covered, integrated, or even a hanging pendant light version. Or splash out on a discreet downdraft kitchen extractor and free up the space above your cooktop completely.
The easiest way to update your kitchen: style it. “I always tell clients that styling is the finishing layer that brings the design to life – simple but so effective,” says Sam. “Beautiful timber boards, a handmade bowl filled with seasonal fruit, a lamp in the corner, ceramics or a vase with greenery make a kitchen feel lived in rather than staged. Create a home with personality rather than one that looks identical to everyone else’s.”
Read next:
- Update your kitchen with these simple styling tips
- Create your very own French bistro at home
- 11 vibrant kitchens to inspire your next renovation
