Kitchen Trends That Last: Cabinets, Counters, Floors and Islands

Some years ago we wrote a list of the kitchen trends of the moment. Going back to it now is the best evidence we have of which kitchen choices last. Most of that list has held up, one item has dated, and one needs a warning it did not carry then. For someone planning a kitchen, the difference between them is worth more than any new list. Here is each item, with what time did to it.

What held up and what dated

The plain choices held up. Clean, simple lines and as much natural light as the room can get were in favor when we wrote that list and still are, and so are white and gray cabinets, quartz counters, and floors of wood or tile. What dated was a novelty: an appliance finish that was new that year. What needs the warning is software, which ages faster than anything else in the room. The pattern runs through every item below. A kitchen ages well where it is simple and solidly built, and badly where it leans on something new for its own sake.

Smart appliances and controls

Technology now reaches every appliance and light in the room. The trouble is that software ages faster than steel. Choose an appliance for how it cooks, cools or cleans, and treat the connected features as a bonus that may one day stop being supported.

What lasts is the wiring behind it: enough circuits, outlets where you will want them, and lighting on separate switches and dimmers. That is work to do while the walls are open. In New York City an electrical permit is required for most electrical work, and a licensed electrical contractor does it.

Cabinet colors

White remains the classic choice, because it keeps a room that easily gets cluttered looking clean. Gray is versatile and sits well beside natural materials or showier accents. Dark cabinets look rich and formal. All three have lasted, and there is a practical reason beyond taste: a painted door can be repainted. What cannot be changed cheaply is the box behind the door, so put the money there. A well-built cabinet can take a new color, or new doors, years from now.

In a small New York kitchen, dark cabinets on every wall close the room in. Keep the dark color low, on the base cabinets or an island, and let the wall cabinets stay light.

Counters

Quartz is still the favorite for a hard-working counter. It is durable and easy to keep, it needs no sealing, and it now comes in a wide range of colors and in patterns that read as real stone. Its one weakness is heat: the binder in it does not like a pan set down straight from the burner, so use a trivet. A counter is costly to replace, so pick a quiet pattern over a loud one.

One practical note. On our schedule the counter is measured from a template made after the cabinets are installed, so it is among the last things to arrive. Choose the material early all the same, because the choice affects the sink, the faucet and the backsplash.

Appliance finishes

This is the item that aged. When we first wrote the list, gray-toned appliances in a dark brushed metal were the newest thing. Special finishes come and go, and each maker’s version is a little different, which matters on the day one appliance fails and its replacement has to sit beside the others. Plain stainless steel can be matched across brands and years. Appliances that take a cabinet panel remove the question, since the finish is then the cabinet’s.

Flooring

Hardwood is still the first choice for a kitchen floor and tile is close behind, helped by porcelain that convincingly imitates wood and stone. Each has a case. Wood can be sanded and refinished, and in many older apartments the original floor runs under the kitchen and can be brought back. The Department of Buildings lists resurfacing floors among the work that needs no permit. Tile shrugs off water at the sink and the dishwasher. Either one, in a plain color and a standard size, will outlast several rounds of fashion.

Islands

A large island with storage, an appliance or two under the counter and seating has become the center of the modern kitchen. It needs room around it. The National Kitchen and Bath Association recommends a work aisle of at least 42 inches for one cook and a walkway of at least 36 inches (NKBA Kitchen Planning Guidelines). Many apartment kitchens cannot spare that on four sides, and a peninsula or a movable work table does the same job.

Think twice before putting a sink or a cooktop in an island. Water, a drain, gas or power must then cross the floor to reach it, and in an apartment building that is a far larger job, and a larger approval, than the island itself. An island that only stores, serves and seats can be changed later without a plumber.

For the work itself, see our page on kitchen renovation in NYC. Door styles and finishes can be seen at our custom cabinet showroom, and finished rooms are in the kitchen gallery. For the choices that make a kitchen personal, read our companion piece on kitchen trends worth keeping.

Questions people ask