Thanks to the emergence of Covid-19, for most of us this year has been one to forget. As families have been forced to spend an increased amount of time at home, we have felt honoured to play a part in making homes feel like the stylish safe havens they should be by continuing to design and fit kitchens in Oxford and beyond. Our homes have long been our sanctuaries, but never more than now and although 2020 has failed to live up to expectations in many ways, it certainly hasn’t been a disappointment when it comes to kitchen trends and styling.

Some of our favourite design choices featuring heavily this year have been two-tone cabinets, copper accents and marble inspired worksurfaces. These have all been popular choices in the kitchens we have designed and fitted in Oxfordshire and we’re sure they will be here to stay for some time to come. We’ve loved seeing the different combinations of key kitchen trends to produce stunningly different results. One kitchen style can look startlingly different depending on the colour selected, the finish of the cabinets, or feel of the ironmongery. We also feel it is important to say that following, or being aware of the moment’s kitchen trends does not mean cookie-cutter kitchen designs – every kitchen we have designed and fitted in Oxford this year has been beautifully unique and reflective of the people who use and love it.

Click here to see case studies of some of our recently completed kitchen designs.

We love helping our customers to inject their personalities into their kitchen designs, but we also enjoy bringing our own view on kitchen trends and functionality to the mix. We devour magazines and ideal homes style blog posts to make sure we’re at the forefront of new style ideas and trends in kitchen design, whilst maintaining a real-world view of how to implement them in a way that is still practical for modern-day family living. We are all too aware that kitchens are the hub of the home and carry a big burden when it comes to juggling style and practicality.

What are the kitchen trends for 2021?

According to the interiors magazines there are also a number of new and emerging kitchen trends which we can’t wait to start including in our Oxford kitchens. Here are just a few of our favourites which we’ll be on the lookout for as we head into 2021.

Two-tone Kitchens

The trend for two-tone kitchens is one we absolutely love as it brings a twist to literally every style of kitchen, whether contemporary or classic. Green tones were predicted to be big news this year, but many of our kitchen customers in Oxford, Didcot, Abingdon and the surrounding areas have plumped for blues and greys. It seems the people of Oxfordshire are ahead of the curve, as the style experts are calling blue to be the kitchen colour of 2021.

If you love the idea of a two-tone kitchen, take a look at our range of cabinets as they all come in a range of complementary colours which can be matched to contrast perfectly.

Hot Water Taps

We are big fans of hot water taps and it seems we’re not alone. Apparently Google searches for hot water taps increased by 25% in 2020, which makes perfect sense when you think about how the pandemic has changed our working and therefore hot drink making habits!

We personally absolutely love the Quooker Tap and have installed it in many of the Oxford kitchens we have completed this year.

Click here to find out more about Quooker Taps and what they can do.

Compact Kitchen Design

Another trend projected to be big news in 2021 is compact design – utilising clever design tricks to maximise kitchen space. Where space is in short supply, tall units work really well for making space feel less cramped, as well as offering plenty of storage space – who doesn’t dream about having a larder cupboard?!

Our kitchens are really versatile which is fantastic for smaller spaces. Clever tricks like reduced depth cupboards can help to maximise floor space, and smart storage solutions such as the Le Mans corner unit can help you utilise every single inch of space you have available. This is probably the most popular storage solution we include in our fitted kitchen designs – it is a complete no brainer to make the most of those awkward, often wasted corner units.

Click here to find out more about our kitchen design process.

Minimalist Style

Going hand in hand with the compact kitchen design trend for 2021 is the resurgence of minimalist style. The influence of Scandinavian style can be seen more and more in our home décor, with clean lines, simple colour palettes and gorgeous textures doing all the talking, and kitchen clutter being banished from the sides.

We know what you’re thinking; it sounds beautiful, but surely it’s not very practical? Well we’re pleased to report that it’s now highly achievable thanks to all the clever storage features and concealed appliances that are now available. Some of our favourite Oxford kitchens have been super sleek and deceptively simple to look at, with a mountain of gadgets and clever side-space-saving tricks hidden within them.

Take a look at the modern and minimal kitchen we recently designed and fitted in Oxford.

Clever Storage

Apparently clever storage is a big kitchen trend for 2021, but in our opinion it is a staple of good kitchen design that never goes out of fashion. Thanks to our Netflix binge watching at the start of 2020, we all became slightly obsessed with Marie Kondo and the need for everything to have its place, which has certainly filtered through to people’s priorities when thinking about their new fitted kitchen.

Larder cupboards are one of the most coveted features people ask us to include in their fitted kitchen design, but in our opinion some of the unsung heroes of a good fitted kitchen are the les mans corner unit (great for storing bulky pots and pans in previously wasted space) and concealed bins – removing the need for ugly, smelly bins on display! There are a mountain of clever storage solutions available for your fitted kitchen to make sure it always stays “life-changingly tidy!”

Statement Taps

A tap is just a tap, right? Wrong! With the fitted kitchens we’ve designed in Oxford we’ve definitely noticed that the kitchen tap and sink is becoming a big design choice for lots of our customers, and this is apparently a trend being seen right across kitchen design. Taps have gone from being simply functional to diverse and beautiful. One of our favourite manufacturers, Perrin & Rowe have over 25k followers on Instagram, such is the lure of their tap designs. Whether you’re looking at stainless steel, chrome, brushed or satin, brass, copper or even black, we source and supply a wide range of statement taps at a variety of price points.

Traditional shaker style kitchen with timeless statement taps

Lighting

We know, we know, how can lighting be a key kitchen trend for 2021? Lights in kitchens aren’t exactly a new thing, granted, but the way we think about lighting them has changed a lot over the past few years and the next 12 months are going to see another evolution of that.

There’s been a definite move towards more open-plan kitchen spaces that comprise a living area in recent years, which has meant our kitchen designs have taken on a slightly softer, more living room feel to them. We always think about zoning lighting in our kitchen designs so the light and the mood can adapt to any situation. For our fitted kitchens in Oxford where entertaining is a key feature we are always sure to include a mix of downlighters, pendants and dimmers to allow lighting to be versatile. This year we’re expecting to see more customers opting for triplet or quinlet style slights, rather than single pendants to offer a new twist on the look. Whatever you decide to go for, rest assured lighting is always one of our key considerations when designing your kitchen.

Brass

If 2020 was the year of copper, 2021 is going to be all about brass. Brass works really well with the popular blue and green tones as it brings a warmth and opulence which is really popular in the kitchens we design and fit in Oxford. Brass is versatile too, with antique, polished and satin brass all giving completely different looks to kitchen cabinets.

Click here to see a beautiful in-frame kitchen with brass accents.

So what does 2021 kitchen design look like?

Well, as always we expect and hope to design and fit a wide mix of different styles of kitchen in 2021, but the overriding theme of next year’s trends is definitely ‘details’. Almost anyone can design a functional kitchen; broken down to the bare bones it is just cabinets, worktops and appliances, but to design a really beautiful, stylish and highly practical kitchen, the devil is in the detail.

At Kitchenroom we are proud to deliver a personal service and really care about helping you to make all the detailed decisions which will elevate your kitchen to the next level. We’re dedicated to helping you find the perfect tap, or handles, or worktops and all at the best possible price. This is just one of the benefits of working with a local kitchen design company, and it’s one of the things we love about what we do.

If you are looking for a new fitted kitchen in Oxford or the surround areas, including (but not restricted to) Abingdon, Didcot, Wantage, Thame, Radley, Wallingford etc, please do get in touch with us today to arrange a free home visit and new kitchen design.

Click here to see our range of fitted kitchens.