2021 Kitchen Cabinet Trends.
Given that I’ve spent, and continue to spend, a lot of time thinking about kitchen designs I figured it would be best to make a post that goes through some of the most popular 2021 cabinet/kitchen trends out there. This post will cover what colors seem to be prominent recently and will show a collection of kitchen images I am fully inspired by recently.
Historically, kitchen trends change every 10 years. Hence why you can usually spot a kitchen that’s from a different decade pretty quick. Whereas other rooms in your home will probably change more frequently. Kitchens are notoriously one of the most expensive and overwhelming rooms to update, so that’s why people don’t update as often. This is why it’s crucial to understand the trends and make the right choices. So let’s talk about these trends and how you could implement some of them in your kitchen without breaking the bank or going too deep into what’s trendy. Because although trends are great and bring fresh ideas into a dated space, they also have the potential to quite literally date your space after a few years. Deciding which trends to go all-in with is often tricky!
Since I’m going to be walking through the most popular color trends for cabinets, I want to discuss the elephant in the kitchen, white cabinets. White cabinets will, in my opinion, always be classic and timeless. However, as we move into the new trends they aren’t being used as much. Especially the ALL WHITE kitchens that often look sterile and boring.
White Cabinets
If you’re someone who would like to play it safe and ensure that you put your money towards something that will be flexible throughout the years and brighten your space, then white cabinets are the golden ticket for you. Having your cabinets white will almost immediately make your kitchen feel larger and brighter. It will essentially give you a blank canvas for the rest of your kitchen so you can accent with what you want. They remove that fear of having stuff that clashes. So why aren’t they classified as “trendy” anymore? Believe it or not, but they have become overused and are beginning to feel cookie cutter. This is especially true when people are deciding to do all white cabinets with a white backsplash (we’re looking at you subway tile) and then paired with a light countertop. More recently when people are choosing to do a white kitchen, they are incorporating warmer tones, wood features, or even accent colors with their white kitchens. This is a great way to add personality but still have a timeless-looking kitchen. Here are some examples of white kitchens that aren’t just all white cabinets, backsplash, and countertops. Each one has something unique added to it that makes it feel different than someone else’s, which is what people are looking for these days.
I could find hundreds of white kitchen inspiration pictures for you, but I’ll reserve myself these 6 examples. Notice how they either incorporate warmth or unique elements with the pendant lights, cabinet hardware, fixtures, range hoods, island colors/materials, seating, and backsplash. These are all things to consider if you want to go with the white cabinets.
Putty/Mushroom/Greige Cabinets
HOTTEST TREND ALERT! If you’re someone who still wants something that’s neutral and light, but the white kitchens are overdone to you, this is the route to consider. Something we have noticed happening since 2020 is people wanting creamier, muted, warm tones in their home. This especially became prominent when people realized they were spending more time in their house. The cool-toned homes weren’t feeling as welcoming/comforting, which brought on the huge trend of mushroom colors. These have been trendy in European kitchens for a while, but have been making their way into North America as of late. The benefit of going in this direction is that you can pick whatever mushroom tone you’d like. There are so many to choose from, ranging from creamy yellow toned to muted gray to neutral beige. You could pick a light one that is subtle enough to notice it isn’t white, but light enough that it may feel white. Or you could go the opposite route and pick something with a darker shade and it would lean darker beige or gray. This trend is what Aaron and I have decided to do for our kitchen, our perimeter cabinets will all be Accessible Beige by Sherwin Williams and the island will be Black Magic by Sherwin Willams.
Below are some of my favorite 2020/2021 kitchens that I’ve been drooling over. I love the warmth and comfort that they bring, while still feeling classic, clean, and having a touch of modern.
Green Cabinets
Green (aka my favorite color) has become one the most used colors in homes during 2020/2021. It brings a pop of color to a space but usually feels neutral if you pick the right muted green tone/shade. Greens like sage, olive, gray-green, hunter-green, yellow-green, and blue-green are all the rage. Green often pairs well with any other neutral color such as the mushroom or white cabinets shown above. It also looks great with wood tones and blacks. Green would be a fantastic color to paint your lower cabinets or add that pop of color to your island. Another way you could incorporate green into your kitchen would be with the backsplash. Green lends itself to pairing well with brass or matte black hardware/fixtures. Green could go cool and look great in a modern space or it could lean vintage and bring that nature feel.
Blue Cabinets
After talking about green, it brings me to blue next. Blue is a great option if you’re looking for a pop of color/personality. Blue can range from something soft and muted which gives a light pastel feel, or it can go really moody where some might feel it looks black. Blue is a fantastic color to pair with white or wood. It can give a coastal feeling to a home or a luxurious vibe. If you go with a lighter blue it can pair really well with the matte black hardware, but if you go with a darker more indigo-shaded blue it pairs beautifully with chrome, nickle, stainless steal, and also brass.
Black/High Contrast Cabinets
Going all-in with dark cabinets isn’t for everyone. Whether that be because it’s not your favorite style or because your kitchen is small and doesn’t have a lot of natural light. To achieve a fantastic dark kitchen look you’ll want to make sure your kitchen has a lot of natural and overhead light. If you don’t have this, your kitchen will immediately feel smaller and dark. You should also consider how large your kitchen is. If you have a smaller kitchen then going all dark would enhance how small it is instead of making it feel larger.
If you do have a space that could work all dark then this is a direction you should consider. Having an all-black kitchen will instantly make your space feel modern, luxurious, grand, or even modern farmhouse. This is especially true if you have a lot of high contrast surrounding it. For instance, white walls, countertops, and backsplash to make the black pop. Another amazing thing you can do with black, which I think looks stunning, is incorporating wood elements with it or even glass doors on the cabinets. Black is another neutral just like white, except it isn’t reflective like white. If you’re hesitant to commit to all black cabinets (which is understandable), I would consider making your island black (that’s what we are doing). You could also think about having your lower cabinets black and the uppers white or open shelving. Another option would be painting a built-in feature of your kitchen black so it stands out.
Stained Wood Cabinets
You may be wondering, “my cabinets have always been Oak since the ’90s, so I’m glad stained wood is in”. However, that type of wood isn’t in. That harsh orange undertone that was all over in the 90’s/00’s is very much OUT as well as the Cherry cabinets. What is in is a warm brown stain or a washed-out wood color. If you’re not into the lighter wood or have to use dark wood considering what else is in your home, consider a rich walnut stain that has a warm yellow tone to it instead of orange. Another thing to consider if you’re going this route and want to make sure it doesn’t feel dated would be the faces of the cabinets. I would steer towards a shaker-style cabinet that has minimal detail. The more detail the more dated it will feel.
What’s being done a lot more is a mix-matched cabinet combo. If you’re wanting to have wood cabinets but don’t want it to feel overwhelmingly wood then go for the lowers being wood and maybe have your uppers white. You could also have an island wood and then the perimeter cabinets a solid painted color. By adding wood elements in some places of your kitchen it will create a more custom feel, which is what a lot of people are looking for.
Those are some of the biggest trends for kitchen cabinets as we move into the next 10 years. I think most of what I just shared has a chance of being timeless if done in moderation. Just like any trend out there, if you go too far with it you may run into it going out of style. However, if you add touches of trendy flavor to your space you can achieve a look that would last through the years. Two of my all-time favorite design heroes that work in this way would be Jean Stoffer owner of Stoffer Home (there’s a Discovery+ Documentary all about her you should check out) and then Amber Lewis from Amber Interiors. For the kitchen in our house, I am essentially modeling after one of Amber’s kitchens and I’m constantly pulling inspiration from Jean Stoffer.
If you’re wondering how these colors have been selected as trends, I don’t have the exact answer. All I can say is that throughout the past couple of years it’s noticeable that people are introducing color palettes that have a nod to nature. Nature is one of the best inspirations for what is timeless. This being why green and blue cabinets are often selected or even used throughout other parts of your home. More vibrant colors like red, purple, orange, etc. are often not used for kitchen cabinets. By all means, if you have a desire to have a purple kitchen, GO FOR IT! No one is stopping you, haha. I’m just here to list out what I’ve noticed as trends and how as we approach this next decade more designers are trying to create timeless spaces instead of super trendy spaces that will fade. If you’re wondering why gray didn’t make the trendy list, it’s mainly because it often has cool undertones and more people are steering away from that. I think gray cabinets are great for lowers or islands. If you pick a dark gray color for all of your cabinets it may feel heavy. I would consider then accenting with lighter backsplash, countertops, or wall colors. A gray that has become very trendy for walls, trim, and cabinets recently is Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams which is a light neutral gray.
I’d love to hear in the comments which kitchen cabinet trends you’re liking and if you’ve incorporated any in your home already or plan to. I could discuss kitchens as a whole in many different blog posts, but I figured we would start with the most expensive feature in a kitchen which is cabinets.
