7 KITCHEN TRENDS YOU’LL BE SEEING EVERYWHERE THIS YEAR

2022.02.16

Given the increased amount of time we’ve spent at home these last two years, it’s no wonder both full-scale kitchen renovations and modest redesigns have skyrocketed. And, with more chefs literally in the kitchen, there’s a plethora of trends cooking.

This year, kitchens will become bolder, brighter, and more customized than ever before, thanks to a wide array of newly available colors, materials, and technologies. From rich, high-gloss paint treatments to eye-catching surfaces to colorful, bespoke appliances, what has always been the most expensive room in the house is beginning to look like it too. To find out precisely how kitchens will be taking shape in 2022, we tapped a group of top designers and industry insiders to share what they predict will be all the rage in the months ahead.

THE “WORK TRIANGLE” IS OUT

home studios fort greene brooklyn townhouse

This kitchen, designed by Home Studios for a client in the hospitality business, features a bespoke island that accommodates both cooking and hanging out. Several refrigerators add space for supplies and an impressive wine collection. The back windows, meanwhile, open so that dishes can be passed directly to the outdoor terrace.

Brian Ferry

The pandemic cemented the kitchen’s role as the heart of the home, and not just for communal meals; kitchens functioned as venues for entertaining, Zoom calls, and even homework sessions as many settled even deeper into their work-from-home routines. As a result, the so-called kitchen triangle—the optimized work zone between the stove, refrigerator, and sink—is becoming a thing of the past. “The kitchen keeps growing,” says New York designer Young Huh. “We’re no longer confined to the work triangle because there are [now] multiple cooks in one household.” This phenomenon has not only given rise to a variety of multifunctional spaces for prepping, cooking, washing, eating, and much more, but has also paved the way for a variety of cooking styles and needs, be it a coffee station or a zone for sous vide cooking, Huh observes.