Scott B Smith © Sargent Photography
Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary u-shaped eat-in kitchen in Miami with raised-panel cabinets, dark wood cabinets, brown splashback, stainless steel appliances, an undermount sink, quartz benchtops, marble floors, with island, beige floor and red benchtop.

Bamboo kitchen remodel.

Wende Woodworking LLC

Kern Group
This is an example of a contemporary u-shaped eat-in kitchen in Kansas City with stainless steel appliances, flat-panel cabinets, medium wood cabinets, red splashback, an undermount sink, quartz benchtops, glass tile splashback and red benchtop.

Contemporary Kitchen

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary single-wall separate kitchen in Hawaii with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, stainless steel appliances, dark hardwood floors, with island, quartz benchtops, brown floor and red benchtop.

Rainbow Modern Kitchen

Point 5 Kitchens Ltd

Large contemporary galley kitchen in London with an integrated sink, flat-panel cabinets, laminate benchtops, stainless steel appliances, brown floor, red benchtop, red cabinets, red splashback and with island.

Kitchens by Julie Williams Design

Julie Williams Design

Inspiration for a contemporary l-shaped kitchen in San Francisco with glass-front cabinets, stainless steel appliances, an undermount sink, medium wood cabinets, red splashback, mosaic tile splashback and red benchtop.

Loft Pétillant

WOM DESIGN

Thierry Stefanopoulos
This is an example of a large contemporary l-shaped kitchen in Paris with an undermount sink, white cabinets, glass benchtops, red splashback, stainless steel appliances, concrete floors, with island, grey floor, red benchtop, flat-panel cabinets and glass sheet splashback.

Armani Fine Woodworking African Mahogany Butcher Block Countertop

Armani Fine Woodworking

Armani Fine Woodworking African Mahogany butcher block countertop with Monocoat finish. Armanifinewoodworking.com. Custom Made-to-Order. Shipped Nationwide.

MONO - Kreuzberg # Low Budget

Gleba+Störmer

um das monochrome Konzept konsequent durchzuhalten wurden sogar der Durchlauferhitzer sowie die alten Steckdosen im selben Ton lackiert. (fotografiert von Hejm Berlin)

Sinker CypressEnd Grin Butcher Block Island

NOLA BOARDS

This incredible butcher block island is made from sinker cypress end grain and features a stunning bookmatched grain design. Its hard to believe this is a naturally occurring pattern! Our woodworkers take extreme care selecting and placing each piece of wood to ensure that your counter is one of a kind and beautiful. Photo by Jason Kruppe

Bluewater Hill

Peter Cadoux Architects, P.C.

Contemporary kitchen in New York with with island, an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, medium hardwood floors, brown floor and red benchtop.

Urban Cultivator Design Gallery

Aitoro Appliance

Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary single-wall separate kitchen in New York with a drop-in sink, flat-panel cabinets, white cabinets, solid surface benchtops, multi-coloured splashback, mosaic tile splashback, stainless steel appliances, porcelain floors, no island, grey floor and red benchtop.

Rysso Peters

Inspiration for a contemporary kitchen in Phoenix with stainless steel appliances, an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, black cabinets, quartz benchtops, red splashback and red benchtop.

Private Residence, Post and Beam Addition

David Matero Architecture

Photo by Herb Pressman. The kitchen, great room, and dining room are open to each other.
This is an example of a contemporary kitchen in Portland Maine with red benchtop.

Gloss and wood kitchen with red breakfast bar

Stoneham Kitchens

Infinity High Gloss in Cloud, was complemented by Black and White Zebrano accents on the island cupboards and built-in cupboard doors, as well as the centrepiece - the striking red glass breakfast bar. Stoneham was able to combine a number of ranges to achieve the perfect kitchen for the client. Using the Infinity range as the main design, the kitchen also features white cabinets from the Flow range, a Silestone worktop and aluminium sink top beneath the window, and black and white Zebrano veneers on the island cabinets and on the cabinet doors. The central island, with a white worktop in Polar Cap and an anthracite oak finish to one side, is given a brilliant pop of colour with the painted glass breakfast bar in a rich red.

Modern in Red

Dansky Handcrafted LLC

Modern kitchens by Dansky Handcrafted.com Design by Kirsti Wolfe Photo's by Paula Watts,
Photo of a contemporary kitchen in Other with red cabinets, flat-panel cabinets, stainless steel appliances and red benchtop.

Compact Kitchen with Colour

Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens

Our clients wanted a fresh approach to make their compact kitchen work better for them. They also wanted it to integrate well with their dining space alongside, creating a better flow between the two rooms and the access from the hallway. On a small footprint, the original kitchen layout didn’t make the most of the available space. Our clients desperately wanted more storage as well as more worktop space. We designed a new kitchen space for our clients, which made use of the footprint they had, as well as improving the functionality. By changing the doorway into the room, we changed the flow through the kitchen and dining spaces and created a deep alcove on the righthand-side of the dining room chimney breast. Freeing up this alcove was a massive space gain, allowing us to increase kitchen storage. We designed a full height storage unit to match the existing cupboards on the other wide of the chimney breast. This new, super deep cupboard space is almost 80cm deep. We divided the internal space between cupboard space above and four considerable drawer pull-outs below. Each drawer holds up to 70kg of contents and pulls right out to give our clients an instant overview of their dry goods and supplies – a fantastic kitchen larder. We painted the new full height cupboard to match and gave them both new matching oak knob handles. The old kitchen had two shorter worktop runs and there was a freestanding cupboard in the space between the cooking and dining zones. We created a compact kitchen peninsula to replace the freestanding unit and united it with the sink run, creating a slim worktop run between the two. This adds to the flow of the kitchen, making the space more of a defined u-shaped kitchen. By adding this new stretch of kitchen worktop to the design, we could include even more kitchen storage. The new kitchen incorporates shallow storage between the peninsula and the sink run. We built in open shelving at a low level and a useful mug and tea cupboard at eye level. We made all the kitchen cabinets from our special eco board, which is produced from 100% recycled timber. The flat panel doors add to the sleek, unfussy style. The light colour cabinetry lends the kitchen a feeling of light and space. The kitchen worktops and upstands are made from recycled paper – created from many, many layers of recycled paper, set in resin to bond it. A really unique material, it is incredibly tactile and develops a lovely patina over time. The pale-coloured kitchen cabinetry is paired with “barely there” toughened glass elements which all help to give the kitchen area a feeling of light and space. The subtle glass splashback behind the hob reflects light into the room as well as protecting the wall surface. The window sills are all made to match and also bounce natural light into the room. The new kitchen is a lovely new functional space which flows well and is integrated with the dining space alongside.

Arlington, Virginia - Contemporary - Kitchen

Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath

Arlington, Virginia Contemporary Kitchen #JenniferGilmer http://www.gilmerkitchens.com/ Photography by Bob Narod

Armani Fine Woodworking Brazilian Cherry Butcher Block Countertop.

Armani Fine Woodworking

Armani Fine Woodworking Brazilian Cherry Butcher Block Countertop. Armanifinewoodworking.com. Custom Made-to-Order. Shipped Nationwide.
Large contemporary galley open plan kitchen in San Diego with beaded inset cabinets, dark wood cabinets, wood benchtops, stainless steel appliances, ceramic floors, with island, brown floor and red benchtop.

Contemporary Kitchen 2011-12

Grandmontagne Designs and Warehouse 414

We designed this kitchen specifically for our clients. We had worked with them in the past. Quite frankly doing a facelift of their existing kitchen where we had them install the fantastic random Forbo Marmoleum floor that is in this photo. When it came time to totally redo the kitchen we weren't ready to get rid of the floor so it stayed and everything else is new around it. The perimeter cabinets are bamboo and the island is painted as well as the upper cabinets except for the aluminum and glass doors. The existing window was painted black to blend better with new contemporary design and the wall between the living room and kitchen was partially removed to open the space.

Modern European Kitchen

Ceanesse Kitchens Ltd.

Contemporary u-shaped eat-in kitchen in Vancouver with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets, grey cabinets, quartz benchtops, grey splashback, glass sheet splashback, stainless steel appliances and red benchtop.

Contemporary Kitchen with Red Benchtop Design Ideas

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to planning your kitchen design. Where do you even start? Gathering some inspiration in a photo gallery is always a good starting point, as looking at different kitchen designs often brings up ideas you haven’t even thought of yet.

Browse Photos of Kitchen Designs for Inspiration and Collect Your Ideas

You can browse through photos of all kinds of kitchen styles, layouts and sizes on Houzz to get started before jumping into any design software or contacting a local professional for help. Here’s a few considerations to keep in mind when planning your kitchen.

1. What Makes a Good Contemporary Kitchen Design, and Why is it Important?

For starters, you want to find a balance between aesthetics and function. You may have heard of the ‘kitchen work triangle’, which refers to the space between your fridge, sink and stove. You want everything within easy reach when you’re working in the kitchen and look beautiful at the same time. It’s a good idea to take note of both when browsing our photo gallery.

2. Consider Your Space to Determine Your Kitchen Layout

Firstly, consider the space you have, and the limitations that come with it. Do you have a small kitchen and need to maximise your workspace and storage? Can you allow yourself some more space and a big island with seating? Are you designing your kitchen from scratch or renovating an existing design? Which appliances do you already own and what are their measurements? Are there windows you need to take into consideration when planning cabinets? How do kitchen, living and dining areas connect? Depending on your space and needs, you want to use a shape that suits you. U, G, or L-shaped kitchen, with or without island or peninsula? Know your dimensions, plan cabinetry carefully and consider the placement of your appliances. You don’t want to end up with a finished design, only for your significant other to question where the fridge is supposed to go. Consider from the start where your fridge, oven, microwave and sink goes to save yourself from starting again from scratch - remember the kitchen work triangle! You also want to plan the layout of your cabinets. Maybe you’re planning for a pantry and can do with less storage space in your kitchen, so that your design can be one without upper or lower cabinets for a different look. A corner cabinet can be a smart storage solution if you want to keep the look clean and simple.

3. Decide on a Kitchen Style, But Don’t Forget Practicality

You want the style of your kitchen to reflect your personality and taste. We have curated a large array of kitchen styles here at Houzz, from traditional to contemporary to transitional and everything in between. Consider what your cooking style is for a start - Italy is known for its cuisine, so italian kitchen designs are generally popular. Also consider ergonomics - depending on how much time you spend in your kitchen, the height of your counters can make a big difference to your overall health. You also want to consider colour and finishes of cabinets, countertops and splashbacks. Which colour do you want your cupboards to be? Simple, timeless white or rather making a statement in black? Maybe rather a rustic wood? Also consider the colour of your floor - if you have dark floors, you may want to keep cabinets lighter. You could also go for an all-white look and choose black appliances for contrast. Once you know which style you fancy, don’t forget how you will be using the space. You want to keep cooking in mind, as well as how easy to clean and maintain the space will be. How many cooks do you need to accommodate? Do you have kids around? How much storage do you need? Maybe you want to go for open shelves rather than cabinets and allow for easy reach of key items you use when cooking. Again - remember the triangle! Lastly, choose lighting that both enhances the look of your kitchen as well as your cooking performance, providing light in all the right places.

4. Be Conscious of Your Budget

No matter what you plan for your kitchen design, cost is always a big factor. Be sure to plan with your budget in mind. It may make more sense to go for a modular kitchen design rather than custom build. You can save a lot of money if you get at least 3 estimates from professionals before locking in the job. And don’t forget to allow a 20% buffer for emergencies. Once you are ready to hire a pro, our directory will help you find one, no matter where you are. So whether you're looking for an Interior Designer in Melbourne or an Architect in Sydney, you can be sure to find a qualified expert for the job!