Modern Kitchen Design Ideas

Are you tired of your old kitchen design? Have you decided it’s time to freshen it up a bit and make it more modern? Whether you’re planning on completely re-doing your kitchen or just adding cosmetic touches, you’ll find inspiration for modern kitchen designs in our picture gallery.

First of all, what makes a kitchen design ‘modern’? This is a complicated question, because in layman’s terms, ‘contemporary’ is often used interchangeably with ‘modern’, but they’re actually different styles of interior design and architecture. How? The Houzz magazine offers direction. John Hill explains the difference talking about architecture: “At their most literal, ‘contemporary’ is the architecture being produced now, the architecture of the moment. ‘Modern’ architecture breaks with the past – specifically the traditional styles of before the Industrial Revolution.” Jude Loxley looks at furniture and describes that ‘modern’ is “a historic design movement”, and ‘contemporary’ is “an adjective used to define a style”. The takeaway? Most of the time, when you want to describe a kitchen design as ‘modern’, know that ‘contemporary’ is actually the more accurate term to use. Go ahead and impress your interior designer or architect with your industry-term know-how!

What you’re probably more interested in though is very likely the visual aspect of what makes a modern kitchen design. That’s where the Houzz image gallery can help. You can browse thousands of photos to explore the style and narrow down your ideas. If you spot a particular modern design you like, you can even contact the kitchen designer, showroom or store behind it and get a quote!

Here’s a few more things you may want to consider while looking for your perfect kitchen:

Consider your kitchen space

You may like the idea of a window splashback, but is that something that’s realistic for your space? Start with what you have and work from there. If you’re looking for a kitchen with an island, select the appropriate filter above to narrow down your choices. If your kitchen is small, you may want to look for ways to make a small kitchen look bigger. If you’re overwhelmed with backsplash choices, consider not having one at all and look at designs without one.

Is a modern kitchen design practical?

Depending on your space, the possibilities for filling your kitchen space are endless. But what do you actually need? It helps to think about how you use the space. Do you do a lot of casual entertaining? A kitchen island that doubles up as a table with seating area may be ideal. Are you cooking a lot and own lots of appliances? You want to make sure you have enough cabinets to store it all. Do you eat out a lot and like beautiful styled shelves? Open shelving may be the right solution for you.

Which modern design is yours?

Only once the above two are sorted should you move on to the design aspect of things. Which colours do you like and will stand the test of time? A white or grey kitchen design is quite timeless, and keeping things minimal will always allow you to add character. Which other styles may influence your design? Any style can be given a modern touch. Once you have the main elements sorted, think about the design elements that will make your kitchen stand out. Lighting can be one such element, as is flooring or wall art! In a minimalistic modern kitchen, a chandelier may be your main feature, or standout flooring will set your design apart. If you choose simple pendants, a standout artwork may be the perfect centrepiece.

So go ahead and collect some ideas - we can’t wait to see what you create!

Whether you want inspiration for planning a modern kitchen renovation or are building a designer kitchen from scratch, Houzz has 300,702 images from the best designers, decorators, and architects in the country, including Prebuilt and Baulch Services. Look through kitchen photos in different colours and styles and when you find a modern kitchen design that inspires you, save it to an Ideabook or contact the Pro who made it happen to see what kind of design ideas they have for your home. Explore the beautiful modern kitchen ideas photo gallery and find out exactly why Houzz is the best experience for home renovation and design.