7 Kitchen Trends Designers Hope Never Come Back

Designing a kitchen from scratch? To ensure that it appears as current and aesthetically pleasing as possible, you’re going to want to avoid weaving any of these seven types of dated looks into the mix. Not only are they no longer timely, designers find that they’re overdone—below, they explain why.

Tuscan-Inspired Designs

Multiple designers cited Tuscan-inspired designs as something that should be left in the past. “Tuscan elements are better when authentically aged and, more importantly, in Tuscany,” shared Adam and Amber Ford, the founders of A.A. Ford Interiors in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Jen Baxter, the founder of Baxter Hill Interiors in Savannah, Georgia, has had enough of brown speckled granite and heavy wrought iron accents, and Rebecca Merritt, the founder of Merritt Design Co. in South Florida, feels similarly. “It’s like cooking in a dungeon,” she says with regard to Tuscan-style kitchens featuring dark cabinets, ornate corbels, and “weird faux finishes.”

All-White Kitchens

While no one wants a dark kitchen, all-white kitchens aren’t always the most optimal solution either, Merritt adds. “White on white on white, with chrome or black hardware, ends up feeling more like a hospital than a home,” she says. A bit of color in your cooking space is never a bad idea.

Multi-Level Islands

Baxter believes that multi-level islands should stay in the 1990s. “They interrupt the flow of the space and increase the odds of something tipping off the upper ledge,” she says. “A single, generous work surface is far more functional (and elegant).”

Esther Ellard, the founder of Effortless Designs in Athens, Georgia, also isn’t a fan of multi-level islands with raised bar tops. “They tend to visually chop off what should be a clean, cohesive surface,” she says. “Raised bars are not only awkward as they limit the countertop space but it also can make conversations across the kitchen feel disconnected.”

So-So Storage

As it pertains to kitchen storage, wall-to-wall upper cabinets “can make a kitchen feel heavy and confrontational,” Baxter says. She prefers utilizing floor-to-ceiling cabinets instead, finding that they look “more cohesive.”

Meanwhile, ditch the cluttered open shelving and hanging pots, Baxter advises. “Unless meticulously styled and kept tidy, these just add mental noise,” she says. “A good kitchen should feel calm and purposeful.

Mosaic Backsplashes

Mosaic backsplashes “had a moment, but now they just feel like visual noise,” says Michael Mitchell, the founder of Michael Mitchell in Charleston, South Carolina. “I’m all for mixing textures and patterns, but there’s a big difference between layered and loud.” After all, he says, “A kitchen should feel collected, not chaotic.”

Orange-Toned Woods

Ellard would be more than happy to never see orange-toned woods in a kitchen again, finding that it majorly dates a space. “Orange-toned woods often fight against the softer more neutral tones we have all come to embrace in the past few years,” she says. “Lean instead into the earthy, soft wood tone options to keep the kitchen updated and fresh for years to come!”

T-Shaped Cabinet Pulls

The right style of cabinet pull can sometimes really make or break your experience in the kitchen. Merritt strongly dislikes T-shaped cabinet pulls in particular, citing a variety of reasons. “They catch your pockets, your pants—honestly, they’re just a bit boring,” she says. “It’s the subway tile of hardware.”