What Makes A Modern Kitchen?

What does it mean to be “modern?” When women traded in their Victorian corsets and long bustle skirts for short, fringed cocktail dresses in the roaring twenties, they were considered “modern” — yet, today that kind of apparel is considered vintage. Even so, designers like Vera Wang and Heidi Daus are bringing back these antiquated looks — but with a fresh spin to make the looks more modern. The same can be said of modern kitchen design. Even though these designs have been around for a long time, they are still fairly unconventional.

Modern design refers to a style from 1933 to 1965 that broke with tradition. The term “modern” was used to describe the aesthetic in the 1950s and was reaffirmed by a Cara Greenberg book titled Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s. Previously, design trends were toward the ornate, the gaudy and the opulent. Yet, modern designs were more simplistic, with clean, straight lines and the following characteristics…

1. Flat Panel Doors

Flat slab doors are a signature design element in modern kitchens. This is in contrast to shaker style doors, which have square designs cut into the faces.

2. Euro Frameless Full-Overlay Cabinet Construction

You may hear this style called “Euro frameless,” “Overlay,” “Full overlay,” or “Frameless.” In essence, this modern kitchen design trend is a sleek way of arranging cabinets so there is consistent spacing between all doors and drawers.

3. Simple Hardware

C-channel hardware, tubular pulls and flat linera pulls are the most common styles for modern kitchen design.

4. Lack of Ornamentation

Modern kitchens lack texture and pattern. You will see splashes of color, but it is most always a single color like bright red, green or blue — and only one accent color is chosen.

5. Use of Natural Materials

Modern designers love to throw a little horizontal wood grain or marble veining into their work.

6. Simple Geometric-Shaped Accent Pieces

Accent pieces — including lights, tables, chairs and stools — should stay consistent and simple. An eclectic kitchen might have all sorts of different accent pieces that are individually selected.

7. Emphasis on Horizontal Lines

Modern kitchens contain long, wide lines and cabinets stacked in orderly rows. Contemporary kitchens will often feature fatter, vertical cupboards, whereas modern kitchen drawers tend to be more rectangular. In traditional kitchens, cupboards often have vertical wood grain.

8. Industrial Elements

Natural, untreated concrete walls, epoxy-painted concrete floors and exposed ducts can be part of a modern kitchen.

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