With the soaring cost of living, consumers are staying in and cooking for themselves more than ever. Dinner dates out to restaurants have become dinner parties hosted at home, which means the kitchen needs to be three things – functional, comfortable and stylish.

Once hidden away at the back of the house or, more recently, visible to guests only in brief glimpses as dinner was passed through a serving hatch, the kitchen is now the focal point of many modern homes, thanks in particular to the prevailing trend of open-plan living.

“Creating a highly personalised and plush environment which supports flexible lifestyles is absolutely essential in every part of the kitchen and living area with home bars and day pantries set to grow increasingly popular in 2023-4,” notes Daval Furniture managing director Simon Bodsworth.

This means that the kitchen has to wear many hats while maintaining its status as the hardest working room in the house. It has to be aesthetically pleasing, uplifting, inspiring, relaxing and practical all at once. While the right appliances can be showstoppers, it’s the furniture that does the bulk of the heavy lifting – that dictates whether a kitchen will be able to actually fulfil all those roles.

Custom comfort

As Bodsworth notes, homeowners are “keen to explore custom solutions which will enhance family life and entertaining with both organisational storage and hidden options”. DeVol’s new Butler’s Pantry – part of the brand’s Heirloom Collection – is a unique piece of furniture with endless storage options.

It features seven shelves, a small aged brass rail and a low step where the two bottom drawers are deeper than the top of the cupboard, reminiscent of a true butler’s pantry used by a country home’s head of kitchen staff in the past. As a standalone piece, it truly highlights the desire for kitchen furniture to be functional without skimping on the aesthetic, whether that’s rooted in traditional or contemporary design.

deVol Butler’s Pantry

Functional fluidity

“Form is increasingly as important as function in kitchen design,” says Andrew Hamilton Barr, director of Espresso Design. “It not only has to work, it also needs verve. We are increasingly drawn to greater fluidity, more interesting materials and exceptional design.”

Espresso Design currently has Tangram, the new kitchen range by Garcia Cumini for Cesar, on show exclusively at their showroom at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre. Inspired by a Chinese game involving the collection of geometric shapes to create new forms, the Tangram collection is made up of five curved elements to create kitchen islands with unusual shapes.

According to Espresso, this introduces a new concept of sinuosity and fluidity in kitchen design, allowing for greater bespoke composition of a kitchen’s design tailored to the individual needs of the consumer.

Cesar Tangram Kitchen

Brutalist concrete

For those who prefer straight edges and uniform spaces in their home, but still want to see fluidity and movement in the kitchen, the Bruta Collection by Superfront and Raw-Edges combines the best of both worlds. The Bruta base – just one part of this three-piece kitchen – features doors and drawer fronts with wave-shaped handles that are inspired by brutalist concrete reliefs, forming sculptural patterns on the kitchen façade.

While the Bruta wall cabinets are available in a range of seven shades, the base comes in two main colours, off-white and black, to form the basis of a calming palette and aesthetic that complements the organic elements of the design.

Superfront Bruta Kitchen

Deep and dark

While dark or natural shades for furniture can be the choice for homeowners who want a soothing or subtle colour scheme in their kitchen, they can also make a statement. Dark cabinets pop against light walls, and a deep-coloured backdrop creates the landscape for brightly coloured or bold accents.

Tapping into this trend, Symphony has launched two new colours – Hunter Green and Charcoal – in its Turin kitchen range as part of the Gallery Collection. Says Symphony group design project manager Josie Medved: “This year, we are seeing bolder colours and finishes such as Indigo, Dark Green, Charcoal, Black and Burgundy.

“When it comes to finishing touches, homeowners are keen to introduce metallic accents using cabinet handles which can be matched to appliances, light fittings and more. We are also seeing more matt black, copper and brass finishes being selected in the kitchen.”

These deep, intense shades have a matte finish and are designed to bring elements of nature into the home, pairing well with stone and wood as well as brushed brass or bronze.

Symphony Turin Kitchen

Return to nature

For those who prefer the look of natural wood to form the basis of their kitchen design, Rotpunkt has launched Loft Oak, a range of oak-grain laminate furniture in three colour options and made from renewable materials.

“Quality raw materials are as precious in the overall design of a kitchen as they are in helping to save our planet’s natural resources and so to keep pace, we have introduced Loft Oak to become the greener alternative to a solid wood kitchen,” says Rotpunkt head of UK operations Matt Philips.

“Able to satisfy on both look and feel, this new laminate door collection also responds to the return of warmer wood tones in 2023, as the kitchen and utility room adopt more earthy shades to emulate the great outdoors.”

Rotpunkt Loft Oak

We hope you enjoyed this Feature on Kitchen Furniture Design from Kitchens Review. Please look through our feature archive for more useful information.

If you are interested to see the latest trends in bathroom design, please visit our sister site Bathroom Review.

Feature by Ellie Clow – 24th February 2023

Ellie Clow has worked in journalism for over ten years, specialising in B2B and trade journalism. She has written for financial publications and several leading KBB titles.