Kitchen Trends You'll See Everywhere In 2021

Since most of us have spent more time at home in the past year than ever before, there's a chance you've gotten very familiar with every nook and cranny of your house or apartment. And whether time allowed it or not, you've probably at least dreamed up the design changes you'd make. With 2021 in full force, one of the spaces that's seeing the most attention is the humble kitchen.

You've probably had a staredown with your kitchen from the comfort of your makeshift home "office" (aka the dining room table) more times than you'd like to admit, so if a cooking space refresh is on the cards, you're in good company. No matter if you're planning out a large-scale reno, or looking to do a simple spruce up with a coat of paint or a new set of pulls, 2021 has a lot of chic ideas in store. Ahead, you'll find a list of kitchen trends that are making it big this year and replacing those tired fads you are more than ready to part with.

You can kiss those white Shaker cabinets goodbye and finally embrace color in your kitchen, thanks to this trend. While we'll never not love a good minimalist palette, bolder shades are coming in full force, according to Country Living. This means rather than relying on movable furniture or countertop accents and appliances, you can leave the saturation to your foundational storage units.

Whether you select slate blue, bright red, light pink, or mossy green, it's a gorgeous trend that's worth copying in your own way. If paint is too big a challenge at this point in time, look into removable wallpaper panels that give an instant update sans paintbrushes.

Cottagecore is basically shabby chic's cooler younger sister. Making raw materials, lived-in textures, and botanical-inspired accents trendy again, this look is now translating into kitchens. Better Homes & Gardens reports that those colder, sleeker materials (like marble, for instance) are being swapped out for things like wood, giving your cooking space a much more inviting feel. The outlet also explains that this can play into sustainable practices, too, so you can benefit the environment all while enjoying a Pinterest-worthy kitchen.

Not all trends fall under the design category. As PureWow predicts, we'll even be reconsidering our supplies, specifically when it comes to cleaning with the planet in mind. Eco-friendly products, whether it's tools like sponges and brushes or formulas like reusable tablet-based solutions, people are going to put major emphasis on what they're storing under the sink. The best part is, many businesses are making an effort to rethink cleaning products, making them equally as efficient as their conventional counterparts, but better for the environment and even chicer-looking.

Colorful kitchens are making their flashy entrance, but the bold trends don't stop there. Southern Living says that we can expect black to make an emergence in kitchens this year, too. While this color is one that's taken time for people to warm up to in terms of interiors, it can now be found being used generously in living rooms, bathrooms, and even nurseries.

Both a basic and an accent color, it works wonders in modern kitchens. You can saturate your cabinets in an onyx paint, reserve it for hardware or a backsplash, or add just a few flashes of it around the space. Don't be shy when it comes to going all out with black — the best part of interior design is how easily changeable it is, after all.

Islands make for the perfect statement factor in your kitchen. Not just that, but they're incredibly useful in terms of prep and storage, too. HGTV Canada believes that these focal points will be receiving an update during 2021 — one that has to do with their shape. Waterfall islands had their moment last year, and now other shapes are coming into the mainstream. 

One of the coolest examples the site sees gaining popularity are multi-level islands. That could mean additional shelves, lipped surfaces, and versions made with different dimensions of multiple materials.