Timeless yet modern kitchen- does it exist?

[Plant2628]

Would anyone be able to suggest suitable ideas for a 90s built house? Colour, style, worktops? Don’t want something that looks dated in 5 years.
Help us !! Terrible at interior design.

Thank you all. Very helpful. Narrowed down to a white shaker style. Just unsure on work tops yet and/or island colour to go for...

This is the sort of thing I meant

I got bathroom cabinets from a UK company called Paramount bathrooms, I remembered they also do kitchen cabinets so looked them up. They do Shaker as one of their styles, but I don't particularly like that, I prefer completely flat surfaces with no handles. Their Meranti range does this, and is available in 114 colours, apparently, but I would suggest white. (For my bathrooms I put colour in the floor instead of the cabinets or walls, very happy with the overall result. I had gloss white cabinets, possibly matt white would be a better choice for a kitchen. Having said that, their matt dark grey looks beautiful...)

www.paramountbathrooms.co.uk/meranti-matt-dark-grey/c2849

So everything WILL date. That’s just how it goes. The benefit is you & your friends will remember when it was ‘the’ look and still think it doesn’t look dated long after it may to another. People have mentioned styles on here as classic that to me are very definitely dated.

Shaker in a neutral colour with a high quality worktop (wood or pale granite / quartz) will probably be the most neutral option but just get something you love, then it doesn’t matter if it is dated to other people because it is your kitchen.

We just did our Small kitchen in pale gray, plain handleless Matt cabinets (similar to those that random linked to) with bamboo worktops. Matt shows less dirt/fingerprints, plain handleless less to clean/less cluttered in a small busy kitchen! White walls and accessories (toaster kettle breadbin, plant pots etc) in colour. Definitely feel it'll last well.

We've got oak shaker with black granite. If it dates I don't care as I love it.

YABU all interior design is subject to fashion.

Hilarious that Shaker is referred to so much.

Have a Google of the Shakers (religion) and then tell me what the fuck it has to do with anyone's kitchen.

Five years ago we had bardolino oak units and white corian worktops, something like this though this is obviously not our kitchen. Walls are pale melon green.I don’t think it has dated though opinions may differ!

Just a suggestion on colour... Our kitchen is "cashmere" a sort of pale grey-y brown. It maybe sounds awful but it's a great colour for a kitchen. It is modern, yet classic. Ours is 5 years old and still looks really fresh. I think white/cream look really stark (white especially). We have a white corian-style (slightly cheaper version) worktop with a grey fleck and a little bit of shimmer in it, which is really nice when the light catches it. I still love my kitchen and it hasn't dated at all.

We decided that we wanted something that wouldn’t date, but all of those options, like cream shaker, just looked a bit 2013 to me. So, already dated. So we went with dark grey and antique gold handles. Will date, but I think everything does.
Sorry to offend those who don’t agree. That was just our thinking.

I like the look of Shaker style but when I do my kitchen (hopefully next year), I'm going for flat doors as easier to clean. 😉

@MrsAlexanderHamilton

Just a suggestion on colour... Our kitchen is "cashmere" a sort of pale grey-y brown. It maybe sounds awful but it's a great colour for a kitchen. It is modern, yet classic. Ours is 5 years old and still looks really fresh. I think white/cream look really stark (white especially). We have a white corian-style (slightly cheaper version) worktop with a grey fleck and a little bit of shimmer in it, which is really nice when the light catches it. I still love my kitchen and it hasn't dated at all.

Your kitchen sounds lovely, I'm thinking of cashmere for the colour in mine. 🙂

You need to see Raymond Blancs New kitchen in his sunday ITV program
If you don’t copy that, your doing kitchens wrong

Ours is a shaker style wooden kitchen made by a local cabinet maker and painted in a light cream. It has black granite worktops. We have the option to paint the cabinets any colour we want in the future. I think it stands the test of time.

I'm so over interior design types dictating what look is in or dated. So many perfectly good kitchens and bathrooms are ripped out to be replaced with the latest fad. It's so wasteful and unnecessary.

Shaker - you can re-paint and change handles to update as and when.
Worktop would be more expensive to refit.

Sorry missed your update

@Thehawki

If you’re after darker colours like navy I can see it going out of style in 5 or so years tbh. I like the look but not sure about it’s longevity really? I don’t know if it helps but I’m 23 and have a shaker style kitchen that I like a lot, my 30 year old brother had one put in last year too. His has white shaker style cabinets, wooden veneer worktop and light grey tiles. I would suggest that real wood looks nicer but I have heard it’s a pita to take care of, but I have no personal experience.

Real wood for the cabinets (no experience of the worktops) is exceptionally easy to care for. It basically needs no care at all beyond a quick wipe with a damp cloth to remove dust and any splashes. I've had mine 15 years now and it looks just as good as the day it was installed.

@Stifledlife

We went for wood shaker and black granite 20 years ago and it hasn't dated at all. The less colour you "build" into the kitchen the less it will date. You can accent with ceramics and tea towels etc, but if you go for a colour other than white in a very big room it's always going to date, so we went for wood and so far haven't even had to change the handles.

This is us too!

We also have glass splashbacks, no tiles which I think helps.

Re: Cashmere - we used this colour for our bedroom furniture and it looks lovely, so are definitely considering it for our new kitchen.

I think the key with kitchen timelessness is to keep it ‘clean’ - matte neutral, shaker, natural worktops (which is a good place to bring your style in).

I actually think wooden doors (ie unpainted) age really quickly as what type of wood is ‘in’ changes pretty frequently.

Or, you can go the other way for something super styled eg concrete and ply and just own it! Because something about that doesn’t date especially if it’s in keeping with the rest of the house!

We also have glass splashbacks, no tiles which I think helps

Our house has glass splashbacks (kitchen was only 4 years old when we bought the house so not going to change it) and I hate them because grease gets down the back of them and can't be cleaned off (mainly the one behind the range). Thinking about changing to tiles.

Agree with PP, everything dates and the popular 'shaker' style isn't to my taste as it looks so traditional. Just go with what you love and you won't care if it becomes unfashionable.

I’ve never seen a shaker kitchen which is fully clean. The little ledges all over the doors etc are dirt magnets. Even the most scrupulous of owners tend to have dirt and grime, esp when they are cream / white.

For that reason alone I wouldn’t choose shaker.

They do age well though, so if it’s longevity of style they are probably your best bet. But people saying they put a kitchen in 20 years ago and it hasn’t dated are kidding themselves. It might still look nice and presentable but that’s not the same as looking fresh and modern.

Off white/light relatively plain units.

If you want a slightly tender look, choose on trend cupboard door handles to give a bit of style as they can be swapped out easily & cheaply.

Granite worktops. They look good but are also highly functional - hard to mark/damage, easy to clean. Dark grey or black - avoid trendier options like white or red.

Light tile or amtico floor.

You can then add cheaper touches to make it look current eg things like a single navy blue wall which can be cheaply repainted, light fittings in a current style that can be relatively easily replaced. The cheaper electrical goods like kettles and toasters can also add a bit of style and might need updating every 10 years or so anyway.

Get good quality wooden units than can be repainted to update a style.