Modern style kitchen - what won't look too dated in a few years?

[breatheslowly]

We are intending to get our "forever kitchen" or at least one that will last a long time. We prefer plainer styles - hence aiming for a modern looking kitchen. I don't want it to scream 2014 in 10 or 20 years time. With your crystal balls, what should we get or avoid?

Things date.

I would avoid black counters they are already dated.

I would avoid a lump of corian (?sp) or a sheet of coloured glass instead of tiles as this will date.

No grey painted units! I saw a kitchen recently solid oak cabinets and worktop exact match no wall units and it looked like a big dresser Very very nice and means you could just repaint walls and change splash back every few years. Very plain cupboards and no fuss

As nice is grey is, on walls right now it is the magnolia/feature wall of it's time, and I predict grey kitchen units will be the avacado bathroom of the future, it will date.

I think as Noddyholder suggested use trendy colours on the walls and I would suggest using on trend accessories which are much easier pratically to replace.

Go for plain units.

It is a developers colour and is very cheap now. Literally every house I have viewed the last few years has grey everywhere! Only really works if you get it exactly right and know which one works in the light of your house. Low ceilinged houses it feels like a car park.

I think those high gloss units are going to be terribly dated in a few years. A bit like those bathroom sinks that are like a bowl on a wooden surface, or travertine.

The First house we bought had lime green units, which were SO out of fashion 30 years ago. I was dead chuffed with my pine units, but 10 years later couldn't wait to get rid of them. And lime green units have come back in...
The answer is, either be very certain that you like a style, or don't spend £££££s on it, as everything you put in will go out of fashion.

Sorry, I meant the pine units that I replaced them with.

I worried about this and went for plain cream units. Not gloss, not shaker style, no ledges to collect dust. Plain metal handles. Beige non-glossy square tiles (not metro). Brown mottled non-glossy high quality laminate work surface. I also went for a pull out type of extractor rather than the rather ubiquitous stainless steel cooker hood. Sounds boring, but I'm pretty confident it won't date.

I loves my nice high gloss white units and grey accent cabinets ;) I've sort of styled it mid century though, so I'm not too fussed about it dating.

I think it is impossible to get something that won't date - perhaps get simple units that are paintable as in future you can paint them to update and also get new work surface to update.

Not specifically kitchen related but this might help you.

Thanks all. I am tempted by the high gloss stuff, though I am not sure how good it will look covered in little hand prints. We won't get black granite. I might check with our cleaner about what is easiest to keep clean as she must see loads of kitchens.