Kitchen that won’t date

[KingCatMeowInSpace]

About to start a kitchen renovation - been googling for weeks but not seen anything that makes me excited.

I don’t like gloss and in general I like playful, pops of colour type house stuff or industrial/edgy - don’t like white/cream or country kitchen or anything pretty/nice/pastel.

Dont want it to date otherwise I’d go for something very dark like navy with coloured handles. I think if I don’t want it to date then it has to be neutral but that’s not exciting to me.

Help please

OP, what other people think about tiles or cupboards is irrelevant. This is your kitchen, you’re paying for it. If you want a custom paint colour, try Hacker (good quality German kitchens you can order custom painted in any colour).
then -
in five or ten years time you can get it painted again.
hacker are sold by independents (not franchisees) and have long warranties. They are very customisable in sizes, but not bespoke.

you can also get walnut or oak veneer in their ranges which are beautiful.

alternatively try Wood and Wire for ply but they will be around 20% more than hacker for a similar look, they are bespoke, and hand made.

Remember doing a kitchen costs a ton of money even if you go for DIYK cabinets, the appliances and worktops and fitting all have to be bought fegardless, so the biggest variable is cabinetry and that’s a fairly small part of the total. So choose something you LOVE and don’t even think about anyone else’s opinion, it’s your house.

Lovely

Look up Uncommon Projects for some beautiful kitchens that have a mid-century vibe. there is also Plykea that does the same look for half the price.

OP, when I had my kitchen dine, the kitchen lady said that the thing that most dates a kitchen is tiles. I don’t have any in my kitchen - just a big piece of glass stuff behind the hob. If you get wooden cupboard doors you can have them any colour you like and then repaint them when you want a different look. Or if you favour a totally smooth look, you can replace just the doors. The colour of your kitchen is irrelevant because you can repaint it - so just have what you like.

We're trying to do a cheaper semi DIY version on Wood and Wire / Plykea / Naked Kitchens style. We have just ordered plywood units with colourful formica doors from a place called CNC creations, having designed the layout ourselves. The units will come fully made so we just need to install them. Our kitchen is fairly small so we don't have loads of units, but I agree, the biggest variable is the units, the rest is going to be expensive whatever we do.

My nan used to do this 😊 hate cleaning top of cupboards. OP as you like dark Colours I'll try describe mine. Forest green cabinets and drawers. Same colour tiles and a wallpaper that's beige with black old style ads. I can't stand light colours so next time I'll be getting navy blue I think

sounds fabulous! @Devilsmommy

How do you feel about unfitted kitchens? Much easier to update as and when you feel it needs it. Although they often have a bit of a country kitchen vibe, I reckon it can deffo be done in other styles. Lots of inspiration on Pinterest.

We would have considered it, but our ceramic tiled floor only goes up to the existing units. We can't find a match and don't have the budget to replace it, so we're making sure the new units all cover the parts with no tiles.

I have a friend who was renovating her kitchen to go super modern, she sold her old kitchen to another friend as it was great quality. The woman who bought the old kitchen is creative and a bit quirky, she has repainted the doors and added some amazing pieces of art and plants etc. Everyone I know prefers the old kitchen, including the woman who sold it. IMHO they both have incredible kitchens, but the style is very different and the old kitchen will never date.

I just went for a solid wood shaker style kitchen, sprayed in F&B Stoney Ground, a dark copper coloured worktop and some Moroccan style tiles, as I figure the units will last a lifetime and can be repainted if I fancy it, the tiles can be changed if need be in the future and my colour comes from the walls (currently overtly olive). I suppose it is quite farmhouse kitchen looking, but I like that style. Definitely didn’t want gloss units as I can’t imagine how many finger prints/dog nose boop marks would be on them!

As others have said, everything dates unfortunately. Or at least, it's hard to predict what won't. It's true you can repaint cabinets, but if natural wood is the next trend (it was a big trend 20 years ago) you're unlikely to start paint stripping!

I'd say painted kitchen cabinets and open shelves will both look very 2020s in future. Maybe if you want a kitchen that won't date you need to go very quirky/unusual or else retro (eg. 50s style).

OP, I really like the example pictures you've posted, and think that style would look good in any size kitchen. I suspect it's rental properties that make us associate small kitchens with cream shaker-style.

@MistyMountainTop This is genius!

Everything dates.

You could mess with dating by going with something already dated by stylised like a retro style or old country cottage style... but it will look dated just to a different time which can make them look cool.

This tip on quality might help you get your list down a bit. Cupboard doors are often a standard 18mm thickness. Kitchens always feel better quality with a thicker door front about 22mm. I know DIY kitchens do them in some ranges for example. Do not go for a flimsy 18mm. They feel cheap.

I think this is lovely but the fluted panelling is so so popular just now I wouldn't be going for it, I try to pick things that are just coming in to fashion where this has been knocking about and increasingly popular for 5 years. I am not against trends tho, I chose a navy kitchen ten years ago knowing it would date and I've loved it, could barely source one ten years ago and had to get gold handles from China (seriously there were so few available). I still love my navy but it's obviously not as jaw dropping and unique as it was to people 9 years ago, I'll probably repaint in 3-4 years and I'm happy with that, I agree with others a kitchen will either date or be dull from the outset.

We have a simple shaker style cream kitchen which is 20 years old but I would choose today.
What has dated is the swirly granite worktops and the colour of the flooring but both of those could be replaced if we cared enough!

You’re always going to get kitchens that date - even the most expensive ones!
In my last property, we spent £25k on a high end kitchen back in 1993 and we replaced in 2016 - despite it being top of the range at the time, it had done us a solid 23 years! We probably could have kept it for a few more but we decided to change the layout!

As other posters have said, neutral colours.

Has anyone got a blue worktop? Struggling to find something I like. I saw a mid grey cupboard door colour that I like but would like a blue worktop that would go- any thoughts?