Anything Metricon’s design supremo Kristina Orban doesn’t know about achieving the perfect look for your kitchen probably isn’t worth knowing. That’s why we turned to her incredible expertise to get a sense of what the most significant trends in kitchen design will be this year.
Read on for the best kitchen inspo to fire up your new home ambitions.
Rock the (kitchen) block with colour
It used to be that you can’t go wrong with white in kitchen design, then it was all about black, but now we’re seeing more creative use of colour coming through, Kristina says. But don’t go too crazy! Colour-blocking is key, with a unified look championing one major hue.
“We’re seeing a lot of colours like muted greens and powder blues coming through in a matte finish,” she says. “Gloss has definitely taken a back seat, particularly now that they’ve introduced matte finishes that don’t show up fingerprints. They have an almost velvety texture, and the colours are just amazing.”
Achieve the above looks with Laminex Formwrap in French Navy and Laminex Lamiwood finished in Dulux Satin Finish Knave.
Islands in the dream
You don’t want your kitchen to be a sea of same-same, so Kristina suggests making a statement with your island bench or cabinetry.
“You can achieve a brilliant look by letting your island benches or your cabinets stand out from the rest of the kitchen palette, adding a fresh pop of complementary colour that way,” she says. “Or add some oomph with your wall oven tower in a block colour, or even surprise by adding a bold colour to cupboard or drawer interiors.”
Creative cabinets
While we’re on the idea of having a little fun with cabinetry, Kristina says a smart way to add a dash of individuality to your kitchen design is to pick out your cupboards with cool handles. “We’ve been using things like bronze powder-coated colours, timber finishes, going minimal with built-in finger pulls, leaving it looking seamless,” she says. “You can also match them with tapware finishes.”
You can also play with handle shapes and styles. “Kitchen hardware has come a long way from the standard T-bar or knob, with handles now a genuine design feature of any kitchen, a bit like jewellery in a way,” Kristina adds. “You can carry through themes present elsewhere in your home and bring them into your kitchen design too. If your front door handle is circular, you can bring that to the kitchen cabinets too.”
Rolling out the stone
Kristina recommends mixing and matching the materials in your kitchen finishes too. The combination of the natural grains of timber goes particularly well when combined with the seams found in stone. We’re seeing beautiful and hard-wearing stone panels introduced to sleek kitchen designs more and more, particularly in our high-end homes like ultimate lifestyle home Palisades and its lush cousin the luminous Lumiere.
“We’re taking that stone detail from the benches and running it right up the splashback, too, so you get that seamless look,” Kristina says. “You can even carry that through to range canopies, wall panels and the edge of island benches too.”
As seen in our Franklin display above, streamline your benchtop and splashback with Dekton's Portum, an ultracompact surface created with porcelain, glass and minerals, inspired by Portobello natural stone.
Panels that pop
Playing with texture and colour, and learning to mix things up while keeping a cohesive look overall, is a big factor in achieving your dream kitchen for 2023. And another simple way to make maximum impact is by adopting feature panels.
“Paneling is a trend we don’t see going anywhere anytime soon,” Kristina says. “But they are beginning to sparkle a bit more, design-wise, when we’re looking at contemporary kitchen looks. Details like fluted, ribbed and baton-style doors are starting to increase in popularity. That comes back to texture, and how important it is.”
Laminex's Surround by Laminex panels offer a scalloped design that plays on light and shadow - the perfect way to add a touch of modern texture to your kitchen.
You can learn more about the major design trends for 2023 here.
