Design Mistakes That Could Be Aging Your Kitchen 

There’s nothing more frustrating than a failed renovation project. To go through a long, tiring, and financially taxing process only to end up with a result that falls short of expectations can be truly disheartening. This is more likely to happen with kitchen renovations since these are the most frequently updated spaces in a property, and for good reason. The kitchen has both a functional and a social role, significantly influencing a home’s feel and value. So, obviously, no one likes an outdated kitchen – not the people living in the house and certainly not potential buyers. Sometimes, kitchens that haven’t been touched for many years can give off an old-fashioned vibe, and not in a good way. This can lower the home’s value, hinder daily tasks, and overall make the time spent in the kitchen less enjoyable. 

It’s one thing to appreciate and celebrate a house’s history and try to preserve its original character, and another to have a kitchen that feels like it’s stuck in the past. That’s why a lot of homeowners prioritise updating their kitchens before addressing other areas of the house, and strive to keep these rooms looking fresh, functional, and appealing for themselves and for others. But their good intentions are not always rewarded with equally good results, and can sometimes have the exact opposite effect. 

It might seem strange that a kitchen can appear outdated even after you’ve invested time, money, and effort into renovating it, but it’s not unheard of. Several design mistakes are often to blame for such outcomes, so being aware of them can help you avoid costly errors and achieve a timeless kitchen design with enduring appeal. 

Trend Chasing 

Trends can be treacherous due to their fleeting nature, so when it comes to renovations of all kinds, they’re best to be avoided. It’s definitely difficult to resist the urge to embrace the latest styles, especially when you see them promoted everywhere and can’t help but feel attracted to them, but keep in mind that what’s in today can be out tomorrow. And if you happen to fall for a design trend with a shorter lifespan than a moth’s, your kitchen might start looking outdated by the time you finish the project. 

Remember the over-styled open shelving or the industrial accents that were all the rage at one point? They’ve lost their shine quite quickly as people have started falling out of love with them for practical reasons. Instead of letting trends influence your choices, it would be much wiser to consider your personal needs and preferences before deciding on a design direction. This doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate on-trend elements into your kitchen. But if you act on impulse and add too many trendy components without thinking things through, you might come to regret it sooner rather than later.

Poor Lighting

No other room in the house relies on good lighting quite as much as the kitchen. Being a space with so many uses, from cooking and meal prep to eating and socialising, the kitchen needs a special focus on light, both natural and artificial. Even the most beautifully designed and decorated kitchens can look lacklustre and uninviting without proper illumination. 

So, if you’re thinking of installing a few pendant lights above your kitchen island, in true early-aughts fashion, and then call it a day, you might want to think again because that’s not going to help you achieve the sleek and stylish look you’re aiming for. For the best results, we recommend using different kinds of light for different areas of the room, and considering scale and proportions when choosing fixtures. For example, in bigger spaces, oversized fixtures like a chandelier or two bold pendant lights are a good option. Then add task lighting for specific work areas and accent lights for features you want to highlight.

Heavy Ornamentation  

Nothing screams outdated design louder than an overly ornate kitchen. Opting for intricate designs and integrating very specific decorative details might seem like a good idea for adding character and personality to your kitchen, but this can backfire the moment you start getting bored with the embellishments, which is bound to happen since excessive details create visual clutter and feel overwhelming. It’s best to stick to the less-is-more approach, especially when choosing your kitchen cabinets, and go with simpler designs and clean lines in your furniture, as these are less likely to go out of style and tend to age more gracefully as well. Classics like shaker-style cabinetry, flat panel/slab doors, or glass front cabinets are all great options. If you want to give your kitchen character, you can do that by using decorative elements that can be easily replaced, like wall art, lamps, potted plants, rugs, cushions, and other textiles.

Too Many Matching Pieces 

Matching everything in your kitchen is not the clever design trick that can help you achieve a coherent design and create a streamlined aesthetic that feels fresh and modern, if that’s what you were hoping for. On the contrary, it’s a sure way to make your kitchen look dull and dated, because repetitiveness is not inspiring, but monotonous. 

Remember that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, and that’s one of those cases. If you want a harmonious and balanced design, excessive matching isn’t the solution, but coordination. So, instead of using the same colour throughout the kitchen, stick to hues from the same colour palette, and then add variety with different textures, finishes, and contrasting details for good measure. 

Outdated Appliances 

With homeware technology advancing fast, kitchen appliances are becoming smarter and more efficient. But that also means that even top-of-the-line devices and tools are getting old pretty quickly, and they’re making your kitchen look old as well. 

This doesn’t mean you should replace your kitchen equipment every couple of years, but you can hide certain appliances, particularly the ones that look a bit shabby, behind closed doors so they don’t become an eyesore. 

When you set out to renovate your kitchen, you don’t expect it to look outdated after completion, but there’s always a risk that this might come to happen if you’re not aware of the potential pitfalls. So, keep these tips in mind next time you want to give your kitchen a refresh.