5 Kitchen and Bath Design Trends for 2022

Are you contemplating a new kitchen remodel or bathroom design in 2022? The latest trends in home design and remodeling are a breath of fresh air, balancing style and functionality.  From the return of natural wood tones to ultra-custom storage solutions, this year’s trends provide the inspiration you need to start planning your ideal home. Here are five of our top trends for 2022 kitchen and bath design.

A natural influence with wood tones

This year continues the trend toward high quality wood cabinetry that allows the natural beauty of the wood grain and tones to shine through.  While white kitchen designs and painted neutral vanities for bath designs will always be a popular choice, the benefits of natural wood have come back into focus.  It’s easy to understand why wood tones are so popular when you look at the impact this beautiful cabinetry has on a room’s style. 

Deeper wood tones automatically warm up any space and bring a sense of nature to a room especially when you allow the natural grain of the wood to show.  Lighter wood tones have grown in popularity, as they complement a more contemporary kitchen or bathroom design and go perfectly with the vibe of a spa style bath remodel. The key is to choose the best quality wood you can afford to completely transform the look of your room. Quality wood means you can go for any door style from more traditional cabinetry to minor detailing and even sleek, contemporary slab door cabinets. 

In addition to wood kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, hardwood floors continue to be a timeless classic for a stylish home. Consider how you use your space though, as wood floors may not suit a moisture prone bathroom used daily and care must be taken to clean up spills in a busy kitchen design.  Wood can also be added into a room in small ways through accessories and floating shelves, ranging from a sleek finish to rustic, reclaimed wood.

The flip side of the natural wood trend is a move toward bold color choices like blues, greens, and red tones. If you love a particular color and are willing to commit, go for it and transform your room with colorful cabinets.  If you prefer to sample this trend without fully committing, select a bold color for only island cabinets or for a section of cabinetry like a beverage bar. Another option is to introduce these colors through accessories or soft furnishings that can be more easily changed over time. Get inspired by the latest color choices from the experts:

Updated ovens and customized appliances

Even though kitchens have become more multi-functional, cooking is still the heart and soul of a kitchen design.  Your appliances are the tools that help you store food, create meals, and clean up every day.  They are an integral part of your room’s style and essential to the functionality of your kitchen.

First, decide how you plan to use your kitchen design. If you are an avid home chef, cook multiple times a day for a busy family home, or love to try out new dishes for friends when entertaining, then it pays to upgrade your cooking appliances. 

  • Professional grade appliances bring many of the benefits of a pro kitchen to your home to let you really test your skills as an amateur chef. 

  • Steam ovens are a top choice for customized healthier cooking.

  • Drawer appliances, such as drawer refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers are growing in popularity as they are a less obtrusive, more integrated style of appliance.

  • Customized refrigerators with glass doors or different zones to handle specific types of food are a high-end choice that allow you to manage your food storage more easily.

  • Appliances are also found in a wider range of shades including black and mixed metals to either blend more seamlessly with your kitchen style or to stand out as a design focal point.  If you really want your appliances to define your room’s style, consider one of this year’s bold color choices that make your range or refrigerator the center of attention. If you prefer appliances to blend in seamlessly, consider paneled models that match your surrounding kitchen cabinets.

  • Appliances have caught up with today’s technology with touch pads and smart controls that allow you to remotely turn off the oven, track when the milk and eggs in your refrigerator are low or start the dishwasher.

  • Many appliances are also moving around to suit today’s popular kitchen design layouts.  With the prominence of kitchen islands, some homeowners choose to move the center of their cooking to the island, where they can keep an eye on the kids or chat with guests. If you have space for a butler’s pantry you could even move some appliances, particularly small ones like the microwave, into this space. This frees up perimeter cabinetry for more storage.

Decide how you plan to use your kitchen design and what appliances are important to you. Then focus your budget dollars on upgrading the tools you will use most.

Freestanding tubs

If you are embarking on a bathroom remodel, you may be debating whether to keep your bathtub.  An increased focus on luxury shower styles means many homeowners now opt to ditch the tub in favor of focusing on getting the best shower space possible.  If space allows and you have the budget, it makes sense to keep a tub as well as a separate shower. If not, it’s time to call a family meeting before you finalize your bathroom design and discuss whether to keep a tub.

If the answer is that your family loves to relax in the bath, then you should keep a tub in one of your bathrooms. The top choice for a bathtub in 2022 is a flat-bottomed, freestanding model. These tubs bring stunning architectural lines to a bath design with a range of profiles that enhance any style.  In a large bathroom design make the freestanding tub the focal point of your room, allowing it to stand out even more by setting it against a large window or feature wall, or by framing it with an accent floor tile. Pair your tub with a floor mount tub filler or a wall mount bath faucet.

If you don’t have space for a freestanding tub or this is not your preferred style, this year’s updated tub/shower combinations are an ideal solution.  These models fit neatly into any size master or hall bathroom design and come in updated materials and styles. Pair this with multiple showerheads and a tub filler, a custom tile surround, and recessed storage to give you a luxury bathing and showering experience in a compact space. You can pair your tub with a frameless glass sliding door, glass screen, or shower curtain, depending on your tastes.

Greater focus on the kitchen island

In a busy kitchen design, everything happens from cooking to clean up, plus entertaining, homework, crafting, and more. Islands have grown in popularity just as our kitchens have become more multi-functional. They help create distinct kitchen work zones, increase storage, and enhance efficiency.  The latest trends show the island taking on a more prominent role with larger islands, T- or L-shaped islands, and even two islands if space allows. Larger or multiple islands allow you to create specialized zones, where one section is designated for cooking and clean up, while the other is set aside for dining and entertaining.

If you are not sure your kitchen design can accommodate the island style you want, talk to your kitchen remodeling expert to discuss the best options.  You could change your kitchen layout, or even remove or change a wall to accommodate a showstopping island. This allows you to create a larger, more open plan kitchen/dining/entertaining space that is the center of home life.

The island serves as a central point that segments work and leisure activities, for example providing space for guests or family to sit and chat while you cook, or to get a drink from the adjacent beverage bar without tripping over the cook. For the ultimate island upgrade, incorporate the Galley Workstation, which offers a multi-functional kitchen tool that transforms the way you use your kitchen.  The Galley comes in a wide range of styles and sizes, with customizable accessories, allowing you to go from food prep to serving to clean up with ease. 

If a large kitchen footprint is not an option for your home, then consider an island that fits your space or even a peninsula. Choose a layout that maximizes your available footprint without overwhelming it. 

Customized storage and accessories

Storage is essential to keep a busy kitchen or bathroom design organized, neat, and running efficiently. This year sees storage take center stage with ultra-customized storage solutions and internal accessories. The first step in creating storage solutions is to declutter your space by pulling everything out and assessing what you have.  Decide what to throw away, donate, or recycle, and identify which items you need to store in your bathroom or kitchen design.  Extra items like spare towels and seasonal kitchen gadgets can be moved to a more out of the way storage area, like a hall linen closet, walk-in pantry, or even the attic or basement.

Once you know what you need to store, work with your kitchen and bath design expert to decide how much storage you need. Then examine which storage accessories are right for you and create a custom plan that will keep your design looking neat and organized.

For a kitchen remodel, this could include a separate pantry or beverage bar, pull-outs and rollouts, deep drawers with a peg system, vertical tray dividers, a mixer lift, custom spice and oil storage, and much more.  If you love to bake, create an area just for storing your baking supplies with dividers and pull-outs for baking trays, cookie cutters, rolling pins, and more. Place this storage in a dedicated baking zone with a section of marble countertop perfect for rolling out dough.

A busy master or hall bathroom design has different storage requirements than a seldom used guest bath or a powder room. In a bathroom used daily by more than one person, ample vanity cabinet storage is essential, along with shower storage in the form of a recessed niche or built-in shelves. Add wall-hung storage like a mirrored medicine cabinet or narrow over the toilet cabinet to create even more storage. Just like in a kitchen design, this year’s bathroom storage sees the addition of customized accessories, for everything from toiletries to styling tools, makeup, jewelry, and towels. This could include pull-out compartments, rollout shelves, and drawer dividers. Incorporate a built-in laundry hamper for dirty towels and clothes.

Both kitchens and bathroom designs benefit from including storage for electronics. With the ever-present smart devices plus electronic gadgets and tools, both kitchens and bathrooms have a need for keeping electronic items organized, charged, plugged in for use, and away from moisture and spills.  Custom pull outs for gadgets with electrical outlets built in mean these items can be plugged in and used straight from their storage area.  Drawers with internal charging points are ideal for your smart devices and keep them away from moisture-prone areas.

Customized accessories also maximize the efficiency of your cabinet storage, allowing you to free up space for this year’s on trend floating shelves. Open storage can supplement kitchen and bath storage, or in some kitchen designs replace wall cabinets.  The shelves themselves become a design accessory, when you choose a material ranging from glass to metal or wood to complement your room’s style. Carefully consider what you store on these shelves to avoid creating clutter and to choose items that complement your style.  Remember to regularly clean and dust open shelves to keep them looking fresh.

Do this year’s trends in kitchen and bath design sound like the solution for your home? Get more inspiration in our bath remodeling and kitchen design galleries for color schemes, storage solutions, beautiful materials, and more.Then contact our team to start planning your new home living spaces.

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