Kitchen design trends - 2022
7/ Hidden Workspaces
Even as many homeowners are returning to the office, The Myers Touch report the increase for a dedicated desk space within their kitchen designs. Including a desk space behind a pocket door system provides the opportunity to include a ‘hideaway’ desk area complete with storage cabinetry and boosts family ‘inclusiveness and togetherness’ in one multi-functional room.
Image below by Paul Craig, design by The Myers Touch.
8/ Decorative Lighting
"Nowadays the kitchen is as much an entertaining space as a practical space, so kitchen lighting is becoming increasingly decorative as well as functional", says Charlie Bowles, Director at Original BTC.
"So many homeowners are building kitchen extensions these days, but large expanses of glass and concrete can look rather austere, so oversized pendants are a great way of breaking up the lines and creating an impactful silhouette. Playing with scale is an interior designer’s trick to create interest, which works particularly well with industrial-style lighting, such as our Titan Size 5 pendants".
UK sources for Pendant Lights
9/ ESG
As energy bills increase, clients are looking for ways of reducing those costs in their homes. And whether we like it or not, the kitchen is full of appliances that use a lot of energy and/or water.
If you are looking to purchase your appliances during a kitchen makeover/extension, consider going for the most energy efficient ones. For example, induction electric hobs are more efficient than conventional electric, ceramic or halogen hobs, using a different technology than their predecessors.
Did you know? A traditional Aga can consume as much energy as some people’s entire house!
But being eco-friendly goes a little further than just looking at energy cost. It is included in the concept of ESG which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. This new concept which is on everyone's agenda is all about how brands do business as a whole. Think about:
do workers in the brand's factories get paid fairly?
does the brand dispose of its waste in an environmentally acceptable way?
does the brand participate in tax avoidance schemes and if so, should we really be buying their products?
does the brand have ethical practices in place and throughout its supply chain?
Are your appliances made by a company involved in the military supply chain? A number of cookers are made by larger companies with problematic links. BEKO, for example, a widely used brand of white goods, is owned by Koç, which also owns Otokar, a company which manufactures military vehicles and battle tanks.
To make things easier to navigate, in 2021, The Ethical Consumer - the UK's leading alternative consumer organisation - scored and ranked the ethical and environmental record of 49 makes of gas and electric cooker.
According to them, although gas and electric cookers have a similar climate impact, electric ones are a better long-term solution as the electricity supply moves towards renewables. Miele electric cookers toped the rank on energy efficiency but also on ESG factors. But given the price tag of most Miele products, the good people at The Ethical Consumer also provided some really good alternatives to choose from (including Polish brand AMICA!
Considering the environmental impact of your new kitchen, think about how green it might be too. Some kitchens are made in a more sustainable way, using responsibly sourced materials and recycled elements (such as worktops). Some smaller brands also use renewable energy in their production process.
10/Bench seating arrangements
Custom made bench seating for your dining table is a genius way to elevate the space and give it restaurant vibes. They are not only comfortable (more so than chairs - have you ever noticed that given the choice people always choose to seat in the booth/bench rather than a chair?) they can also be great space savers so, if space is tight, use them in your project.
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