Let’s face it, unlike the rest of the home, a Kitchen is not really the kind of room you can change every year. It would be a pretty expensive process to pull up the counters, exchange the cabinetry and replace all the appliances every year just to follow the latest trends, definitely more so than swapping the curtains, reupholstering the couch and buying a strategically coloured scatter cushion! But if you are building from scratch, in the process of renovating or just looking for a change, then paying attention to the latest kitchen trends will give you the opportunity to create for yourself exactly the kind of kitchen you want!

Over the last few years the latest kitchen trends have certainly become more eclectic and functional, so you can have a little bit of everything, or stick to only one style depending on what you want for yourself. Be it funky, classic, traditional or modern kitchen, the variety of choice for kitchen design at the moment is astounding.

Here are some of the Latest and Hottest kitchen trends predicted for 2011.

Tailor Made Storage.

The latest 2011 trend in storage is to create tailor made storage units to house, hide and organize your kitchen fundamentals to allow for greater functionality as well as a hotter, cleaner look. Think neat, pull out spice rack storage next to the stove, fridges, dishwashers and toasters that recess into the cabinetry, and tailor made cutlery storage that fits neatly into your drawers.

Curves.

Radial lines and gentle elliptical curves are being used to break up the usually boxy and straight edged lines of kitchens. Hot new curved counters, bowed Cabinetry, rounded sinks, arched taps are all being used to soften the lines of the latest 2011kitchen

Mixing and Matching.

The hottest 2011 kitchens don’t match anymore! No more matchy matchy appliances. Now you can play with finishes and materials, have fun with textures and styles. One of the latest trends is having 2 or more types of counter tops in the kitchen, which is both interesting and functional from a cooking perspective. Another of our favorites is having colourful appliances! So now your kitchen can be functional and fashionable.

Adding Artistic Detail

Make your kitchen more funky by adding in a few artistic details. Curved cupboard handles, an artistic splash back, moulded cabinet designs all add to designing a hot new kitchen. Vibrant and exotic countertops are also one of the latest kitchen trends. Go with bright, funky colours rather than the standard black or brown!

Open Shelving.

Okay, so while we have already spoken about tailored storage to hide all the kitchen fundamentals, displaying a strategically placed piece of crockery or a vase is very trendy. Open shelves are the latest trend, allowing you to display your favourite set of dishes, funkiest mugs or most elegant candle sticks. A combination of cabinets, glass doors and open shelving will give you 2011’s hottest look in your kitchen.

Pendant lighting

No more recessed, discrete lighting for our latest kitchens. Whether over an island, or in the breakfast nook, the hottest trend in lighting is to make the lights a feature. Well designed lighting can make the room more interesting and sculptural. Using pendants, chandeliers or lantern style lights makes for interesting lighting and great conversations! Another hot new idea is to used shaped glass lights to create drama!

Bright White

While this year we will still see a lot of use of the standard kitchen neutrals such as black, grey and brown, as well as the already evident return to naturals such as wood and stone, one of the latest trends for cabinetry is High gloss white! Making your cabinets a high gloss white and adding in a few neon accents with your appliances is one of the hottest ways to spruce up your kitchen this season!

So with all this choice, the Latest kitchen trends for 2011 really do give you the option of tailor making an eclectic kitchen to suite any home or personality!