Take A Look At A Decade of Kitchen Colour Trends
The last couple of years inspired huge shifts in home design and décor trends, especially with all of us spending more time at home than ever before. If the social media frenzy was anything to go by, we spent a huge amount of that time in the kitchen, baking and cooking up a storm to feed our families, ourselves, and (naturally) our Instagram feeds.
With all the changes our homes have been through since the beginning of 2020, we thought it would be fun to walk down memory lane, and take a look back at the defining kitchen trends of the last decade. Some trends may have been short-lived, but others certainly stood the test of time.
White on White
Speaking of trends that stood the test of time – the 2010s brought with it the rise of the farmhouse-style kitchen. This gorgeously simple and rustic interior design style brought with it the clean white-on-white kitchen look. Decorators and homeowners alike found that this was the perfect blank slate to layer their materials on.
White marble kitchen counters, white kitchen cabinets, and clean white tiles were accentuated with wooden trays, plates, and accessories. Green leafy plants tumbled down from shelves, and colourful cloths and mittens hung from small hooks for a pop of colour in the kitchen. It was an opportunity to add a variety of textures and finishes while letting your kitchen keep that coveted open, and clean look.
Industrial Black Matte
A natural response to the white-on-white look brought about the Industrial Matte Black style kitchens – these cool, modern designs began to trend as kitchen accessories – taps, sinks, light shades, and bar stools, were common choices. But soon, homeowners even began to opt for dark cabinets and countertops, plunging this style into a full monochrome black kitchen, often accentuated by slashes of white and gold.
Bold and sleek, this colour trend was all about embodying the sophisticated urbanite.
The Colourful Zigzag
This fun décor idea was all the rage when it came about in the early 2010s. Fun and colourful zig-zagging patterns were commonly used on rugs, cloths, mittens and even plates and cups.
Dubbed ‘The Chevron’, this look was all the rage in most stores that sold homewares and goods, and could brighten up any kitchen in a hot minute. In some homes, the Chevron even made it to the walls as a colourful wallpaper choice.

Ombre
The Ombre was an interesting kitchen trend that possibly should have just stayed in its lane as a hairstyle choice. This trend allowed homeowners and interior designers to play with multiple colours and ‘ombre’ them – sometimes across kitchen cabinets, which would then go from a light blue to dark green, for example.
While certainly a playful trend, it died out fairly fast, leaving some homeowners stuck with a colour palette that may not have looked as put-together as they had hoped.
Prints
Prints have been a staple kitchen trend for many years, and much like a pair of jeans, they’ve gone through many iterations since the 70s.
They made a roaring comeback in the middle of the 2010s, with designers inspired to be a lot more playful with design. Creative and bold, the use of wallpaper prints ranged from botanicals to tropical birds, to adorable bright yellow lemons.
It’s been a fun ride for most homeowners, and with how easy it can be to replace wallpapers, you could have (what feels like) a brand new kitchen every couple of years!
Deep and Dark
Like Robert Frost’s epic poem, design trends shifted towards a deeper and darker colour palette towards the end of the last decade, and we were completely here for it.
Designers and homeowners began to gravitate towards deep oceanic blues and forest greens for their cabinetry, often offset with plain coloured walls.
Extraordinarily versatile, this palette had the ability to blend seamlessly with farmhouse or modern industrial styles, making it a crowd favourite. This classic and calming style has been around for a few years now and certainly doesn’t seem poised to be disappearing anytime soon.
A Touch of Gold
One of the most classic trends to come out of kitchen décor in the last decade would have to be the ‘touch of gold’. Gold-coloured knobs, handles, taps, and small kitchen appliances added an extraordinary element to kitchen design and truly elevated any style choice into the realm of abstract luxury.
While it was an incredible decade for kitchen style inspiration, the most lasting trend would have to be – the personal touch. Spending all this time in the kitchen in the last couple of years taught most homeowners how important it is to feel completely comfortable and happy in your own space, and so the ultimate trend was undoubtedly, ‘To each, his or her own!’.
And now that 2022 is around the corner, we get to look forward to the décor and style adventures that the new year will undoubtedly have in store for us.
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