Minimalist Design is the Latest Trend in Kitchen and Bath Remodels

Minimalist design is the latest trend in kitchen and bathroom remodeling.  Clean is functional and less is more. 

Minimalist design is taking the all the focal points away and making the room speak for itself.  In a kitchen space this often lends itself to a better flow and more functionality.  In a minimalist kitchen everything must have use or it must go.  Ultimately this creates less clutter on the counters allowing for more functionality of the kitchen.  Every item usually has a dual purpose and there are no duplicate items in a minimalist kitchen.

This minimalist kitchen that Washa Remodeling just completed in the Shorewood Hills neighborhood fits that exact description.  The original design of this kitchen caused it to feel immediately cramped.  The upper cabinets shrank the width of this kitchen, and there was also a certain amount of wasted space due to a service door leading into the backyard.  To open up the limited space Washa Remodeling and Design suggested abandoning the service door to the back yard and adding in large picture window to expand the sight lines. 

Ultimately the homeowners agreed, and Washa Remodeling and Design went to work.  The homeowners totally embraced the minimalist design, especially when selecting their color scheme.  The walls and ceiling are white, they have a muted gray accent wall, and the island cabinets are a contrasting black to offer a little depth to the space.  The decision to go with a white quartz countertop again led to the clean look they were after.  With no appliances on the countertops the homeowners thought a countertop with multiple colors and veining would be too busy of a look and ultimately go directly against the intended design.

The single hardest issue that was needed to overcome was the lack of storage space.  Since there were no upper cabinets used in this design that already limited half the storage space in this kitchen.  That problem was then compounded further by needing to now hide the necessary kitchen appliances behind storage doors and drawers to keep the countertops clean.  At a bare minimum, most homeowners need a toaster, coffee maker, and microwave.  In this project we hid the microwave in a built-in space in the island, the toaster hides behind the cabinet doors, and the coffee machine was moved to beverage bar located at the end of the kitchen.  What is amazing is that once you commit to making sure that everything in your kitchen has a function or it’s out the amount of storage space you ultimately need reduces greatly.

The minimalist designed kitchen never looses functionality due to the clean and uncluttered look.  You ultimately gain efficiency in this clean modern look.  Ultimately, all styles and looks of kitchens work, you just need to pick the one that works best for you.