Whether you are self building, renovating or extending, a modern kitchen design with all the bells and whistles is high on many homeowners’ wish lists.
Not only will a modern design breathe new life into a dated and tired kitchen, it will also help you to shape a space that will suit your lifestyle.
From open plan kitchen/dining/living spaces perfect for entertaining and coping with day-to-day family life, to sleek minimalist designs ideas – including doubling up on islands and doing away with wall units – we’ve gathered some fantastic modern kitchen designs to inspire your own project.
1. A Contemporary Concrete Kitchen
This kitchen in a striking London self build, designed by architect/homeowner Jake Edgley, combines a selection of raw materials including shuttered and polished concrete and timber to create a contemporary style. Elements of gold add a sense of luxury.
2. A Loft-Style Kitchen
Exposed brick and dark colours – complete with varied ceiling heights – help to create a New York loft feel in this self build home. The lack of wall units in the kitchen also helps to keep this space from dominating the open plan arrangement.
3. A Stylish White Modern Kitchen Design
A glazed link connects the granite stone building to this contemporary kitchen diner in this Highlands home, designed by architect homeowner Stuart Archer. White handleless cabinets help to create a sense of minimalism, while a rooflight above the island helps to bathe the room in natural light.
4. A Modern Open Plan Arrangement
In this self build in Oxfordshire, the modern kitchen sits as part of a large open plan space where cooking, dining and relaxing come together — zoned thanks to clever lighting and furniture placement.
High gloss units with contrasting coloured cabinets to the island, with LED lighting strips beneath, showcase modern kitchen design at its finest.
(MORE: 14 amazing kitchen remodel ideas)
5. A Kitchen Framed in Glass
Situated within a dramatic frameless glass extension, designed by AR Design, to a period home in Hampshire, this Bulthaup kitchen features contemporary grey cabinets and stainless steel worktops, while slip-resistant ceramic floor tiles run seamlessly out to the patio.
(MORE: Glass Box Extension Design Ideas)
6. A Colourful Design
The striking combination of orange and aubergine brings vivid colour to the open plan Effeti kitchen for a playful design, while a curved ceiling effect adds interest in this renovation project in Bath.
7. A Chromatic Kitchen Design
This new open plan rear extension, designed by AR Design, oozes minimalist style with its monochrome Siematic kitchen from Myers Touch, the colours of which are mirrored in the white walls and Stone & Ceramic Warehouse floor tiles which carry out over the level threshold and on to the garden patio.
8. A Streamlined Kitchen
Natural materials like American white oak and stone lend texture to the handleless white units in this kitchen extension, designed by David Maguire, to a converted mill. A long island and units which span the length of the room lead the eye to the outdoor terrace.
9. A Contemporary Accessible Kitchen
The all-white gloss kitchen in this accessible self-built home, designed by OB Architecture, sits on the top level of the house, accessed by a lift so the homeowner who suffers from multiple sclerosis doesn’t have to worry about the stairs.
The bright fittings and plenty of glazing helps to create a sense of light and space in this kitchen.
10. A Modern Kitchen with Stepped Design
This kitchen within this renovated and extended property in Oxford has been positioned on a higher level to the rest of the open plan dining/sitting area, having originally been two separate rooms, opened up with concealed structural steelwork. Dark worktops here contrast against the white gloss units.
11. A German Engineered Kitchen
Designed with minimalism in mind, this bespoke modern kitchen features an impressive 3m island with a concealed extractor fan built into the worktop, alongside luxuries such as wine fridges, a double oven and Quooker boiling water tap.
12. An Orangery-Style Kitchen Extension
High-quality plywood built-in units have been paired with hardwearing DuPont Zodiaq ‘Cygnus Pearl’ worktops to create a simple but stylish aesthetic in this new kitchen extension, designed by Hamilton-King.
Lower-level units have been finished in high-gloss laminate, while a floor-to-ceiling wall of storage – has a veneer of European oak finished in hardwearing satin lacquer.
13. An Angular Kitchen Creates a Modern Feel
The high-spec Italian curvilinear kitchen island, with integrated appliances, has been angled to face the glazed wall and dramatic views beyond in this contemporary home in Scotland, designed by McInnes Gardner Architects.
14. A Twin Island Design
The Bulthaup kitchen in this contemporary self build on the Cornish coast has a smart, twin-island layout with Gaggenau and Miele appliances, while an extension to the unit provides bar-style seating. A bank of built-in wall units further adds to the modern kitchen design.
15. A Light-filled Kitchen
From artificial light with spots in the ceiling, and strip lighting beneath the island, to natural light from the large picture window to one wall and narrow picture windows above the worktops offering glimpses of the garden, this kitchen is perfectly lit at all times of the day and evening.
16. A Minimalist Modern Kitchen Design
A simple palette of raw materials helps to achieve the minimalist loft look in this conversion project (designed by architect homeowner James Davies).
Polished concrete floors, white walls, steel-framed Crittal-style windows and sections of spruce panelling sit in harmony within the open plan double-height kitchen/dining/living space.
(MORE: Great Home Design Ideas)
17. A Pared Back Kitchen
This modern kitchen design – supplied by Alresford Interiors – features a kitchen island that allows for views down the garden and to the stream at the bottom. MDF joinery also offers a pared-back finish.
This extension, built in cross laminated timber (CLT), provides a large kitchen diner to a Grade II-listed house and was designed by Adam Knibb Architects.
18. An Industrial-Style Kitchen
This industrial-style kitchen oozes modern charm in this characterful church conversion. Dark blue units carry through to the walls and the exposed steel beams, while stainless steel appliances add a modern edge.
19. A Sleek Contemporary Kitchen
This light-filled modern kitchen design has been kept simple with sleek units. The island is the focus of day-to-day activity and helps zone this open plan space. High-level windows bring in natural light, but do not impact on privacy.
20. A Contemporary Industrial Design
Exposed brick, a poured resin floor and dark joinery all aid in creating this modern kitchen design. The open plan nature of the space combined with large glazed openings allow light to flood the kitchen/dining/family area. (This contemporary self build was designed by Tom Allen and built for £170k.)