For Toronto homeowners, the kitchen is a place to prepare and enjoy meals with family and friends, as well as a focal point of modern architecture. The kitchen is often referred to as the “heart of the home” for a reason, bringing people together and embodying the style and energy of your home. It’s also a place where home buyers and sellers place a lot of value, with investments into new kitchen design ideas having a major impact on home value and appeal.
In this guide, we’ll discuss five unique new kitchen design ideas in Toronto to make your kitchen look and feel like a million dollars. After all, just because you don’t have a ‘high-end kitchen’, doesn’t mean it can’t look like it is. Follow these tips to transform the space into a fancy kitchen out of your favorite magazines.
New Kitchen Ideas for Toronto Homes
1. Bring Color and Texture Together for a Luxurious Feel
We don’t want to reinvent the wheel here. Consider taking inspiration from luxury designers, leveraging muted and “off color” shades of the primary palette. We suggest exploring various shades of champaign, cream or charcoal over contrasting gold, silver, white or black. This strategy results in a layering of texture and adds an element of complexity that screams ‘high end’.
2. Bring Old and Tired Cabinets Back to Life with New Hardware
Many Toronto homeowners wish they could upgrade cabinets, and although doing so can have a transformational impact on any kitchen, it’s often not in the budget. House Beautiful recommends updating hardware as a cheap and effective way to completely change the look of kitchen cabinets on a budget.
Look for hardware that is contrasting, elegant, dramatic, or unique to bring out a high-end feel of style and flare. Door handles, pulls, and hinges are all opportunities to bring out the best in your cabinets. Consider polished nickel, unlacquered brass, clean lines or an elegant design.
3. Upgrade to Glass Doors or Modern Shelving
Old, dreary wood cabinets can put a damper on your efforts to transform your kitchen from drab to fab and dull to fancy. One option is to replace old wooden doors with glass. This can open up the space, provide contrast, enhance aesthetics and even make finding the right kitchen tools more efficient.
Similarly, the addition of unique or modern shelving, such as criss cross patterned shelving for wine bottles can really liven things up.
4. Updated Lighting and Fixtures
Lighting sets the mood, enhances tones, accentuates key design elements, and can make a kitchen stand out for all of the right reasons. For a luxury look, Family Handyman suggests exploring options such as lower hanging lights, sconces, globe fixtures, and polished nickel and brass fixtures. Your goal is to find something simple and elegant, yet chic and interesting. But don’t just stop at overhead fixtures, in-cabinet or under-cabinet lighting can also add an element of ‘high-end’ luxury to the kitchen.
5. Bold Backsplash
The backsplash is one of the most notable features of a kitchen, yet its also one of the most affordable to upgrade without breaking the bank. From “peel on” budget designs mimicking everything from natural wood grain to subway tile, to metal embossed bronze, copper, steel or aluminum, your options are limited only by your imagination. Ideas to get your creative juices flowing include: concrete, subway tile, herringbone, and Mosaic tile.
6. Upgrade the View
Windows provide natural light, a literal window to the outside world and ventilation, all while adding to the overall style and design of your kitchen. If you happen to have a good view out of yours, consider upgrading the window to something modern and stylish. If a complete window replacement isn’t in the budget, explore ways to accentuate the window itself, such as above or below window shelving, or updated trim work. If your view isn’t exactly spectacular, there is still hope. Window appliqués present the opportunity to fake the outside view or add illuminated artwork over the window (as opposed to traditional window treatments).
Making Your Kitchen Look Expensive Without Breaking the Bank Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
As a leading kitchen designer in Toronto, Kitchen Land knows first-hand the impact a luxurious-feeling kitchen can have on the ambiance, energy, style and value of a home. They have helped countless homeowners find the perfect balance between budget and results, often by implementing some of the same tips and ideas in this guide. To learn more about how you too can make your kitchen look more expensive, visit Kitchen Land online.