The Alternative To Modern Kitchen Designs That Is Taking Over 2025 Trends

Everywhere you look, personality-focused design is popping up in decor trends throughout our homes — and the kitchen is no exception. Whether it's because they feel more optimistic, less ethereal, or just better suited to real life, intense colors and unique touches are quickly overtaking stark, white, modern kitchen design trends. Think classic English kitchens that will transport you across the pond with brightly colored, furniture-style storage pieces and layered everything — colors, patterns, and metals, even "layering" purpose and utility.

Everything about this emerging English-style kitchen design speaks to a focus on tailoring our spaces to our lives and histories. Charming, sentimental pieces that were once relegated to the more private rooms in our homes — or even closets or attics — are now featured with pride of place. Black, brown, rust, and tones of berries and jewels that were once used sparingly are drenching walls, furnishings, art pieces, even the ceiling. Metal fixtures, like water faucets and cabinet pulls, were almost obligatorily identical in "modern" kitchens. Now, they're finding their own unique expression — for example, when you mix matte black faucets with bright, copper drawer handles. And nature has officially been invited in, far beyond a basil plant in the kitchen window. Even pattern-mixing when decorating your space has become a lot more playful.

Nostalgia is big in 2025 design trends, so it makes sense that when it comes to our styling desires, we're collectively yearning for reflections on the past. The old, English-style cooking space with the sweeping mantle above the stove is a perfect layering example that evokes nostalgia. The look harkens back to the days when cooking was done over a fire, but the cozy feeling inspired by the style is all the reason we need to create a mantle above our ranges. Even better, that long shelf is now a perfect place to add some personality in your home decorating scheme with antique cooking implements or an artistic piece of hand-painted tile.

While a layered living room decorated with an eye for current trends might feature mixed patterns and colors on pillows, couches, and shelves, the kitchen-oriented version focuses on the rugs, chairs, cabinetry, and fixtures. So, add a rug to your kitchen for an elevated style; or better yet, two rugs in decidedly different patterns, but with a similar style and color scheme. Layer with dark green cabinetry, brown chairs with patterned cushions, and mixed-metal hardware. Contrasting light fixture styles and materials will complement the open shelving design renowned in English-style kitchens. What's more, in a nod to the reality of the way we live our lives, "layering" the essentials of your home office space in your breakfast nook is no longer a mistake — on the contrary. A copper coffee pot full of pens and pencils will now look like a charismatic design detail on those shelves.

The English-style kitchen dovetails beautifully with the ever-growing biophilic design movement that brings nature and organic elements to the front and center of our styling choices. Plants and bold, nature-inspired colors are obvious choices. But so are natural and sustainably sourced materials. Stone, for instance, is a natural home decor trend that's coming back around in our kitchens. 

But many home decorators and designers are going even further. Rather than just adding a bouquet of flowers or planting a tree in the kitchen (which actually has many benefits), they are filling cooking spaces with English-style herb gardens. Or going a step further and taking the cooking space outdoors. Designer kitchens are taking advantage of adjacent exterior space to add stone ovens, table seating, even outdoor kitchen bars that look and feel good.

Ultimately, when it comes to designing or reimagining your kitchen, lead with your idiosyncratic touch. Fearlessly mix materials, patterns, colors, and styles. Go for the bold. And add in the odd little trinket that reminds you of home or family. Because the rule for 2025 decor is, if it speaks to your personality and your history, it's right on the mark.