New, Tried, and True

Kitchen designs for 2016 are an intriguing blend of classic styles and out-of-the-box contemporary ideas.

Photo by: Shutterstock.com/IrianaShiyan

It’s often said that the kitchen is the heart of the home and to interior designer Audrey Greenway that statement is true now more than ever.

“There’s a lot more thought that goes into designing kitchens [now],” says Greenway, owner of Audrey’s Interiors in Harwich. “It’s not just a cookie-cutter operation.”

What Greenway says she’s seeing everywhere today are open-concept kitchens. “People are getting rid of the dining room—even in new homes you’re not seeing a lot of dining rooms—and you’re seeing the open kitchen concept,” she says about incorporating the kitchen into the living area and making the space more of a great room. “When the cook is in the kitchen, everybody’s in there with her, basically, in an open concept. The cook’s not missing out on anything, and the people aren’t missing out on her.”

One of the hottest trends in kitchen design is the use of gray tones, which, Greenway says, add a level of sophistication to the kitchen. “It’s sort of the new neutral,” she says of the color. “Really any single color in the universe works with it, especially navy, yellow, peach, coral and teal.”