Kitchen renovations are massive investments. Let’s be real, they’re stressful and require so much careful planning. Naturally, when you’re finally ready to transform that outdated cooking space, you want to be sure you’re making choices that won’t leave you with regrets a few years down the road.
Yet despite everyone’s best intentions, certain design trends somehow keep popping up in kitchens across the country. Interior designers and kitchen specialists have grown increasingly vocal about which ones they wish would just fade away already. These aren’t just personal preferences either. Many of these trends pose practical problems or simply don’t stand the test of time.
All-White Everything
The monochromatic white look is expected to see a further decline in popularity, as these kitchens often end up looking slightly bland. All white kitchens are going out of style, with homeowners gravitating toward cabinets with saturated colors punctuated by neutral textured tile. While white kitchens have long been considered safe and timeless, the problem isn’t the color itself but rather the monotonous application of it everywhere. Many designers are concerned that too much white can look flat and cheap, though there are several ways to do all white without going overboard. Think of adding some warmth through wood tones, metallic accents, or introducing texture through varied materials rather than painting every single surface the exact same shade of white.
Oversized Pendant Lighting
Kitchen lighting over the last few years has favored pendants over islands or suspended above sinks, offering a new way to make something functional more aesthetic, though the oversized approach has started to feel overdone and outdated for some designers. Here’s the thing about those massive statement pendants everyone seemed to love. They can visually overwhelm a space and make even generous kitchens feel cramped. Avoid pendants that are too small for your island size, as nothing screams builder-grade more than light fixtures that are inappropriately sized, with two larger pendants often being better than three smaller ones. The key is finding that sweet spot where your lighting makes a statement without becoming the only thing anyone notices when they walk into the room.
Rustic Farmhouse Overload
Rustic and farmhouse kitchens, long oversaturated in the market, are falling out of favor. Every aesthetic that encompassed farmhouse style topped the trends in 2024, as it was rustic and characterful, though it’s a look that has gone a bit too far and started to feel less timeless. Those barn lights, farmhouse sinks, and distressed wood details felt fresh and inviting when they first appeared. After nearly a decade of seeing them everywhere though, the style has become tired and predictable. People are now looking for less obvious approaches to add texture and interest to their kitchens through subtler, textural approaches like plaster walls, limewash finishes, and artisan-crafted details that bring depth and character without leaning too heavily into nostalgia.
The Classic Subway Tile Backsplash
The classic subway tile has saturated the market. Sure, subway tiles are reliable and won’t technically ever look terrible. They’re just painfully boring at this point, honestly. We’ve seen them in literally thousands of kitchens, always installed the same way, always in that predictable running bond pattern. Backsplashes, especially statement backsplashes, are still at the forefront of 2025 kitchen trends, however subway tile is taking a backseat, despite white subway tile being a staple in the kitchen for decades as a real classic, with 2025 looking to more unique backsplash applications. Consider handcrafted zellige tiles, terrazzo, or even bold patterned ceramic tiles that actually add personality to your space.
Open Shelving Everywhere
The floating shelf trend is fading because they can make kitchens feel cluttered and chaotic. While beautiful in editorial photos, open shelving is rarely practical for real-life living and often results in clutter or constant maintenance. I get it, the minimalist aesthetic looks absolutely gorgeous in magazines and on Pinterest. In reality though, most people don’t have the time or energy to keep open shelves looking Instagram-perfect every single day. Dust accumulates quickly on exposed dishes and glassware. Open shelving can be beautiful if styled aesthetically and for those who can maintain the dust and accumulation of clutter, though for many this concept is not sustainable, with modern minimal cabinetry and glass-door features being better alternatives.
Kitchen Desk Nooks
The kitchen desk nook is almost always taking up valuable real estate that is needed for pantry space, doesn’t include the charging stations needed with today’s devices, and has become a dumping ground for everything that doesn’t have a home, with families rarely needing a tiny desk in their kitchen but always needing more storage. Remember when every new construction home included that awkward little desk area in the kitchen corner? Yeah, those need to go. Putting a desk in the kitchen was all the rage for about a decade, since most family life revolves around the kitchen, though the problem is that a kitchen desk just ends up stacked with papers and clutter you don’t want to see. Instead of wasting prime real estate on a workspace nobody actually uses for its intended purpose, convert that area into a proper pantry, charging station, or additional cabinet storage that serves your daily needs.
Over-the-Range Microwaves
OTR microwaves are a staple of many outdated kitchens, as this trend simply refers to integrating the microwave above the stove, though this prominent display of the microwave is considered out of style and is being replaced with range hoods and double ovens with microwaves. The space above your cooktop is valuable. Gas cooktops and ranges are slowly being phased out of many residential kitchens, with heat transfer inefficiency, indoor air quality concerns, and natural gas regulations leading more consumers to induction cooktops that are affordable, easy to clean, and offer higher heat transfer. That prime location deserves a proper ventilation hood, not a bulky microwave that doesn’t even ventilate effectively. Modern appliance options allow microwaves to be tucked into islands or concealed behind cabinet panels, creating a much cleaner and more sophisticated look overall.
Waterfall Island Edges
Waterfall kitchen islands are undeniably striking, but designers warn the stone-heavy look can easily overwhelm a kitchen’s overall design. One look that seems to be on its way out right now is the waterfall kitchen island, achieved by the countertop edge extending over the island sides all the way to the floor, as the stone-heavy look of waterfall kitchen islands is now starting to feel overwhelming in small and large kitchens alike. While these islands looked sleek and modern when they first gained popularity, they now feel dated and visually heavy. To lighten the visual load of stone-heavy waterfall islands, designers suggest updating the island ends with textured wood panels like fluted or reeded wood, with mixed materials and textured edges being preferred for breaking up the monotony and adding dimension, as combining materials like wood and metal with stone helps achieve a custom, intentional look.
Kitchen design should ultimately reflect your personal style while remaining functional for your daily life. What matters most isn’t following every trend that comes along but creating a space you genuinely love using every day. Did anything on this list surprise you? What kitchen trends do you think need to disappear next?
