40 Modern Kitchens That Feel Fresh and Current

Stick to All-White

All-white kitchens feel modern and fresh. This petite modern kitchen from Fantastic Frank has glossy lacquered cabinetry in a sleek flat-front design that blends into the backsplash. A large picture window floods the tiny kitchen with natural light, making the compact space feel open and airy.

Combine Popular Styles

Mix midcentury and farmhouse elements to create a current but timeless feel. Sissy + Marley Interior Design decorated this all-white kitchen with a mix of traditional Shaker cabinetry, Scandi-style painted wooden bar stools, Danish modern pendant lights, and silver hardware for a clean, modern look with a warm feel.

Try a Modern Coastal Feel

Use coastal colors to add a breezy note to a modern kitchen. Lindye Galloway Studio + Shop used a palette of navy and white in this modern coastal kitchen. Light wood accents and a statement half-circle range hood give the space a crisp feel.

Infuse With Boho Style

Create a modern boho-style feel in your kitchen with breezy pendant lighting. Desiree Burns Interiors channeled a modern Mediterranean meet boho design aesthetic to add warmth and ease to this modern kitchen decorated with plenty of light wood and white finishes.

Pick an Open-Concept Layout

Modern kitchens often use an open-concept layout that is open to the dining room, living room, or other spaces. Desiree Burns Interiors set up a dining room just outside of this modern open-concept kitchen that includes seating around the large island.

Mix Modern and Midcentury

If you live in a midcentury modern home, modernize your kitchen in a way that respects the original architecture while updating it for current lifestyles. Louis Duncan-He Designs chose an all-black palette, silver appliances, and a sleek waterfall island to give this space an updated feel that complements the open-plan layout.

Layer Terracotta Tones

Warm earth-toned terracotta can add warmth to a modern kitchen. Michelle Berwick Design paired vertical stacked terracotta tiles on the kitchen island with coral base cabinetry and a scalloped hood vent in this modern cottage kitchen.

Do a Full-Wall Backsplash

Handmade zellige tiles add a textural quality to modern kitchens. Studio Peake covered this London kitchen backsplash in pale glossy zellige tiles and contrasted it with a green marble kitchen island countertop and bold geometric flooring.

Embrace Clean Lines

Embrace clean lines for a modern look. This black-and-white kitchen from Becca Interiors has a minimalist feel with its clean lines, sleek flat-front cabinetry, waterfall edge island, and two-tone cabinetry that runs all the way up to the ceiling.

Add Integrated Lighting

One of the fastest ways to make your kitchen feel modern is to add sleek integrated lighting. Tina Ramchandani Creative lit the inside of this bank of built-in cabinetry with warm lighting that turns it into a feature when the doors are open.

Skip Upper Cabinets

Swap upper kitchen cabinetry for floating shelves to create a modern feel. The Home Consultant gave this kitchen a modern minimalist look with a neutral palette of black, white, and wood tones.

Add Unexpected Red Accents

Modernize an all-white space with unexpected red accents. Interior designer Maite Granda chose a large floor lamp and bar stools, but you can achieve a similar look with accessories like dishtowels and cookware on a budget.

Mix Wood Tones

Mix wood tones to give your kitchen an organic modern feel. This London space from deVOL Kitchens has a modern feel thanks to an industrial style glass and metal indoor window over the kitchen sink and a mix of beige and burnt black beechwood cabinetry with a minimalist feel.

Try a Modern Organic Mix

Create a modern organic feel with natural greenery and wood accents. This award-winning space from Sola Kitchens mixes slat wood paneling, black and white finishes, and a massive olive tree that hugs the ceiling and brings the space to life.

Add an Extra-Long Shelf

Install an extra-long shelf that runs the length of your backsplash to create a polished feel and an instant display space. Caroline Andreoni Interior Design added a display shelf that runs the length of the kitchen backsplash in this renovated Parisian eat-in kitchen for a modern feel.

Try an All-Black Kitchen

While the era of the all-white kitchen has not exactly ended, all-black kitchens have been having a moment. This moody modern kitchen from Fantastic Frank has a sleek black-on-black design, with black wood cabinetry and a matching backsplash that has visible wood grain for added texture.

Choose a Tonal Beige Palette

A tonal beige palette of wood, leather, and stone mixed with soft gold accents and clean lines gives this kitchen from Sissy + Marley Interior Design a soothing and sophisticated modern feel.

Embrace California Style

This spacious and airy Bay Area kitchen from Cathie Hong Interiors has a laid back, minimal, indoor-outdoor feel that embodies modern California living. Clean lines, light wood tones, leather accents, polished concrete flooring, contemporary lighting, and industrial-style black metal framed picture windows create a balanced mix of cool and warm tones.

Hang a Dramatic Pendant

A dramatic pendant light hanging over the marble effect quartz waterfall edge island gives this bright black-and-white kitchen from Urbanology Designs a modern feel.

Use Light Wood Tones

Home Consultant added warmth to this modern black-and-white galley-style kitchen with plenty of light wood finishes on the flooring and cabinetry that is accented with leather pulls. Black metal gooseneck sconces add an industrial farmhouse touch.

Define With a Glass Panel

A glass-and-metal partition will give an open-plan kitchen of any size a modern feel. This Scandinavian galley-style kitchen from Fantastic Frank includes industrial-style black metal-and-glass partitions to help to elegantly divide the pass-through space without inhibiting natural light or flow.

Focus on Materials

Caroline Andreoni Interior Design created a modern kitchen in a traditional Paris apartment building that focuses on elegant materials and a mix of simple lines and graceful curves from the custom kitchen island to the beetle chairs and pendant lighting.

Add a Rug or Runner

Use a rug or a runner to give your kitchen a modern feel. Brophy Interiors made this neutral modern kitchen feel even moreso by choosing a colorful vintage runner that highlights the contrast.

Keep It Light

A mix of white walls, pale gray cabinetry, white tiles and walls, a large kitchen island, and subtle gold-toned accents give this spacious L-shaped kitchen from Cathie Hong Interiors a clean, light, modern feel.

Mix Dramatic Stone Finishes

Give your kitchen a modern feel with heavily veined marble finishes on countertops, backsplashes, and kitchen islands. A mix of black and white stone with dramatic veining adds visual interest to this modern kitchen in a renovated 1970s Pittsburgh home from Leanne Ford Interiors.

Prioritize Natural Light

Modern kitchens prioritize natural light. This Northern California kitchen from Cathie Hong Interiors is lit by a supersized skylight that lets natural light pour down from above onto the cooking space and central island. A simple roller shade on the kitchen window provides privacy while letting light flow through.

Embrace Minimalism

This minimalist, black-and-white Scandi-style eat-in kitchen from Fantastic Frank looks as modern now as it will in years to come, a clean and functional space that is reduced to its essential elements.

Use Two-Tone Cabinetry

Patterned Roman shades, gold-toned pendant lights, a corner banquette, and two-toned cabinetry gives this kitchen from Living With Lolo a lively modern feel.

Update Traditional Elements

This kitchen from Folding Chair Design Co. marries traditional and modern styles, with dark flooring, Shaker cabinetry, and a traditional range hood blended with modern lighting, a waterfall edge island, and gold-toned accents to create a comfortable space that feels both updated and familiar.

Build an Appliance Wall

Clean lines, smooth finishes, and a simple palette of white, gray, and accents of black give this Florida kitchen from interior designer Maite Granda a modern feel. Details like a built-in wine fridge and an integrated energy-saving induction burner in the kitchen island make the space feel current.

Accent With Gold

Jessica Nelson Design accented this modern black-and-white kitchen with gold-toned accents that reflect light and add a measured dose of bling.

A mix of all-black finishes from the kitchen island to the wrap-around subway tile backsplash, countertops, and range hood add some variation to the two-tone palette, and leather bar stools add warmth.

Add Industrial Vibes

This industrial warehouse conversion from Leanne Ford Interiors has built-in character and history that is modernized with a massive waterfall edge island that flows into the polished concrete flooring; a mix of weathered and new exposed piping; and black pendant lights and bar stools around the island that complement the classic casement windows.

Mix Beige and Black

Michelle Berwick Design mixed beige wood and matte black cabinetry with matching black hardware with a white tile backsplash that runs to the ceiling, black woven pendant lights, and massive waterfall edge islands for prep and dining in this modern eat-in kitchen with room for a crowd.

Introduce a Hint of Color

Introduce soft color to warm-up an all-white kitchen. This kitchen from Living With Lolo has a soft modern feel thanks to a light palette of whites and pearl gray finishes mixed with light wood accents and warm metallics.

Add Peninsula Seating

Interior designer Alvin Wayne gave this small NYC apartment kitchen a glam makeover with a strict palette of black and white that helps the semi-open-plan space to seamlessly blend in with the rest of the decor. A peninsula provides space for two to dine.

Choose Colorful Cabinetry

While many people associate modern kitchens with neutral colors, adding pops of color can make them feel fresh and current. This space from Pluck Kitchens pairs sage green cabinets and a coral island to energize an otherwise neutral space.

Add Rustic Elements

Modern rustic interiors mix vintage elements with contemporary conveniences to create a homey mix. This guest house kitchen from Marie Flanigan Interiors includes modern cabinetry, rustic open shelving, and a French butcher block in place of a kitchen island for a modern space with a timeless feel.

Use Nature-Inspired Colors

Use soft nature-inspired colors to freshen up a small modern kitchen. Neva Interior Design added a soft green backsplash to this small Parisian apartment kitchen, then planted a mini herb garden on a wall-mounted shelf that adds a natural element that is both decorative and practical.

Include Luxury Features

Modern kitchens feature little luxuries like pot fillers over the range top or dedicated coffee stations like this one from Marie Flanigan Interiors that is hidden in a built-in wall of cabinetry.

Embrace Scandinavian Style

In this stylish Scandinavian apartment from Fantastic Frank, a modern black kitchen is positioned in the center of the main living area between the living and dining areas.

Flat-front cabinetry and a matching island with an L-shaped wall allow the kitchen to take center stage while preserving flow and maintaining a modern Scandi-style look.