Hi Reader,
Instagram is a wonderful place to be inspired by a kitchen. It's a terrible place to choose one.
Not because the ideas aren't beautiful. Plenty of them are!
But they’re trendy, and trends are meant to be replaced. That's the whole point.
The look that's all over your feed today is the one you'll be tired of in five years, long after you've paid to make it permanent.
After 40 years in construction, I've watched a lot of must-have trends come and go. Remember glass blocks and tiled countertops?
Here are a few of the current trends I’d think twice about:
Trend #1: Open shelving
Everything on those shelves catches grease and dust, and you're constantly wiping down dishes you haven't even used yet. Cupboards with doors have been solving that problem for a hundred years. Putting your stuff behind closed doors is a feature, not a compromise.
Trend #2: The colour of the year.
Every year there's a new one… that's exactly the problem. A colour that feels current in 2026 will feel dated by 2031. If you love it, use it somewhere you can change in an afternoon.
Trend #3: Whatever HGTV tells you.
I swear HGTV is the bane of my existence because it’s so unrealistic. The next time you watch an episode, don't look at the rooms — look at the background. Watch the leaves on the trees and what people are wearing. You'll see them go from t-shirts to winter coats and back again. That "three-week transformation" took the better part of a year, and it cost a great deal more than they let on.
So what would I do instead?
Spend your money on the things you only want to rip out once: the structure, the layout, the quality of your cabinet boxes and countertops, the stuff behind the walls.
And when you fall for a trend (because you will, it’s fine!), get the look using things that are easy to update: A cushion. A coat of paint. A light fixture.
When it comes to interior design, “what’s in style today” is the wrong question to be asking. It's “what will I still be happy living with 10-20 years from now?”
Is there a trend you're eyeing right now and wondering about whether it’s worth spending on? Hit reply and tell me about it!
Till next time,
Gerald