Photo Courtesy of Housebeautiful.com

Unlike the old days, your kitchen is no longer the place where you cook your meals and bake your sweets. Today it’s where all the magic happens; be it your morning coffee session with your neighbor, your cook fest with your friends, or one of your famous family get togethers, the kitchen is now a place for great food, and lots of love-filled laughter. So if your house features an American-style kitchen, updating it to make it stylish and comfortable is undeniably quintessential.

With this in mind, here are 8 ways to modernize your kitchen and make it a wonderful space.

1 – If you are not planning to renew your entire kitchen, paint your cabinets in grey and make sure to accompany this trendy shade with pieces made of richly stained wood. Yes, grey undeniably is the new white in kitchen décor!

2 – This era is all about functionality and your kitchen should also stay true to this modern vision. Kitchen hardware manufacturers are changing the way cabinet doors and drawers open, so if you have a space issue in your kitchen, opting for hydraulic, easy closed doors that fold up and out of the way is a great idea.

3 – A black-and-white kitchen never goes out of style and to achieve a contrast between country and modern, warm rustic hardwood floors are ideal to accompany this décor.

4 – If your kitchen lacks excitement, use oversized light fixtures with black fabric shades to add some wow to the space.

5 – If you want to render your kitchen innovative, install some sensor-activated lights, use a meat thermometer that alerts your smartphone when dinner is done, and maybe add hands-free faucets that are perfect for homes with small children who can’t reach the handles. Technology will make your life a whole lot easier.

6 – Mix your countertop’s material for a fashion-forward feel and opt for a wood-and-granite one.

7 – If you have an open kitchen, why not marry it with your home’s style and make it as pretty as the other rooms?

8 – Keep your kitchen neutral in order to personalize it in your own way when you feel like doing so. Opt for red-brown wood – which can stylishly be matched with lavender, purples and mauve. If you don’t like to use colors, choose some industrial-chic pendant lamps in aluminum.

Mirella Haddad