Interior designers working on kitchen projects in 2026 are seeing a clear pattern in what clients are asking for. Warmer palettes, more committed cabinetry colour, storage specified before anything else, and layouts expected to serve the whole day rather than just cooking.
In this blog article, we cover those trends in detail, what's driving them and what they mean for designers specifying kitchens this year.
Warmer palettes leading on cabinetry, with cream, cashmere and earthy clay replacing cool grey and stark white gloss
Colour being committed to with more conviction: deep greens, weighted blues, terracotta running across lower units
Storage leading the specification conversation before layout, colour or appliances
Layouts expected to zone across multiple uses: cooking, working, entertaining, morning routines
In-frame and traditional construction being chosen for longevity, not trend
The cool grey and stark white gloss kitchen that defined the last decade is in clear retreat. What clients are asking for now runs warmer: cream, cashmere, and off-white as base tones, with earthy clay and soft taupe appearing where grey once defaulted. Natural materials are being specified more deliberately: wood grain on cabinetry and worksurfaces, tactile matt finishes, surfaces chosen for depth rather than uniformity.
This shows up in colour data too. Blue is now the most popular cabinet colour in renovated UK kitchens at 18%, with green close behind at 17%, both overtaking the greys and whites that dominated for years. Clients want spaces that feel inhabited rather than staged, and the ranges best placed to deliver that are the ones that carry warmth through their finishes rather than deflect it.
Within our Classic range, the Mornington and Belsay families are well suited to this direction, both available across 35 colours through Life Trade's paint-to-order service.
Clients who might have tested a muted sage or soft navy in a previous project are now going further. Deep forest greens, blues with proper depth, warm terracotta tones, carried across full runs of lower cabinetry while upper sections stay neutral or move to wood. Contrasting upper and lower units is one of the most consistent requests on interior designer briefs this year, and nearly 30% of homeowners are now choosing contrasting cabinetry combinations in renovated kitchens.
Painted finishes are central to delivering these briefs. A range that offers genuine colour flexibility across its door styles gives designers the scope to match what clients are asking for without compromising on cabinet quality.
98% of homeowners upgrading a kitchen now replace their cabinets, and 95% specify storage features as part of that upgrade: cutlery inserts, pull-out bins, deep drawer organisers, pantry cabinetry. Storage is arriving at the brief before layout, colour or appliance choices, and clients know exactly what they need: what stays hidden, what stays accessible, and where each category of item lives.
For designers working at the specification stage, it helps to know what a cabinet supplier includes as standard. Our cabinets come fully assembled with internals, bins and fittings already fitted. Full details on our cabinet specification page.
The single-function kitchen layout is becoming less common on the brief. Clients want their kitchen to work across the full day: as a cooking space, a morning routine space, a place to work, a place to host. That means dedicated drink and coffee stations, islands with integrated seating and varied worksurface rather than a generic central unit, and storage zoned by how the space is used. Searches for moveable kitchen islands are up more than 800% year on year, and dedicated appliance garages and walk-in pantries are following the same direction.
For designers, the layout conversation is happening earlier and going deeper. A clear zoning logic matters more than the size of the footprint.
The clearest pull in 2026 briefs is toward kitchens built to last. Clients are less interested in a look that dates in three years and more focused on how the cabinet is made, how it holds up, and whether the finish will still feel considered a decade from now. Traditional and in-frame styles are being requested with more frequency, not for nostalgia, but because the construction carries a quality signal that trend-driven alternatives do not.
For designers specifying in this direction, the In-Frame range covers Clarendon, Clarendon Beaded and 1909, all UK-manufactured and built to order, which means the specification is worked around the project rather than drawn from fixed stock.
The common thread running through these briefs is intentionality. Clients are making more decisions earlier, placing greater weight on storage, longevity and colour confidence, and expecting their designer to specify accordingly. Suppliers who can deliver that level of specificity consistently are the ones worth building a working relationship with.
Explore the full kitchen range across Modern, Classic and In-Frame, or become a trade partner to discuss your next project.
