Some are, some aren’t. It’s pretty much a classic look now.

I still love my white cabinets and yellow walls. They used to have blue wallpaper. Lots of ways to add color to a white kitchen as long as you don't overdo it with the white tile.

So glad to see some warmer wood tones showing up in new design magazines. Still in the minority but at least they are being included. I have always loved white kitchens, they are definitely classic, but I was getting so tired of all the white especially with marble. While pretty it is just so not me.

Also I am not a big fan of gray for interiors, so the last number of years have not been a good time for my aesthetic. Have wanted to update my interior but the decor and furniture choices have been dismal. Looking forward to some new options.

There is a difference between white cabinets vs the white kitchen trend - which is very white / gray / black and difficult to add color to except in decor - towels and such. Some people find that very calming. I live in an area where late winter and early spring are often more gray then one hopefully wants - and having too much white / gray can go from peaceful to depressing depending on the personality of the person. Like Jill302 it is a style that did not ever appeal to me as something I wanted in my home, though I could appreciate a pretty picture.

Marketing works to try to induce people to believe their old stuff is dated so they will buy new. There will eventually be "dated" thrown at the white / gray kitchen just to get people to move on to the "next big thing". There has been a movement to bring warmth into these kitchens in some areas because they really can be too cold in some climates.

What I have found really problematic is the number of people who did the white / gray kitchen (or bath) in an otherwise warm toned home. I see this frequently when looking at home for sale online - and it is jarring - especially the gray wood look floor right up next to real natural toned hardwood. If there is one "rule" of home design I would like to promote it would be keeping the home consistent in feel. After that - stop it with the multiple roof lines:)

M Miller: My hashtag was a lighthearted joke at our current situation in this country. Good grief. I'll use my time as I choose.

jhmarie: Great comments and insight. We just bought a loft in Chicago and I'm updating the master bath and kitchen. Almost every condo we toured had white kitchens that didn't fit the design or feel of the condo. And yes, it's all about marketing.

@smcf03 If you're re-doing your kitchen and want to be sensitive to trends, don't worry about replacing white with more color. As others have said, kitchen design trends are moving toward more rich, "moody" tones. Here's a recent blog post about that from color expert Maria Killam: https://mariakillam.com/how-to-update-90s-granite-and-make-it-disappear/

If you'd like a good resource of inspiration for more colorful kitchens, my all-time favorite is Attic Mag that was published by a woman named Jane F who has a career's worth of experience as an editor for several large interior design magazines. She started this blog to showcase her favorite designs from through the years, most of them unique with plenty of color. She went by @rococogurl here at Houzz but doesn't seem to be actively posting anymore. Here's the kitchens section of the blog: https://www.atticmag.com/category/kit/

Here's an interview with Jane F talking about her inspiration sources for the blog: http://lowtidehighstyle.blogspot.com/2010/07/women-of-atticmag.html

A couple of very good threads from last year,

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5728137/designing-a-colorful-kitchen

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5717017/why-do-all-the-kitchens-look-the-same

smcf03 - of course. I wrote what I did because (a) white kitchens are not a trend. A trend would be the narrow elongated tile in a stack pattern used as a backsplash - here today, gone in about 3 years. (b) because of so many, many, posts on "white kitchens a trend"; I did a quick search for " white kitchens a trend" and came up with 865 posts. That is why I said there must be something more to talk about. But yes, you should use your time as you choose as you said.

M Miller - Have a nice day.

Belaria: Great resources. THANK YOU.

I care because, like everyone else stuck at home, I am looking for something of interest to discuss rather than something that has an incorrect premise. That to you makes me - in your words - “a miserable person, of course”. Fine.

“YOU responded to me, remember? Why do you care so much about what I post? What's wrong with you?”

Back to topic. White kitchen are still the most popular choice for cabinetry. All one has to do is google.

Another way to see what is going on is to look at high end real estate. Not too often when you don’t see a white kitchen.

That said, what is trendy is what you add to your white cabinets. Remember the all white Christopher a Peacock kitchens? Now it’s the gray and white kitchens. And, although people keep saying it’s in the way out, it is still being used on high end new builds. Some say these decisions might have been made a few years back. But, this doesn’t matter. Gray and white will be fine for another ten years. No one here can suggest what is now on trend.

I love white kitchens. I now have two! I wouldn’t choose anything unless I liked it.

There are fans of white, fans of wood tone, fans of colors. They are all personal decisions.

My question to you is, you say you are bored with white kitchen. Is it your white kitchen? Not sure how one can be bored with other people’s kitchens, or internet kitchen as you can google wood tone and peruse hundreds of pictures.

Specifically, I'm tired of white cabs with white quartz and white subway tile, wood open shelves and a few random "modern farmhouse" elements. :-) So, right with you there.

The threads Becky posted are a lot of fun.

Perhaps a better question to entertain ourselves while in between bouts of quarantine exercise (To the window! To the wall!) is - what's NEXT in kitchen color choices? I think the whole white/grey thing is fading. What will replace it? How do you seek "warmth" after all those cool trends? Back into creams, or does that scream 90's? Wood tones? Color?

For that matter, will anything at all catch fire to the same degree that the Ultrawhite kitchen did? The whole Modern Farmhouse look was a big part of the white/grey kitchen trend. That trend was a response to SOMETHING.

Will the Quarantine thing kick off a response that takes the form of a decor trend? #Cottagecore is trending on tumblr and elsewhere. Will we go back to a need for coziness and the cottage look?

#Cottagecore is trending on tumblr and elsewhere

I guess I'm safe from trends until #Farmcore starts trending lol. We're normally "self-isolating" on our farm in March and April anyway while we're calving (for which I stock up on groceries in late February), for biosecurity purposes and because there's little time or inclination to leave the farm for anything. We do our best to keep a "closed herd" at this time of year to keep the animals safe, but now we're part of one too.

We were actually ahead of the bright white trend more than 25 years ago, but after one western Canadian winter found we couldn't live with it. When I met my husband, he had just bought a farm and was fixing up the old wreck of the 50-year-old house. He wanted everything to look clean so he painted it all -- the walls, the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom vanity -- a stark bright hospital-operating-room white. Which was absolutely dreadful from the beginning of November to the end of April, because outdoors everything was grey/brown (leafless trees) and white (sky, ground). The following autumn, after harvest, we started painting -- yellow bedroom, bathroom, and the kitchen (with cream-colored cabinets, green living room, spare room blue. I will never understand those who don't take into account their surroundings and particular regional/geographic light conditions.

Speaking of cozy cottages, one of my favorite blogs, Posie Gets Cozy, has had a lock on coziness and cottages for 15 years. With her fondness for Scandinavian country style, she was way ahead of the hygge trend. Especially good if you like to sew, but even those who don't (like me) find lots to enjoy. And she started an IG the other year,

https://www.posiegetscozy.com

https://www.instagram.com/aliciapaulson

The whole Modern Farmhouse look was a big part of the white/grey kitchen trend. That trend was a response to SOMETHING.

Will the Quarantine thing kick off a response that takes the form of a decor trend?

I think we've been there for some time already. I wonder if the white, black, elements of wood aesthetic has worked so well because when you're building an empire by trying to sell as much as you can, as the Gaineses clearly are, the goal is to try to have as universal and simple a look as possible. (And good timing for Joanna Gaines because part of their new network is a cooking show, and IIRC she just published a cookbook.)

From the NY Times in December,

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/realestate/modern-farmhouse-design.html

The rise of modern farmhouse — Laura Fenton, writing for Curbed, reported that the term joined the American lexicon in 2016 — coincides with a time of American instability and uncertainty. If the future is unclear, it’s no wonder we might want to recreate an American pastoral where we can wrap ourselves in a flannel throw blanket and sit in a wicker chair on a front porch gazing into the distance like pioneers, even if the view is of suburban New Jersey and not the Great Plains.

This version of the homestead is punctuated with edgy details like Edison bulbs, brass faucets and stark black trim, perhaps a nod to another idealized aesthetic: the Brooklyn loft.

Modern farmhouse gives us license to do the work ourselves, to be homesteaders-lite. Those of us looking for a crafty outlet can express ourselves by refurbishing an old dresser, repurposing discarded window frames or wrapping Mason jars with burlap. Who needs an expensive interior designer when the aisles of home décor stores are packed with whisky-barrel tables and vintage kitchen canisters just begging to be purchased?

The Gaineses “are cool, they’re attractive. They’re raising goats and they’re gardening, their kids all seem well-adjusted,” said Gideon Mendelson, an interior designer in New York. “The look that they’ve marketed, it’s good-looking, it’s easy on the eye, it’s not risky, it feels homey, it touches on a lot of things that we want.”

“Fixer Upper” may be over, but the Gaineses aren’t. Their brand, Magnolia, is now a magazine, a market and a real estate agency. In October 2020, Magnolia will launch a cable network, replacing the DIY Network. “They’re just getting their stride,” Mr. Mendelson said. “They’re going gangbusters.”

But no single look can last forever, even if its biggest champions are ascending and selling a line of housewares at Target. There must be a breaking point, right? “Eventually, everybody always tires of it, that is why a trend is fleeting,” said Michael Amato, the creative director of the Urban Electric Company, a lighting designer. While modern farmhouse has a broad appeal, it can also veer into kitsch. “To me, the moment it goes overboard is the minute you walk into HomeGoods and there’s an explosion of ‘Eat, Live, Laugh, Love, Die,’” he said.

Designers are noticing subtle shifts. Edison bulbs are losing favor, as homeowners realize that while a raw bulb may look pretty, staring directly at one is not terribly appealing. And color seems to be making a comeback — green kitchens!

“The modern farmhouse is evolving into something a little bit more global,” Ms. Bikoff said. “It could be Balinese, it could be Chinese. It could be a little bit Italian from the ’70s.”

So, if we tire of American farmhouses, we could always branch out and dabble with ones that look like they’re in the south of France, or maybe the English countryside or Indonesia. Who knows? This fantasy farm life could be limitless.

I will just say that this quote -- “To me, the moment it goes overboard is the minute you walk into HomeGoods and there’s an explosion of ‘Eat, Live, Laugh, Love, Die'" -- seems a bit too on the nose right now.

I like so many different kitchens and in 2007, when white was a bit of an oddity for new kitchens I found them very refreshing. Now I get no joy out of white kitchens but it is from over saturation so to me that says they were on trend for years and ubiquitous by 2011 and have been trending down for the last year or two in the east where I reside. They are now put into every new build and flip so starting to look cheapened down to me too.

Sorry, mmiller, I get the impression from your constant dislike of any thread that dares to speak unkindly to white kitchens that you have recently done one. You can still love your kitchen and how others feel about it or how others like to discuss how much they are trending up or down should not negate or validate your love of white kitchens. Your defense of them as classic does not change my opinion that they have been ubiquitous for atleast ten years now where I live and my distaste should not lessen the joy you get from one.

"Sorry, mmiller, I get the impression from your constant dislike of any thread that dares to speak unkindly to white kitchens that you have recently done one."

Roarah, your assumption is incorrect. My most recent kitchen is a mix of white uppers and natural oak base cabinets. My issue was about the inaccuracy of saying that white kitchens are a trend, which I said very clearly. A trend means something that is fashionable and popular for a specific pinpoint-able time, and then goes out of favor, like avocado green appliances, pencil-tile backsplashes, or the Tuscan kitchen look.

I don't have a "constant dislike of any thread that dares to speak unkindly of white kitchens". I have a dislike of people making sweeping generalizations that give bad information to people coming to this forum for ideas. Similarly, you will also see me challenge posters who say "all granite counters stain, chip and need constant sealing", or "Quartz counters are high maintenance". I actually love wood kitchen cabinets (Darbuka's one of my favorite recent ones), and also love the painted cabinet kitchens we have seen on here in the jewel tones of sapphire blue, kelly green, and forest green. I have no bias toward white kitchens over other colors.

Roarah - a recent thread I posted on with a similar statement and I provided pics of wood cabinet kitchens I love

Not that any of us are walking into HomeGoods right now. Or, at least not in my neck of the woods. Though I am reminded of a meme circulating with a picture of the ubiquitous "Gather" word art, captioned: That's illegal now, Karen. :-)

I do wonder - how many people would regard Balinese or other Oriental elements as "cozy"? Will the enforced home-bodiness shove decor themes back into the desire for coziness and simplicity, and away from the more "international" or "bohemian" elements that were starting to gain traction?

I can see a trend toward expanding the "farmhouse" concept into other ideas of "farmhouse." I'm just wondering if the whole "dark and moody" aesthetic will start to falter with everybody stuck inside just as Spring really starts to let loose.

I'm just wondering if the whole "dark and moody" aesthetic will start to falter with everybody stuck inside just as Spring really starts to let loose.

"dark and moody" can return in the autumn when the flu and coronavirus do...

And I'm wondering if the whole Covid 19 thing will provide at least some of us with a reality check. In the western world, we consume and discard resources at a rate beyond the imagination of poorer countries and indeed of our ancestors. Much of that consumption is driven by marketing, not needs. The focus on trends is a symptom of that: having the latest colors, the latest gadget, the latest materials in our homes is about looks, not functionality. We spend money and use up resources chasing things we want rather than need, we "refresh" and "update" our homes, and we keep the cycle of "buy," "enjoy," "discard," "replace" going. It's not sustainable. A lot of people who've had their income severely hit by the fallout from the virus will be forced to retrench. Perhaps some of them will think a little more deeply about what their priorities are, and recognize that living with wafer-thin financial reserves while they blow money on building houses two or three times the size of the ones they grew up in, or replacing perfectly good furniture or cabinets because they're "dated" may not be things to aspire to. One can only hope....

One of the things about trendy home decor that bothers me - hope I am not too far off subject - is that stores that sell art supplies in back, often sell cheap, imported home decor in the front (Joannes, Hobby Lobby.) I would like to see these stores give at least some wall space to local artist. Yes, a well done local art piece may cost more, but it will be more timeless - not need to be replaced every few years. A beautiful painting can last years - even forever in a home while "Eat" and "Gather" will head towards Good Will (and who thinks people with lower incomes want cheap dated decor?) or the landfill. I have two paintings given to me by an artist relation of my husbands - I love them and will have them as long as I have walls to decorate.

To me they are all starting to look the same. It's not the white cabinets its everything else that goes along with the white cabinets. Subway tile, island either stained wood or painted a different color, open shelving, touches of wood, quartz counters.

I don't think JoAnn's or Hobby Lobby is going to do that any time soon. Now, Hobby Lobby DOES license some of the work of an artist local to me, allowing her an additional income stream, so there's that. Really, as well to rail against any of the big box stores than sell "decor" by the metric ton - Target, HomeGoods, atHome, etc. Their stuff is really no better in many cases, and just as likely to end up at Good Will at the end of the trend.

And I think we've wandered very far from the OP's original question.

Although it occurs to me that the original trend for white tile in the 20's was all about everything being as "sanitary" as possible. It's conceivable that a generalized new appreciation for "cleanliness" might inject new life into white cabs and tile for kitchens and baths.

White kitchens are wonderful if you like the lighter look and more reflected light. If you enjoy darker kitchens/woods, then a sunny area and plenty of task lighting is a lovely alternative.

I have always liked white kitchens...especially with walls painted a soft green or robin's egg blue.

Lavender Lass! Speaking of colorful kitchens and storybooks, did you see this Carl Larsson -inspired pastel kitchen? I posted it in another thread,

https://www.remodelista.com/posts/kitchen-week-pastel-kitchen-inspired-swedish-painter-carl-larsson/

Back to the OP, I am not fond of saying things are a trend or not. It’s a generalization. It takes nothing else into account. It sweeps away considerations of regional differences, personal taste, and the specific conditions of a particular kitchen.

I live in a northern climate that from October to April is cloudy and has low light levels. Furthermore, my kitchen window faces north. I therefore choose white kitchen cabinets because I need every bit of light I can get. I like wood cabinets too, very much. But I don’t want to come into my kitchen first thing on a December morning and see dark walls. Has nothing to do with your “White Cabinets - still a trend?” subject.

It is interesting to note how many hundreds of posts there are on this forum from people asking about painting their wood cabinets white. We usually have to convince people pretty hard not to do that, so strong is their wish for white cabinets. I usually try to tell people why they should leave their wood cabinets unpainted - lest any of the people on this thread think I am anti-wood!

I love my white kitchen cabinets that are paired with Benjamin Moore Sand Dunes paint. Bright, but soft.