All those can be used in a 'dated' way.

Not sure what Odin or Loki.has in their kitchen. That would be interesting @Thor

Lots of natural light is timeless. Natural tones, like wood and stone, are timeless. Simple lines are timeless.

Iron cookware, lots of wood.

Functionality.

Grab a few kitchen/remodel magazines from previous eras.

What still looks good?

I think a stainless 48” subzero side-by-side is pretty timeless choice. I mean, it hasn’t really changed much in 40 years! The same can be said for AGA cookers, too.

That SS Subzero goes back a lot farther than that. My parents had SS SZ and Thermador appliances in 1960.

Absolutely NOTHING in a kitchen is timeless. Trust me in 15 years people will look at all our kitchens and think, "what were they thinking?"

Marble counters - Some latest and greatest will come along and everyone will be tearing out those stained marble counters for the next latest and greatest.
Butcher block - Butcher block was so out of style for about 20 years and is just now coming back into style.
White cabinets - Yes white cabinets are always in style. However the flat melamine white cabinets I had in my kitchen in the 80's would be a complete tear out nowadays for "shaker" style cabinets. And back in the 80's everyone was tearing out shaker style cabinets if they had them.
Farm or Belfast sinks - Another fad. A real farm sink looks nothing like what we call a farm sink nowadays.
Work tables - Depends on the work table
Schoolhouse lights - Absolutely timeless if your house was built between 1915 and 1940 but otherwise another fad.

Lots of natural light is timeless. Natural tones, like wood and stone, are timeless. Simple lines are timeless.

Agreed! I'd add a good layout will be timeless.

Cook's kitchen said it best

Your list would not at all suit a mid century house. Nor are 48 inch sub zero fridges and aga stoves fitting of an average home under 600k. Timeless design will only withstand the test of time if it suits the house in which it is placed. And even then it will still be considered dated when the next trends become as ubiquitous as the white marble Somethings gotta kitchen has become 20 years after its reception.

For the record in my area your above kitchen is the new builder grade kitchen of the 2000s . I still think it is a pretty look but it is commonly seen on freecycle in the tristate area. School house lights are sold at home depot and walmart. That is a sure sign it has become obsolete in the design world.

"Timeless decor" = Harmonizes with architectural style of house
Just like Roarah said here:
Timeless design will only withstand the test of time if it suits the house in which it is placed.

I also agree with everything Miss Cook said. :-)

I so very much agree on natural light and good ventilation! Good workable layout shouldn’t change too much over time, although it will change some if technology changes or if sociological changes affect how we gather to eat or who uses the kitchen.

Do y’all think what we each view as “timeless” may be related to our ages and perhaps geographical location? I’m 57yo and grew up in Illinois farm country. Most of the kitchens I remember from my early childhood had flat-front white painted cabinets, linoleum floors, linoleum (I think) counters with metal edging, and white appliances. They usually had aprons hanging on the wall and some sort of decor with a Bible verse or clever saying on it. My mom had a little trivet that said “First the toast, then the roast, Happy hostess, happy host.” which is hilarious in retrospect because my parents were teetotalers and as a kid I thought the saying was about breakfast toast and eating your meals in the right order. :)

In my teens I saw a lot of remodeled kitchens. I remember one family had gold walls and dark wood cabinets, I remember a couple of Brady Bunch wannabe kitchens, my mom did hers all in avocado with dark wood cabinets, my grandma had copper tone appliances and a double oven which I thought was super fancy. I got married in 1987 and I think the country decor was taking off then with lots of oak and rustic tchotchkes everywhere.

Of those eras I remember I would call the white kitchens the closest to timeless because it seems like no matter what else was in style there was a white cabinet version available. But I may be remembering that wrong!

" "Timeless decor" = Harmonizes with architectural style of house
Just like Roarah said here:
Timeless design will only withstand the test of time if it suits the house in which it is placed."

^^ Yep, this. And what Cook's Kitchen said.

"Timeless" is a style.

Contemporary was a style, modern was a style, both are now dated. What we consider "timeless" will also become dated, as needs and fashions change.

Function changes slowly, water, fire, ice have been consistent for a very long time.

Build a functional kitchen that makes you happy. My love of marble doesn't make it possible: vinegar and tomato sauce do not treat marble well. Build a kitchen that suits your house. White shaker will never fit a victorian house full of natural wood, nor a sleek MCM with beech floors.

I have dark granite, butcher block, wood cabinets, a rolling cart, a view to the mountains, and a kitchen full of people worrying about what is in the pot, not what the pot looks like.

For me, that is timeless. For others, that might be chaos and bad design.

I don't actually believe that any particular color, counter material, or cabinet style is timeless. Things like enclosed vs. open kitchens, peninsulas and islands, have changed over time.

Most of the previous posters have appropriately focused on function, architectural design, and natural light. But even ideas of what makes for the best function have changed as society has changed and people use their kitchens differently and technologies have evolved.

I'm currently in the middle of a remodel, and this thread mad me realize that I am taking the approach of having a temporally eclectic kitchen, with no aspiration for timelessness. The house is from 1910, the window casings an wainscoting will match the house's original, and I'll have schoolhouse lights (the original was gaslight, no going back to that). I'll have Shaker cabinets and linoleum floors. My hardware will be Art Deco (20s). My range will be a Big Chill retro (1950s-look) induction (2000s), so a mix of old appearance and new tech. My cabinets will be frameless (2000s?). My counters will be Corian (90s). And I'm going to have some linear suspension LED lighting (2010s). To borrow Mark's phrase from above, it might be chaos and bad design, but they are my mistakes to make.

A temporally eclectic kitchen is less likely be dated to any one particular time.

Rather than keeping up with HGTV fads, see "A Good House Is Never Done" by interior designer John Wheatman. 'A living space can be “an ongoing outlet for creative expression.” His philosophy suggests that interior design is not a static proposition but one that can evolve as a home’s inhabitants evolve—that a home can be freshened from time to time to reflect and stay in sync with the people who live in those spaces and the changes that may occur in their lives. Such changes may be as fundamental as the reality of kids moving out, or a change in a relationship, or simply a desire to use the spaces in different ways, whether for a creative pursuit or an in-home business enterprise. Rather than be daunted by this kind of approach, Wheatman encourages people to embrace it, to have fun with it, and simply to think of interior design as “an ongoing engagement with the fascinating business of daily life.” '

http://accentreddesign.com/a-good-house-is-never-done/