With the world of design in a continual flux of change, it can be a challenge to identify which trends will be short-lived and which will stand the test of time.

Timber kitchens are well and truly on-trend right now, but if you decide to jump on board and opt for timber in your new kitchen, how can you know if you’ll still love it as time goes on and news trends make their way onto the scene?

Let’s delve a little into the world of timber kitchen design so you can decide for yourself a timber kitchen is a timeless classic or fleeting trend.

Our Love Affair With Timber Kitchens is Nothing New

Timber has been on the kitchen design scene for quite some time now. While steel kitchens were all the range in the post war era, come the 1960’s, timber became the primary choice for kitchen cabinetry. 

At a time when our kitchens were a symbol of personal pride and the design world was dominated by bold colours and strong patterns, timber was coveted for its versatility to be stained to display its natural grain or painted to match the colourful kitchen appliances that were so popular during the time. 

As we moved into the 1970’s and the kitchen became a statement of style, timber continued to be the material of choice for kitchen cabinetry. With the love for bold kitchens still going strong, homeowners showed a strong preference for the dark colours of solid timber cabinetry offset by colourful laminate benchtops.

Timber continued to be the most popular cabinetry material well into the 1980’s, until it would finally meet its match as laminate gradually started to dominate the world of kitchen design. 

The Evolution of Timber Trend Kitchens 

Throughout the 1990’s, 2000’s and 2010’s, laminate continued to prevail as the most popular cabinetry option, but here we are in the 2020’s and timber kitchens have once again become immensely popular—but why?

It’s simple really. While trends come and go, true style never dies. 

We’re living in a time when contemporary styles are dominating the world of design, and many of our kitchens feature dark or moody colour palettes backed by the harsh strength of natural materials such as stone, concrete and industrial quality manufactured metals like steel.

While many of us adore this aesthetic, we still want our homes to feel warm and welcoming. Timber has proven to be the ideal solution that provides some much-needed relief from the clean lines and tough materials that can make a space feel cold or clinical, adding softness, warmth and interest to create a distinctive space with volumes of style.

A True Classic, But Reimagined 

Timber has well and truly stood the test of time. However, there is one big difference between the timber kitchens of today and the timber kitchens of yesteryear: today’s timber kitchens are very rarely made from solid timber.

While nothing can compare to the durability of solid timber, the cost of building a kitchen entirely from solid timber in this day and age is simply too expensive for most of us to fathom. Thankfully, due to some innovative advancements, home renovators now have the option of using timber veneers or timber-look laminates to emulate the look of solid timber for a more affordable price. 

Timber veneers look just like real timber, because they are! Using very thin slices of real timber varietals (such as oak, birch, teak, rosewood, mahogany, cedar, ash, cherry, maple and eucalyptus) which are applied to a strong substrate material such as MDF, veneers are considered the gold standard in the kitchens of today.

Having said that, timber-look laminates have also become extremely popular as design advancements have meant the plastic-looking laminates we often saw back in the 90’s are long gone, having been replaced with very realistic-looking timber grain designs that could easily be mistaken for real timber.

A Timeless Classic That’s Here to Stay

Want to incorporate timber into your new kitchen? The talented team of designers at Mint Kitchens can show you the best ways to harness the beauty of this classic material in a contemporary context to ensure you’ll adore your kitchen for many years to come.

Simply book a tour of one of our showrooms across Melbourne to find out how!