5 trends that are making your kitchen look cheap and what designers are doing instead

Not all kitchen trends are created equally, and not every passing fad is imbued with the longevity and luxe vibes you'd want for a space you're not going to change very often. Some trends can even make your kitchen look cheap.

Following trends in a kitchen is such a risk. It's a space you can't switch up as easily as say a bedroom or living room. Your cabinet styles, the materials you choose, the colors and the layouts are all pretty permanent choices that you don't really want to be changing for decades, or even longer.

So what kitchen trends do you need to avoid right now to ensure your space doesn't end up looking cheap and dated in just a few months? We asked interior designers for their advice, and what they would recommend you do instead.

1. Bright white countertops

Because of how they manage to make light spaces feel even brighter, there has been a trend for bright white kitchen countertops, usually made from quartz. The trouble is that their gleam can look a bit box-fresh, giving away the fact that they're not a natural material, and therefore a little cheap.

Going in the opposite direction will create a more luxe look and designers are now going for darker countertops for a more timeless and expensive look. 'I believe there is a time and place for every design choice – including black countertops,' says Kristina Kral, Associate Interior Designer at the Baltimore-based studio Crosby Jenkins Associates, Inc. 'It all comes down to how they're integrated into the overall design. In my own kitchen, I have dark soapstone counters, and I absolutely love the character they bring, imperfections and all! When done thoughtfully, black counters can add bold, timeless elegance to any space.'

2. Chrome faucets

The surprise kitchen trend we never saw coming was the return of chrome. Used to clad cabinets or worktops it's fresh and dyanmic, but on the sanitary ware? It evokes the cheap hardware store faucets a developer would choose to be safe.

'Aged brass is a little deeper, and a finish we're always veering towards in a kitchen,' says Monica Santayana, co-founder of the Miami-based design studio Moniomi. 'Brass is the warmest metal, and we can do so much with it, making spaces feel much more elevated.'

3. Solid-fronted cabinetry

With the never-ending trend for Scand-style and minimalist kitchens, we've seen a run on runs of closed-fronted cabinets across walls. Seamless and smooth, they lack handles, visual clutter, and with that any of the personality that makes a space seem more rich and more expensive.

So designers do warn to avoid an overly simplicity look with no texture as it can end up looking flat and cheap. Introduce shelving to your kitchen, or break up rows of solid cabinets with class-fronted ones.

As Kathleen Hay, Principal and founder at the Nantucket-based studio Kathleen Hay Designs explains, 'Open shelves work well in cottage kitchens where a varied collection of objects adds to the overall cozy feeling of the space. They also work well in more contemporary clean-lined kitchens where a carefully curated display of china and glassware enhances both the beauty and function of the space.'

4. Fluted finishes

The fluting that has been a big trend for kitchen islands and glass-fronted cabinets is at the risk of now having been overdone. Of looking old hat, and cheap by over-exposure.

'As far as fluted finishes go here are my thoughts,' says Dawn Bergan, Principal Designer and owner of the Dallas-based studio Corley Design Associates. 'I do like the look on islands or accent spaces to bring in some interest with texture, but I am hesitant to use it much for fear it is a passing fad and it is going to date the space quickly. Looks great today, but I'm not sure in five years.' A safer bet, that will continue to look luxe for years to come, is smooth, richly veined stone.

5. Subway tile backsplashes

This has been a perennial kitchen trend for so long that it's hard to remember a time when subway tiles on a kitchen wall were thought of as daring or innovative (you'll have to go back as far as around 2010 for that).

And because of that, they now have the air of a developer's safe choice, and look cheap by association. It's far more luxe to take stone up the wall, and even more opulent to backlight it. Interior designer Olga Ashby says to choose travertine instead and take it all the way up the wall.

'Travertine is hard to apply, but it looks so luxe,' explains Olga, who recently used it to cover a kitchen wall in a Parisian apartment. 'I once saw it backlit in a kitchen in Florence, Italy, and so made my stone person create a light back for this home. It makes it look like it's laced with gold.'

Be wary of following kitchen trends when remodeling your space. Leave the trends for your easy-to-switch-out decor, and when it comes to the bigger parts of the design, keep things timeless and go for colors, style, and materials that you love. At the end of the day if you love your decisions your kitchen will never date, nor feel cheap.