Industrial Kitchen Design Trends

Looking to design an industrial kitchen? You’re not alone. The industrial style of interior design is quite popular, as highlighted in our Kitchen Trends book.

In this post, we’ll give you some concrete ideas for designing an industrial-style kitchen that meets your needs. We’ll cover materials, colors, and more. We’ll also discuss ways to incorporate the industrial style into your kitchen despite limitations such as floorspace.

What Is An Industrial Kitchen?

First things first, let’s get on the same page concerning what industrial kitchens are.

An industrial-style kitchen exhibits raw design traits reminiscent of brutalist architecture. Exposed brick walls, wooden rafters, and vintage decor are all popular elements of this kitchen style.

Industrial-style kitchens tend to be very simple, shunning the flair and ornateness of traditional design in favor of utilitarianism. This means you’ll typically see lots of straight lines and solid colors instead of intricate patterns.

Appliances and faucets in an industrial kitchen tend to be very rugged and perhaps even overbuilt. This, along with an open concept design, helps an industrial-style kitchen feel monumental.

Now, instinctively, you may be thinking that these features sound cold and unwelcoming. As you’ll see, however, there are ways to avoid this with a carefully-planned design.

Industrial Style Kitchen Design Trends

Modern Industrial Kitchen

A modern industrial kitchen is one of the most popular variants of this style. As with all types of modern kitchens, it’s important that you choose materials wisely. Quartz countertops with a textured finish, such as our Raw Concrete 4004, tend to be very popular.

Simplicity is also a consistent theme among modern industrial kitchens. You’ll often see minimalist pendant light fixtures, open wood shelving, and streamlined metal or wooden stools.

While modern design lacks some of the warmth inherent in more vintage looks, your industrial space doesn’t have to be uninviting. Add some potted plants, warm lighting, darker woods, and subtle hints of neutral colors in order to keep things from feeling too overbearing.

Urban Industrial Kitchen Design

The urban and industrial kitchen design styles have a lot of overlap. One key difference, however, is that urban kitchen design lends itself well to smaller areas, given that space comes at such a huge premium in the city.

While the space restrictions inherent to an urban kitchen might make it seem at odds with the openness of industrial design, you can achieve both.

One popular option is to create a galley kitchen layout and incorporate the tenets of industrial design that can fit within it. You’ll rely primarily on your color palette and material choice to achieve the industrial aesthetic, rather than an open concept design.

Check out this post for some ideas that will help you maximize space in your small industrial kitchen design.

Generally, you’ll want to stick to a lighter color palette and use large patterned tiles. Of course, you’ll also want to keep things as uncluttered as possible. Store as many items as possible in a separate room, freeing up your countertop space for things you need on a daily basis.

As we mentioned here, urban kitchens also incorporate features such as:

• slotted drawers
• built-in shelving
• eat-in areas
• mirrored backsplashes

All of these features can fit well into an urban industrial kitchen.

Industrial Kitchen Art

When designing an industrial kitchen, art plays a key role. One trend now is to use steampunk-style decor – mechanical drawings and the like.

If you’re designing a vintage-style industrial space, consider displaying vintage items on your open shelving. Decor such as old tobacco tins, clocks, and metal sculptures all make for great artwork in this style of kitchen.

Caesarstone Quartz Surfaces: Perfect For The Industrial Kitchen

No matter which of these ideas you decide to use in your industrial kitchen, Caesarstone has a surface for you.

Our Metropolitan collection of countertops is very popular among people designing industrial spaces. They offer the right amount of roughness while still being quite refined and capable of standing up to the rigors of modern life.

Here’s a quick rundown of why quartz from Caesarstone is so beloved among designers and homeowners all over the world.

Durability

Unlike other stone-based countertop materials (read more here), Caesarstone quartz is nonporous. That makes it highly resistant to staining, which is the weak point of most stone countertops.

Quartz also offers great all-around resistance to scratching, cracking, and heat. With quartz, your industrial kitchen will be as rugged as it looks.

Versatility

If you ever get tired of your industrial-style kitchen and want to switch to something new, your quartz countertops will still look great. That’s all thanks to the incredible work our designers do crafting countertops that lend themselves well to many styles.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Check out our quartz visualizer, which allows you to experiment with our surfaces in various settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an industrial kitchen?

An industrial kitchen combines rugged materials and appliances with a primarily-gray color palette. This achieves a look reminiscent of, as the name suggests, industrial kitchens like those found in large facilities.

This style is commonly adapted into residential kitchens because of its timelessness and rustic charm.

How do you design kitchen ceiling lights in the industrial style?

Most industrial-style kitchens use domed pendant or steampunk-style fixtures. The former looks great if you are designing a modern or contemporary kitchen while the latter is the popular option for traditional spaces.

Generally speaking, you want to avoid recessed lighting as that doesn’t make a statement. Bolder fixtures are more in keeping with the industrial style.

How do you make industrial-style shelves for a kitchen?

Standing shelves (assuming you have the space for them) add instant industrial charm to your kitchen. “Making” these is as simple as heading to a home hardware store and buying metal shop shelving. These are great for storing bulk food items and decor.

If your kitchen isn’t large enough to justify this type of shelving, consider constructing wall-mounted open shelving from planks and wood and metal brackets. You can also buy these pre-made if you prefer.