Ask any Irish homeowner what’s top of their list when it comes to home improvements, and the smart money will be on the kitchen.
It’s the heart of the home, a place for family meals, social gatherings, and preparing food. Despite that, many of us know the misery of a bad kitchen. A poor layout, cramped space and inadequate storage and lighting can make this a room that feels stressful to spend time in; never mind cooking or eating in.
If you find yourself shimmying past your partner to get to the fridge, or you have to wait to do laundry because someone’s doing homework at the table, then you’ll know there’s got to be a better option.
A good kitchen is somewhere you’ll enjoy spending your time. It should also reflect your lifestyle, with a space designed for the things you love and enjoy doing the most.
What’s even better is that a great kitchen can boost the value of your home. It truly is a renovation project that delivers dividends.
But where do you start? If you type ‘kitchen ideas’ into Pinterest, you’ll be rewarded with a scroll that is almost infinite. Instagram is no different, with more than 19 million images on the #kitchendesign hashtag.
That’s a lot of inspiration to parse, so instead, we’ve asked Irish kitchen experts to take us through what’s hot in Irish kitchens for 2025.
Size matters
“The biggest change we have noticed is the size of kitchens,” says Dave Fagan, director at Kube.
This offers an antidote for older Irish homes with small, galley-style kitchens or those where the kitchen and dining room are separated. “Customers are putting extensions on or designing new homes with large kitchen spaces that are more open plan and social,” he says.
“People are willing to invest in good design that will make their home work better for them and make their cooking experience more enjoyable.”
Fagan notes that in tandem with this is the rise of the kitchen as a social space and entertainment area. That in itself is influencing some of the things Irish homeowners are hoping to include. “People are looking for appliances and storage solutions that suit their lifestyle,” he says. “Built-in coffee machines and wine coolers are increasingly popular.”
Can the clutter
We are also seeing the rise of the appliance garage. Or, in other words, a dedicated cabinet or compartment, often at counter height, where you can store frequently used small kitchen appliances.
“Customers have slow cookers and air fryers that need a permanent home which isn’t on the everyday worktop space,” Fagan says.
The breakfast pantry or coffee station is another expression of this idea. If you’ve got the space, this can be a great way to gather everything you need for the morning into a tall unit with bi-folding or pocket doors. Add some plug sockets, and the kettle and toaster can be stored behind closed doors. Plus, your microwave and Nespresso maker can also live happily here.
One of the most-wanted kitchen must-haves is a walk-in pantry. “If the space allows for it then a walk-in pantry is a great addition to a kitchen. A mix of open shelving and pull-out drawers are a good idea to maximise accessible storage,” says David Dempsey, design director at Noel Dempsey Design.
Fagan agrees. “Hidden pantry or utility rooms remain enduringly popular as they allow you to streamline the rest of your kitchen space and offer a concealed area where you can put all the things you don’t want to look at every day.”
Irish homeowners are prioritising a kitchen that looks good and works hard. “Two dishwashers are also proving to be a popular feature for busy households,” says Dempsey. This can be an appealing idea for larger families, where dirty dishes never end.
Or, if you’ve got the space, a scullery or ‘dirty kitchen’ is starting to top the most-wanted list. This is essentially a secondary kitchen or space used for messy tasks like dishwashing, food prep, and cleaning. It can help to keep the main kitchen tidy, banish clutter and is particularly useful if you like to entertain a lot.
When it comes to appliances, the same principles apply. Look for hard-working items that are built to last. “We always recommend our clients not to look at trends,” says Dempsey. He advises only going for the appliances you really want or need. With that in mind, he says that “downdraught hobs like Bora’s X-Pure are still as popular as ever, allowing designers to place the hob on an island without sacrificing the aesthetics.”
Fagan echoes this. “We would recommend good quality appliances; they are something you use every day and they should be chosen carefully to make your day-to-day chores easier and faster.”
Integrated appliances are also enduringly popular as they provide a visually appealing, sleek run of units with no white goods on display.
And when it comes to ovens, we’re looking for clever details like slide-and-hide oven doors and warming drawers. Combi ovens are a smart pick too, as they offer dual functions which include a microwave. That helps to further the quest to clear up counter space.
Dempsey also points to Quooker, or boiling water taps, and wine or beer fridges as top of the wishlist for 2025.
Design details
Once you’ve got the function sorted, it is time to think about what you want your space to look like. Happily, when clutter is out of the kitchen and storage is streamlined, the aesthetics of the space can really shine.
“We are creating more kitchens with feature stone backsplashes and without high-level wall units,” Dempsey says. “This creates a soft, uncluttered look in both large and small spaces.”
Durable worktops like porcelain or quartzite are trending. These combine the benefits of real stone without the painful upkeep, come in a dizzying array of marble-like patterns or colours and offer a hard-working and beautiful counter.
Dempsey says that cabinet styles are changing. “We are seeing a lot more modern and contemporary designs without ornate details and panelling. Oak and walnut kitchens have been coming back in a big way.”
Colour is coming back as well. We’ve had a long run of blue and navy cabinet colours but now, Fagan says that shades of taupe and green are coming in.
“People are more adventurous when it comes to colour, especially when they are going with one of our hand-painted kitchens,” says Dempsey. The benefit, he says, is that these can be repainted in the future if you get tired of a particular colour.
“Pink shades like Farrow and & Ball’s Calamine or Sulking Room Pink are more popular this year,” he says, noting that in his case, they are “replacing the green tones that were popular for so long”.
Hardware too, is something many of us agonise over. Getting it right matters. You can opt out altogether by going for handleless cabinet styles, or for those that open using a finger-pull mechanism. This is a recessed groove or lip along the top or side edge of the door, which allows you to open them without needing handles or knobs.
If you do go for hardware, Fagan has a caveat. “We would tend to recommend avoiding the likes of gold handles, these will most definitely date over time.”
Sustainability and buying for the future is also something that Fagan is observing. “What we see at the moment is a shift towards products and brands that have staying power,” he says.
This includes customers seeking kitchens that come with warranties or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) stamps. This offers you a guarantee that timber and wood-based products have come from sustainably managed forests and meet internationally agreed standards.
“There is a perception that you will pay a lot more,” Fagan says. “But there really isn’t a huge difference in price, and in terms of the longevity in your home, there really is no comparison.”
