Traditionally kitchens have been a place for preparing meals and informal dining. However, with today’s open approach to design, the kitchen has become more than simply a place for cooking and baking. The modern kitchen is now the living room, the family room, and the office all rolled into one. Though it’s become a place for entertaining and gathering with family and friends, many kitchen designs can sometimes remain more functional than fashionable.

So if you are ready to add a little spice to the “heart of the home” by tackling a kitchen remodeling project this year, then check out a few of TheRTAStore.com favorite kitchen and color trends for 2014!

Kitchen Trend #1: Bold Colors

Gone are the days when kitchens were dull, boring, and lifeless. Today you can create exciting and lively spaces by adding beautiful bursts of color to energize your kitchen, making the space feel warm and inviting. The addition of fun, bold, bright colors to one wall can create an accent that you can continue throughout the kitchen with complimenting counter top kitchen appliances.

Kitchen Trend #2: Warm Colors

If bold color isn’t your thing, no worries, calm soothing colors will still be in style for 2014. Warm colors like apricots, yellows, and reds will always be popular in kitchens because they stimulate the appetite and are very comforting colors.

Kitchen Trend #3: High Contrasting Colors

Another interesting trend in kitchen color is the use of high contrasting colors like white kitchen cabinets and black counters, and monochromatic color schemes using different sheens of paint.

Kitchen Trend #4: Appliances, Cookware And Eco-friendly Products

In the contemporary kitchen, color is not only found on the walls. The kitchen conscious are bringing color into the kitchen by using color coordinated, appliances, cookware and kitchenware. Moreover, they’re displaying these items by using glass front kitchen cabinets and open shelving. Backsplashes are always a great way to incorporate color into your kitchen. Colorful tile and in particular subway tile will continue to be a popular material for not only a backsplash, but for extending all the way up the wall to the ceiling line.

Many homeowners are using eco-friendly products like recycled glass counters, reclaimed wood and bamboo flooring materials to accentuate the use of color in their kitchens.

Kitchen Trend #5: Lighting

Since light incorporates every color in the spectrum, you can bring out the color of your room by using various types of lighting to help make spaces look and feel larger. Big, bright, oversized lighting in a kitchen with low ceilings can create drama and give a room a sense of depth and warmth. If oversized lighting isn’t for you, adding small colorful pendent fixtures over any kitchen island will create beautiful, small, accents of color in your kitchen.

Kitchen Trend #6: Cabinets

This year kitchen cabinet designers will continue to find more innovative, and original ways to help their clients create functional, beautiful, and unique work zones in their kitchens for cooking, baking, food storage, and eating.

Like the colors in nature, kitchen color trends will continue to evolve in 2014. Tell us, what were some of your favorite kitchen trends or colors from last year?