I knew I wanted a modern European design when designing my dream kitchen. I wanted clean lines, modern kitchen cabinets, different colors, natural wood finishes, and a seamless look all the way around with character touches. The kitchen is the heart of the home and an area of the new house that I spent a lot of time designing. Before designing our custom kitchen, I spent a lot of time looking into what European-style kitchens looked like. What is their design philosophy, and how could I create this modern European kitchen design in our newly built home? 

Here is what I found. European designers emphasize sleek lines, bold colors, and minimalism. The European kitchen design should be practical, efficient, and inviting. This blog post will discuss key elements to incorporate to create a modern European-style kitchen and how we integrated them into our newly built kitchen. 

5 Ways to Help You Create a Modern European Kitchen

1. Clean lines and minimalism – A European-style kitchen should be streamlined and functional, with efficient use of space. European kitchen designs focus on crisp, clean lines that create a minimalist aesthetic. 

2. Use of natural materials – European kitchens often use natural materials like wood, stone, and metal. Incorporating these materials can add warmth and a touch of luxury to your kitchen. Top it off by mixing kitchen appliances and adding pops of color, black or green. 

3. Neutral color scheme – The European kitchen design emphasizes neutral colors like white, gray, and black. You want to use one color as the primary color and then add accents with other colors that complement. 

4. Use Lighting to Set the Mood – Proper lighting can make all the difference in a kitchen. Consider installing pendant lights above your island or under-cabinet lighting to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.

5. Add a Touch of Personality – European kitchens often incorporate unique and unexpected elements. Consider adding a statement piece like a colorful backsplash, vintage light fixture, large range hood, or high-gloss finishes on your granite countertops. This will add personality and character to your kitchen.

Our European Style kitchen 

My top five components would help me achieve the modern European style I was waiting for. Now let’s see how we incorporated this into our beautiful kitchen. 

I knew I wanted a lot of storage space, including many cabinets and drawers. I decided I would do more drawers on the bottom and modern cabinets on the top. The kitchen cabinet style I picked is called “shaker style.” I did the same on each Forte panel-ready appliance, so everything seamlessly blended in. This allowed for the look of the European cabinet design and a very modern kitchen design at the same time. Adding a lot of cabinets on the bottom also allowed for more counter space. 

I used a natural stone for the backsplash, Forte for all my built-in appliances, a large 48′ stove with an oversized hood, unlacquered brass hardware to add character, and overall, flat surfaces with little to no detailed trim pieces (this kept the overall design very minimal and seamless). For my neutral paint colors, I picked Accessible Baige and Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams. I didn’t want to go white, and I didn’t want to go black; however, I do love that combo. I felt the accessible beige gave me a warm neutral look, and the iron ore was a subtle, warm black. 

​If you found yourself reading to this point, then I am guessing you are about to start on your kitchen. Whether you are building new or remodeling, I hope this gave you some encouragement to make all your favorite design choices for a modern European-style kitchen. 

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Photo Credit: @officialfleeman

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