Jessica Alba’s Take on This “Dated” Kitchen Trend Feels Brand New
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The modern farmhouse trend rose to prominence in the late 2010s right alongside Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Fixer Upper fame. The trend brought us rustic wood elements, wrought iron and brass metals, and white and gray kitchens — like, a lot of white and gray kitchens. So much so that gray and white — two classic (and generally timeless) colors for kitchen cabinets — started to feel sort of outdated.
But then I came across Jessica Alba’s take on a gray kitchen and my opinion totally changed. Something about her cabinetry really works and feels fresh. And that’s because her take is bold and artistic, a trend 131 designers forecasted would be an upcoming kitchen trend for 2024 according to Apartment Therapy’s State of Home Design report. Paired with the creamy white zellige backsplash, warm hardwood floors, brass fixtures, and black appliances, Alba’s dark blue-gray cabinetry is loud without being too far outside the grayscale comfort zone.
“[Blue is] a little coastal, English, traditional, and timeless,” designer Paige Garland of Paige Garland Interior Design in Chicago, told Apartment Therapy. “It’s adventurous without being too bold, so it’s a comfortable color that will fit a lot of different homes and client’s tastes.”
And because the cabinetry design itself is super modern, without any beveling or trim, it acts as a blank canvas, allowing Alba to switch up her accessories or fixtures to create something new without having to undergo an entire remodel to change the vibe.
Jeremiah Brent also leaned back into gray when redesigning his studio earlier this year. He opted for a tone that picks up the warmth of the reddish-brown marble, and honestly, gray has never looked more cozy.
Natural wood finishes, which also make an appearance in Alba’s kitchen, are also forecasted to be big in 2024, and designers recommend playing around with mixing and matching stains to create texture. Adding wood and natural elements into a gray kitchen is another great way to warm the color up and make it feel more homey. So … gray is officially back! But before you crack open a new can of paint to cover up your modern farmhouse phase, take a step back and take a few pieces of advice from experts to make that old gray work for the new you.
