The heart of the home gets new color, cubbies, connectivity

As French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud puts it, “Kitchens should be designed around what’s truly important — fun, food, and life.”

Kitchens now might not play the center-of-everything roles that they did during the early days of the pandemic. But even if you’re spending more time away, you’ll likely have become a little more attached and invested in the kitchen than you were in 2019.

Some of what’s new in kitchen design and outfitting:

COOKING WITH COLOR

For a few years now, the monotone, all-white kitchen has been popular, with Instagram feeds full of white-and-cream cabinetry and pale woods. It looked clean, and like it meant business – a culinary clinic, if you will, and a far cry from the mid-2000s combo of cherry cabinets and granite counters.

But there’s a shift. The standard, nickel-plated hardware in a white kitchen might now be replaced with matte black and brass,