As Chicago kitchen remodeling professionals, we have two jobs; remain up-to-date with current product and design trends, and facilitate the design-build process for our clients so they wind up with a kitchen that is built and finished exactly right for their household's preferences.

If you're planning to remodel your kitchen this year, take a moment to study up on this year's top remodeling trends. While you don't have to abide by every trend, it's worth paying attention to the ones that will stick around for a while. For one thing, they're popular because they work and secondly, they'll be popular with future homebuyers.

Timeless Kitchen Trends to Consider for Chicago Kitchen Remodeling Projects

Here are some of the trends that we feel will become timeless, and that are worth considering for you own new kitchen design.

The Open Concept Kitchen

While completely open floor plans may not be up your alley, or even possible - based on your home's architecture - open concept kitchens are the norm. More than half of kitchen remodels last year involved open concept floor plans, meaning the kitchen opened up to at least one other living area.

If you're home doesn't have an open floor plan, but you like the idea of opening things up, read, Should I Remove a Wall to Open up the Space? Your kitchen designer will also offer ideas for opening things up a bit without knocking out entire walls, perhaps by using wall cut-outs, expanding doorways between the kitchen and adjacent spaces, using pony-walls, etc.

Durable Countertops and Flooring

While homeowners love the look of marble countertops and hardwood floors, ease of cleaning and maintenance are the priority for Millennial homeowners. Thus, there is an upswing in quartz countertops and ceramic tile floors. In our opinion, engineered wood is pretty darn easy to maintain and it's durable as well. If you like the look of hardwood, we'd recommend sticking with the quartz countertop trend but installing pre-finished, engineered wood floors to get the best of both function and form.

Built-in Pantries

We used to love walk-in pantries because they were so efficient. Now, kitchen storage options have become so efficient that built-in pantries are a hot item. Incredibly space-saving, built-in pantries hold an unbelievable amount of goods and ergonomic, pull-out sections are designed to store the pantry items you use most.

Kitchen Islands

While baby boomers can go either way with kitchen islands, Millennial homeowners prefer them. Perhaps this is connected to the open concept preferences noted above. Roughly 40% of kitchen remodels added a kitchen island if they didn't have one already, and breakfast bars were another hot item (23%).

Layered Kitchen Lighting Plans

Lighting plans are a bigger focus than they've ever been in the past. Homeowners can customize ceiling-mounted, suspended, recessed, undercabinet and toe-kick lighting to enjoy both task, safety and ambient lighting, depending on the need.

Working with a Chicago kitchen remodeling professional will help you determine which trends make the most sense for your kitchen design.