The kitchen is one of the most important — and most used — rooms in your home. An inefficient or uninviting kitchen may prevent you from eating healthy or enjoying quality time with friends and family.

You can easily transform a traditional living room in to a modern one, with a new paint color, different accessories, maybe even a change of furniture or rug.

The kitchen, however, requires substantial investment and renovation to achieve the same transformative result. Kitchen cabinets, countertops, and layout are a more permanent reflection of the home’s design style.

For this reason, careful forethought must be considered when designing a new kitchen to ensure it will be an enjoyable place to gather the family, prepare healthy meals, and spend the many hours that are required for that room for years to come.

We have seen many kitchen design trends come and go, it’s always a challenge to predict what trends will endure the test of time.

Here are 6 kitchen design trends that we predict will last into 2020 and beyond.

Think about incorporating some of these beautiful and efficient design trends so you can enjoy your kitchen, and even increase your home’s resale value.

1. POPS OF COLOR

White kitchens are still popular, creating an open, clean feeling in a kitchen. But know, we are seeing color popping everywhere up in white kitchens. Paint an island or accent wall, or install a colorful backsplash to brighten up the space.

A safe but yet trendy color to go is blue. Dark and navy blues have infiltrated the pages of interior design magazines over that past few years and top designers are utilizing this timeless hue in beautifully appointed luxury kitchens. We have seen a rise in dark blue cabinetry throughout the last couple years and predict it will grow in popularity in 2020. Dark blue cabinets can be used as an accent color on an island, or they can be incorporated throughout. Coincidentally, dark blue cabinetry pairs quite nicely with trendy gold hardware giving an upscale and regal look.

Other kitchen space color pairings that work well are blue and black, gray and brown, and white and black. Jewel tones, like deep brown cabinets paired with a blue and green mosaic backsplash, can also work well together to create a clean, fresh kitchen atmosphere.

2. GOLD AND COPPER

A more sophisticated version of the bright brass hardware that was popular in the late twentieth century, today’s modern gold hardware and faucets is a bit more muted and often has a matte finish. Like jewelry in the fashion world, gold knobs and pulls can either be mixed and matched with other metallic finishes such as stainless steel or copper.

These colors work well in most kitchens, whether you have dark or light countertops. Use them in small doses — cabinet pulls or faucets.

3. QUARTZ COUNTERTOP

Quartz has been making its way into more and more kitchens, and it doesn’t show signs of stopping — and it’s no surprise why. Quartz was introduced as a high-end alternative to granite. It is durable, easy to maintain, difficult to damage, beautiful, and less expensive than marble or granite. Quartz now comes in many colors, patterns, and finishing techniques that mimic’s the look of natural stone. One of the most current and trending finishes right now is matte.

If you’re planning on updating your countertops this year, quartz is a great option.

4. OPEN SHELVING

The steady disappearance of upper cabinets has been a design trend that we have seen gain popularity in the last several years. Perhaps driven by the farmhouse movement, open shelving is growing more popular as younger homeowners rebel against the cramped and confined kitchens of their childhood. Open shelving provides an opportunity to add personality to a kitchen with thoughtfully displayed décor and accessories. Beautiful collections of mugs and spices are not only celebrated, but when stored on open shelving they are also more easily accessible. Kitchens are almost being turned into an art gallery where your everyday products are being displayed in such a way that it looks like art.

5. FULL WALL BACKSPLASHES

Beautiful and functional, full wall backsplashes not only provide a dramatic accent wall in the kitchen, they also are easier to clean and more durable than painted walls. Driven by the trend to eliminate upper cabinetry, backsplashes are now given the opportunity to extend uninterrupted from countertop to ceiling. The breathtaking natural beauty of a large slab of marble can be showcased on the wall like a work of art. Classic tile adds texture and character to the kitchen when it is allowed to be featured on the large expanse of an open wall.

We also love the trend of Spanish and Moroccan tiles to take center stage in your backsplash. The color, design, and patterns make a big impact.

6. SMART TECHNOLOGY

Smart technology makes everything in our lives easier, and it has entered the kitchen in full force and not just in the form of fancy gadgets and appliances. Today, you can have a kitchen with technology integrated into every function and appliance–from the faucets to the fridge to the lighting.

Easy add-ons are motion sense-equipped kitchen faucets that can sense the presence of hands underneath or pre-programmed amount of water, (to fill a pot, dog bowl, etc.), offering touch or wave on/off functionality and including smart sensors that prevent accidental flooding. Refrigerators that can alert you when your groceries items are running low or a coffee maker programmed to have your coffee ready when you wake up. There is also a gadget that monitors your eggs, telling you which ones are almost going bad. Do not forget the lighting system–allowing you to control all the lights from your smartphone or tablet to make your time in the kitchen more efficient (and fun!).