Interior designer Kelly Taylor, owner of Kelly Taylor Interior Design, told BI that kitchen floors aren't an ideal place to incorporate detailed patterns into your home.

"Just don't do it! If you want a pattern on the floor, change up the wood to a herringbone, or choose a stone with a tone-on-tone pattern, like a water-jet mosaic," Taylor said. 

Bold flooring patterns, like a checkered print, can be costly to replace when they go out of style.

Concrete kitchen countertops are on the rise among their marble, quartz, and granite counterparts.

However, Taylor said, concrete countertops are expensive and hard to maintain.

"Counters are expensive. Even if the concrete countertop trend continues to persist, concrete is going to be wrecked so fast that you'll want to replace it in two years," Taylor told BI. "It is incredibly porous and just not going to look like anything but a mess, trendy or not."

Lisa Odor, senior interior designer at MA Design, told BI that open shelves with highly-curated items could lead to regrets down the road.

"They look great for Instagram when they are nicely organized and picturesque with your three favorite cookbooks and some cute knickknacks, but they aren't functional and will only collect dust and more things," she said.

Instead, Odor recommends capitalizing on closed storage options in a kitchen. 

Interior designer Reya Duena of Reya Duena Designs cautioned against the popular built-in-booth trend. 

"While they look nice now, the fabrics will get dirty, wear, and start to look dated. They have to be well designed in order to pull this off," Duena told BI.

Consider fabric and material options when creating a breakfast nook or built-in booth, and choose stain-resistant, sturdy materials.

Mixed metals can add a contemporary look to your aesthetic, but it's possible to combine too many metal finishes.

Duenas suggests sticking to two metal finishes at most, as anything more can look "uncoordinated." Also, make sure your finishes work together harmoniously. 

"Be sure that brass and champagne finishes match one another. Nothing is worth than several brass tones that don't match," Duenas told BI.

Some large kitchens incorporate two islands instead of one — but this is an expensive and hard-to-undo design choice. 

"Double islands are nice if you have the space, but also expensive and permanent. You need to commit to the layout, and there isn't room for making changes," Duena said.

Instead, Duena recommends choosing a less-permanent piece of furniture, like a large table or cabinet, to add more counterspace and visual interest with less commitment. 

Rhea Vaflor, associate principal and director of trendcasting at Hickok Cole, said aspects of the industrial-farmhouse trend may be difficult to manage over time. 

In particular, the industrial-style matte-black finishes show "scratches more easily, and if the quality isn't high enough, the finish can flake off." 

Instead, Vaflor recommends choosing polished- or brass-nickel fixtures, which tend to be more timeless and durable. 

Social media portrays the beauty and cleanliness of an all-white kitchen aesthetic, but Vaflor told BI this trend could lead to regrets.

"White shows everything, and in the messiest room in the house, it's especially unforgiving, even more so if everything surrounding it is stark white in contrast," Vaflor said.

All-white kitchens can also be difficult to maintain over time. 

"It's incredibly challenging to match whites, so if you have to replace a cabinet door or paint a scratch, it's not likely you'll find the exact white," Valfor said. 

It may be more practical to only do white upper cabinets and colored lower cabinets or to stick with a white countertop and darker backsplashes. 

Jackie Lopey, founder of and interior designer at Wide Canvas, told BI that complementary colors — red and green, orange and blue, purple and yellow — intensify each other and are visually appealing on our Instagram feeds but feel different when you live with them.

When the excitement wears off, replacing kitchen cabinets, countertops, and backsplashes is expensive.

Instead, Lopey recommends selecting a neutral color palette and adding a signature shade to one fixed element.

Interior designer Randi Destefano said sliding doors can work in a pantry, but you might want to skip anything too rustic unless it fits your kitchen's aesthetic. 

"Rustic barn doors for pantries don't always fit the kitchen style. Some trend followers only see rustic and think they need to have it. They forget that the rest of the kitchen is not rustic," Destefano told BI.

Before committing to a pantry door, do some research to understand the available options rather than defaulting to the popular rustic style.

Erin Davis, owner and lead designer at Mosaik Design & Remodeling, said light-colored cabinetry has been a popular trend for years but it's not the most practical one. 

"Homeowners may regret having a light color on the lower cabinetry as it can quickly show wear and tear. A great alternative is combining wood cabinetry on the base with lighter-painted uppers," Davis told BI.

Green kitchens may be trendy, but Davis cautioned against overdoing it.

"Avoid too much green in the kitchens, especially with painted walls as they can cast a light on to your food that is unappealing," they told BI.

This story was originally published on January 31, 2023, and most recently updated on January 10, 2025.

Chef Meredith Laurence of Blue Jean Chef told BI that bacon and air fryers are a perfect match. 

"There's no tidier way to cook bacon than in an air fryer," she said. "The air fryer limits the splatter around your kitchen and makes the bacon crispy."

You can air-fry it on a flat tray, but using a wire rack will allow the excess fat to drip away and may result in crispier bacon.

Christina Stanco, executive chef at Central Kitchen and Bar in Detroit, told BI that she loves making mini egg frittatas in the air fryer. 

"Mini egg frittatas are quick and easy in the air fryer," she said. "Just pour whisked eggs and diced peppers into cupcake papers, top with cheese, and air-fry."

You can experiment with adding your own favorite toppings to the mini frittatas, like bacon bits or fresh herbs.

Breakfast burritos are the ultimate portable morning meal, and they're easy to make in the air fryer. 

"Air-fryer breakfast burritos are a favorite of mine," Stanco told BI. "Just roll up scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese into a flour tortilla and cook it in the air fryer." 

She suggested trying to avoid adding wet ingredients like salsa or sliced tomato before cooking as excess moisture may result in less crispy burritos.

French-toast sticks are a fun breakfast treat that you can throw together with common kitchen staples. 

"Simply cut bread slices into fingers and then soak them in a French-toast egg mixture before coating them in crushed Corn Flakes or other cereal flakes," Laurence told BI. 

Air-fry the sticks at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for eight to nine minutes, so they're crispy but not dry, and serve them with maple syrup or Greek yogurt and berries.

For a decadent morning treat, Laurence suggested baking a few cinnamon rolls in your air fryer. 

"Roll out the dough, brush it with butter, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top," she said. "After forming the rolls and letting them rise, pop them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit."

You can use your own homemade dough or opt for a premade variety to save time. Finish off the cinnamon rolls with a sweet glaze or cream-cheese frosting.

Home fries are seasoned and fried potato chunks often served alongside eggs or meat at breakfast. 

"Home fries are a must in the air fryer," Stanco told BI. "Be sure to season the chopped potatoes with herbs and spices before cooking them."

She suggested using a "floury" variety of potatoes, such as an Idaho russet, for the best texture and flavor.

Eggs in a basket — also known as egg in a hole — is a quick breakfast dish that looks a lot fancier than it is.

"You can make 'eggs in a basket' very easily in the air fryer by making indentations in a few slices of bread, cracking eggs into the indents, and air frying," Laurence said. 

The chef recommended cooking the eggs for five to seven minutes at about 380 degrees.

For a twist on this recipe, swap the slices of toast for hollowed-out bread rolls.

Using an air fryer to cook your breakfast sausages can help you avoid excess fat and grease.

"Placing the sausages in a perforated or mesh basket allows the fat to drip away, helping them crisp up faster," Laurence told BI. 

You can also use an air fryer to add a bit of extra crispiness to vegetarian or vegan sausages. The plant-based varieties usually have less fat, so give them a light spray of oil before air-frying. 

Chef Hayato Yoshida, cofounder of Wagyu Beef, told BI that an air fryer can easily turn sweet potatoes into a tasty morning meal. 

"Instead of throwing them in the oven or microwave — which might make them soggy — put them in the air fryer instead," he said.

You can also shred your sweet potatoes and air-fry them as hash browns or nests.

Skip the line at the coffee shop and make your own fresh doughnuts at home. 

"Instead of going through the hassle of deep-frying, consider air-frying a couple of fluffy doughnuts," Yoshida told BI. "They're delicious and will definitely help satisfy your morning sweet tooth."

Try using canned biscuit dough shaped or cut into rings if you're short on time. 

You can add a glaze to your doughnuts by dipping them in a mixture of powdered sugar and water or milk, but be sure to wait until they've fully cooled before glazing. 

If you're looking to break out of a breakfast rut, consider using an air fryer to make breakfast egg rolls.

"Breakfast egg rolls are a great handheld breakfast option for those on the move," Yoshida told BI. "I love air-frying egg rolls and enjoying them as a treat in the morning."

To make them, scramble eggs with your choice of chopped vegetables or meats, portion the mixture into egg-roll wrappers, fold and roll them up, and air-fry until golden.

This story was originally published on January 6, 2021, and most recently updated on January 10, 2025. 

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