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In design psychology there is a  concept called visual endurance. High-contrast or "hero" features demand constant cognitive processing, which eventually leads to aesthetic fatigue.
From this perspective, a kitchen’s psychological longevity is intrinsically linked to its neutrality. Humans tend to experience sensory fatigue when exposed to high-saturation colors, aggressive patterns, or oversized architectural features like elaborate range hoods. A neutral, restrained palette preserves 'visual silence,' allowing the space to remain timeless rather than exhausting.

There's pros and cons to everything.  Beautiful countertops can look busy so you get tired of them, but plain ones can seem boring so you get tired of them.

2 things
The smart kitchen,  the idea of doing everything on a phone or with an app gets annoying.  What if the power goes out. Keep things simple.

Heavy looking islands. Waterfall, busy stone. It looks like a massive weight in the kitchen.  Proportion is so important.  

As always you bring great advise. 👍

I like the idea of using a small amount of open shelving to help add wood accents to the kitchen.

I love the all white because you know when it’s clean.

Here’s the thing. Millenials grew up in cluttered homes that were full of a million colors and patterns and items that felt suffocating. So, a plain white kitchen was a swing in the other direction. Then they realized there was no personality or depth so then gray, black, and green came on to the scene. But it wasn’t their personality or taste bringing on these colors, it was trends. I think the warm kitchens that feel dingy or you feel like you need to turn on a light to see properly are the next trend. People need to go to art galleries, look at their hobbies, maybe even look at their record collection… gather inspiration from their actual passions, THEN ask how to make your personality look classic and timeless. I’m so tired of these trends.

I have two "open shelves" in my current kitchen design, but I'm planning on using them for plants or holiday decorations, not for pantry items or dishes.

Yes, part of my kitchen is black and it shows absolutely everything

An all-white kitchen once the dog comes in from a rainy walk and shakes off his wet fur.  Delightful...

I  took the cupboard doors off my plates cabinet, cant remember why. But when i put them back everyone in the house complained. So took them off again. Turns out open shelves on the most frequently used items in the kitchen is kind of practical and since all that crockery matches in colour its also visually soothing and adds texture without clutter. Whereas with the doors on, it was overly static and heavy. It also helps that this is not visible from the rest of the living space. You only see it if you are standing in the kitchen.

I am going for waterfall on my leathered Taj Mahal because the side of the counter faces the gathering room and will elongate the view of my rather small kitchen. The quartzite is the main feature to soften the wood from the Hickory cabinets. I think, hope this feature will add to the overall peaceful organic feel I am shooting for.

Regarding all-white kitchens:  I'm 68 years old, and I don't think I have ever known anyone who had their kitchen redone.  As for me, I have a few cabinets, ONE kitchen drawer, and a white washer/dryer combo exactly two feet in front of my white refrigerator. My entire open (walkable) kitchen floor space is about 30 sq. feet (on the other side of the peninsula is a small eating area).  I really could use a second kitchen drawer, though -- but as for "all-white," I'd rather keep my money.

I do wonder what percentage of homeowners have ever used a designer or redone their kitchens completely.  It seems to me that, at any given point in time, what is a "trend" in kitchen design is not relevant to the vast majority of homeowners, who simply aren't in the market for a new kitchen.

I have laminate in my kitchen and baths, we redid it about 15 years ago and it still looks great. When we redid it we had the installer bring it up the wall to the bottom of the cabinets and used it in the window sills too. It makes cleaning a breeze and still looks nice....back then it cost about $1,500 for 42 linear feet of countertop.

A black kitchen can be incredibly practical when the right material is used. Black FENIX NTM, for example, has an ultra-matte, fingerprint-resistant surface that stays looking clean and refined in everyday use. Beautiful, durable, and very easy to live with.

I have always disliked white kitchens, and do not care for gray, blue, or black.  I recently painted my cabinets a soft grayish green, SW "Evergreen Fog", which I do like.  Waterfalls are appalling.

The thing w/ waterfall counters is you also lose the use of the side of the cabinet -- so it's not functional for smaller kitchens where you might want to place a shelf on the side of the cabinet w/ plates, etc. for people to grab as they work around the island. (This assumes custom cabinetry that has access/use on 2 sides -- but the waterfall really forces a loss of opportunity in smaller to mid-size kitchens, especially w/ family and lots of people using the space at the same time).

I have a glossy light blue rippled backsplash in my whote kitchen.  Looks fresh and suits my coastal beachy Hampton theme.

Preach, brother!  I'm spending a lot of time these days back in America which means a ridiculous amount of HGTV, which is the only TV channel where people aren't shouting at each other.  The amount of tasteless buyers and renovators going "OMG I want an all white kitchen (cause the television is telling me that's what I want and I can't think for myself)" causes me to despair.  I had all-white once.  you see EVERYTHING on the countertop.  Never again.

there is a very good reason you have not done rustic farmhouse kitchen in UK