The kitchen is a major focal point of a home—after all, it's where meals are made to nourish your family, and where guests (when you can host them safely again) tend to gather, no matter how carefully you've arranged your living room. Because of that, the kitchen is a key selling point, which may intimidate some people from thinking outside the box when it comes to kitchen design.

But here's the thing: Kitchen design experts say 2021 is not the year to hold back. You may appreciate your kitchen’s look now and think, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” But the new year represents hope and new beginnings unlike any other in recent memory. So when it comes to updating the heart of your home, allow yourself to get creative and break some rules.

Rule No. 1 to break: You must have bulky upper cabinets

What’s a kitchen without necessary storage space for all your glasses, mugs, and plates to live? Sure, you need a place to put all of your dinnerware, but there is such a thing as too much cabinetry. And eliminating cabinetry can actually significantly improve the look of your kitchen.

"The formulaic approach to kitchen storage includes upper-wall cabinets, but that's one of my favorite design rules to break,” says Houston-based interior designer Nina Magon. “I like to eliminate the upper cabinets altogether; it makes the space feel larger."

Typically kitchen storage includes upper-wall cabinets, but sometimes elimiating them all together makes the space feel larger

Getting rid of upper cabinets frees up wall space for something visually stunning like art or a full-slab backsplash that extends to the ceiling in a dramatic colorway, Magon adds. “It instantly elevates the aesthetic.”

But where will all your salad bowls and small appliances live?

Magon suggests maximizing storage in an island or base cabinets, where everything is easier to reach.

Rule No. 2 to break: The kitchen island must be stationary

While you might think islands need to be fixed to the floor with cabinets below, that design doesn’t always work in smaller kitchens.

Look beyond traditional design to create spaces that are more flexible and use things that are multipurpose

A floating island can serve as a homework station by day and food prep station at mealtime—the perfect multitasking piece for quarantine.

Rule No. 3 to break: Keep the kitchen all white

When redoing a kitchen, the first thing you might be thinking about is color scheme. White is always a popular and safe choice. For designers, the all-white kitchen is often her first design rule to break, and she expects others to do so in 2021.

Time to try some dark colors and different finishes.

Rule No. 4 to break: Match all your kitchen finishes

Faucets, lighting fixtures, cabinet hardware, and appliances in the kitchen should all match, right? Wrong! Mixing these finishes is highly encouraged from here on out.

Sticking to one finish may seem like the safe and easy route, but mixing metals can completely elevate a kitchen's aesthetic.

“The key to breaking this rule is installing a design element that brings the two metals together, such as a light fixture that incorporates both,” says Paranjape.

Rule No. 5 to break: Install lights just for function

Most people use lighting to illuminate their kitchen so they can see what they're cooking, but accent lighting can also be used in this space to give it more visual interest.