Inside the dopamine kitchen: How bold colours and joy-driven design are redefining home spaces
Black, grey and stainless steel kitchen kit is out – these days the most popular gadgets and cookware are bright, bold and bursting with colour. But what's behind this ever-growing trend?
Scroll through your favourite kitchenware brand's website or Instagram feed and you might spot a bit of a theme: cookware and appliances are no longer confined to a predictable palette of black, grey and stainless steel – they're popping with colours of every shade.
From pastel-hued air fryers like the Wonder Oven, to sage green and cool blue frying pans from the likes of ProCook, these pieces of kit are designed to stand out on your countertop, rather than blend in.
Even Ninja is getting in on the action, having released four new colourways of its 4-in-1 Crispi air fryer in mid October – 'ginger snap', 'frosted lilac', 'cherry crush' and pink (pictured below).
But when did cookware and appliances become as much about looks as well as practicality, and what does it say about how we use and think about our kitchens in 2025?
Where did it all begin?
Of course, colourful kitchenware isn't a new phenomenon – covetable heritage brands like Le Creuset and KitchenAid have been leading the charge for decades, and their enduring appeal is proof that colour can be timeless as well as trendy.
Volcanic orange has been the hallmark shade of Le Creuset since it began in 1925, though these days there are now roughly 20 colours to choose from, including nectar yellow, cerise red and bamboo green.
Le Creuset also releases limited-edition colours throughout the year, often to match the season, including Rhône, a deep berry red for spring, and this autumn's hero shade, Nuit, a deep navy blue inspired by the night's sky.
Since 1955, KitchenAid, too, has been offering a kaleidoscope of colours across its range of stand mixers, food processors, hand mixers and more, from reds and pinks to creams, blues and greens.
For the past six years it's also launched a limited-edition colour of the year, which in 2025 was named 'Butter yellow' – a soft hue with a glossy finish, designed to evoke feelings of comfort and nostalgia.
The dopamine décor trend
There's a lot to be said for how colour can make us feel, and that in part is what this shift towards colourful kitchenware is all about. Soft blues and greens might emulate calm and relaxation in a space, where yellows and oranges can bring energy and warmth.
Since the pandemic there's been an uplift in searches for dopamine décor, too, so named after the 'happy hormone' dopamine, which focuses on turning your environment into somewhere that makes you feel good.
'Mix and maximalist' and 'primary play', which celebrate bold, eclectic colours and prints, were also coined as Pinterest Predicts trends at the start of 2025, both of which feel very dopamine décor coded.
But embracing this trend needn't require a major renovation or fresh lick of paint – even a small injection of colour, be it with a toaster, air fryer or casserole dish, can bring a sense of joy and happiness into your kitchen.
Kitchens are now social spaces
How we use and what we get from our kitchens has also changed. The kitchen is no longer a hidden away, purely functional setting, but instead a central hub in which we entertain, socialise and enjoy food as part of a group.
With that in mind, it makes sense that we'd want it to feel like a welcoming environment that reflects who we are, and colour is a great way to flaunt our own personal sense of style.
For Shiza Shahid, founder of Our Place, communal cooking and eating was the inspiration for the US brand's hugely popular cookware range, which includes the Always Pan and Perfect Pot.
"A central part of our mission has always been to make cooking and sharing a meal with the people you love a more joyful experience," she says. "For over a century, cookware has looked the same – black and steel pans – but we wanted more in our kitchens and homes, so we started Our Place to reimagine kitchenware that's beautiful, innovative and clean."
Much like KitchenAid, Our Place also recently launched its own butter yellow collection in partnership with Crocs and US cook Molly Baz, which Shiza says is "an invitation to bring creativity and fun into the kitchen".
The social media effect
Our Place has played a huge part in this shift towards aesthetically pleasing colourful cookware. It's also the perfect example of a brand that's thought about how a product appears on people's social media feeds – not just on a website.
Kitchen content is thriving on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with the average recipe video racking up billions of views per day. Cooking has been named as the most popular form of influencer content on social media, too, according to a report from 2024, so it stands to reason that – for some of us – where we cook has become less about functionality and more like a stage for self-expression.
Colourful kitchen kit that we're loving right now
ProCook Soho Cookware frying pan
Available from ProCook (£29)
This attractive ceramic frying pan in four colours – blue, green, cream and pink – but just one size (24cm), which probably makes it best suited for smaller households. In test we found the non-stick performance super effective and hardly needed any butter when frying an omelette.
Available from:
Salter British Bakes digital kitchen scales
Available from Salter (£19.99)
If you're a regular baker you'll have no issues keeping these colourful kitchen scales on the countertop – there are five fun shades to choose from, including bright yellow, deep blue, baby pink, bright red and pastel green (pictured). The glass platform is also easy to clean and, while the functionality is basic, they get the job done.
Available from:
Our Place Wonder Oven
Available from Our Place (£195), Selfridges (£195), Harrods (£195)
Our Place has injected the same colourful design of the Always Pan into its first air fryer, the Wonder Oven, and we're big fans. Available in four colours – steam, char, blue salt and spice – the air fryer also comes with a range of accessories, including a non-stick baking tray, air fryer basket and wire rack.
Read our first-look review of the Our Place Wonder Oven and our guide to the best air fryers to find out how it fared in test.
Available from:
Smeg BCC13 bean-to-cup coffee machine
Available from AO (£799), Smeg (£799.95)
Smeg is a brand known for its statement 50s-style appliances, usually available in a range of shades, and the BCC13 bean-to-cup machine is no different.
Released as an upgrade of the brand's original BCC02 coffee machine, it comes in four matte colours (emerald green, blue, black and white) and has smooth, rounded edges that make it feel compact on the worktop. It also has 10 drink options and two menus that you can flit between, as well as automatic milk steaming for lattes and cappuccinos.
Available from:
Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 air fryer
Available from Amazon (£129.99), John Lewis & Partners (£149), Ninja (£149.99), Currys (£149.99), Argos (£179.99)
With a choice of four colours – blue, green, beige and pink – the Crispi is one of Ninja's newest and most innovative air fryers. Rather than drawers or baskets, it comes with two glass containers and crisper trays so you can watch your food crisp or puff up in real time.
The containers also have lids, so you can use them as storage solutions for lunches, picnics or saving leftovers in the fridge.
Available from:
KitchenAid Digital Variable Temperature Kettle
Available from KitchenAid (£179)
We had to include a KitchenAid appliance in this list and this eye-catching kettle is among the most stylish we've tested for our best kettles guide. It's ideal for those who love speciality teas as it has variable temperature controls, as well an easy to adjust lever and light-up display.
The body of the kettle a sleek glossy finish and there's a choice of six colours – empire red, pistachio, matte black, almond cream, stainless steel and porcelain white. You can also buy a matching toaster, which our reviews team rated 4.5/5.
Available from:
De'Longhi Ballerina Seta toaster
Available from De'Longhi (£59.99)
Seta translates to silk in Italian, which goes some way to explaining the flowing satin-style casing of this four-slot De'Longhi toaster. We tested it in silk blue but other colours in the range include laguna green, furnace black, opaline white and silk beige.
Among the features are defrost, reheat and cancel, as well as a high-lift option for bread retrieval and two removable crumb trays – which slide out for easy clean up.
Available from:
Kenwood Quick Mix Go hand mixer
Available from Amazon (£37.95), Kenwood (£39.99)
Available in two colours, storm blue or clay red, this compact hand mixer from Kenwood is part of the brand's Go collection. There are five speed settings and two attachments (a whisk/beater and dough hook), both of which handled our mixtures with ease on test. It also comes with cord storage and a lid that slots securely on top, so you can keep it on display without cluttering up the counter.
Available from:
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