Animal Crossing: New Horizons is all about celebrating creativity and design. And with the 2.0 update bringing cooking to the game, our islander kitchens are now far more relevant than ever. So let’s take a look at some of the best New Horizons kitchens found on YouTube!

10. Kitchen and Veggie Garden by Kat Crossing

Starting off our list is the kitchen and veggie garden by Kat Crossing! There are plenty of things to like about this one, though some might not see it at first.

Unique

Very few kitchens seem to come with an indoor garden. The jungle core look they have going on really completes this unique idea. Neither the garden nor the jungle theme is common for kitchens, so combining them makes it even more original. The safari outfit the creator’s avatar wears only goes to complete this design!

Creative

Not only is the theme unique, but so is the execution. Their methods for creating this kitchen were very creative. Being unable to put real vegetable patches inside didn’t stop them from bringing their vision to life. They used Mum cushions and Tree’s bounty lamps to simulate cabbages and bush vegetables.

Great Color Palette

Kat Crossing makes sure to maintain an array of cohesive and complimentary colors. They not only work with each other but with the theme as well. The various shades of greens and browns both go well with each other and the theme, simulating wilderness/jungle kitchen and garden vibes perfectly!

9. Beachy and Tropicore Kitchen by theresa of erised

Coming in at number nine is the beachy and tropicore kitchen by theresa of erised! This kitchen seems to focus more on vacation vibes. With its bright colors and appealing theme, this kitchen certainly earned its spot on this list!

Popular Theme

As I’ve said before, everyone likes a good tropical beach build. This kitchen certainly gives off that energy! Complete with white birch furniture and a palm tree light, every item serves to bring this tropical green fantasy to life!

Amazing Colors

Part of the success of this room is its colors. Not only do all the white furniture and wall panels serve to brighten the room up, but the vivid, luminescent blues and greens give the room  cheerful and almost festive energy. And with the theme being “tropical beach”, this is exactly the energy you’ll want!

Versatile Theme

While you might wonder how ‘tropical beach’ is a versatile theme- after all, it seems highly specific- it’s actually very easy to see how. Aside from many people commonly choosing a tropical beach theme for their island, those without the theme could use it as well.

The answer is simple: a themed cafe! Whether you have a city island or desert island or something else entirely, themed cafes and restaurants- tropical-themed cafes or restaurants- will be right at home with you!

8. Creepy Witch Kitchen by CryptidGames

Up next is yet another themed kitchen. This one is certainly a departure from the warm climate themes we’ve reviewed so far. The creepy witch kitchen by CryptidGames will certainly delight any lover of Halloween, scary things, and spooky lighting!

A Popular Theme

While not everyone is a fan of the spooky side of things, we can all still agree that “scary” themed things are very popular. While this was the only witch-themed kitchen build I came across on YouTube, it’s definitely not the only one out there.

However, this personal spin on a popular theme means that it’s appealing to a wide range of people, and where would this list be without a single spooky kitchen? Those looking for a little inspiration for the creepy cooking will want to take a peek at this one!

Creative

While spooky items in New Horizons certainly exist, they’re admittedly a bit tacky or over-the-top for many players. The jack-o-lantern pattern on most if not all of the items makes it expressly holiday decor, instead of something to use daily.

This meant that CryptidGames had to get a bit creative in the execution of this kitchen- and they did! With mushroom lamps, glowing moss and vine furniture, and even wedding candles, they managed to pull together a series of unrelated items into a beautifully creepy kitchen! The dim, colored lighting was a creatively lovely touch- no one else on this list has utilized this new feature!

No Paywall Items

While Animal Crossing: New Horizons isn’t a game that will charge you real money to use a bunch of separate packs or features like the Sims, it still has a DLC plus amiibo-exclusive items. This means that not everyone has access to the features or furniture sets available in those amiibo cards or DLCs- with the amiibos being notoriously short-stocked at all times.

While this doesn’t matter for whoever is building the kitchen, it could certainly matter to players who hope to emulate this look. The only visible DLC-related feature of this room is the colored lighting, which could be substituted with no lighting and maybe some more mushroom lamps.

7. Cozy Kitchen by Rose Wood

Sometimes it’s good to remember that islands don’t have to have themes. You’re free to build your island however you like. This next kitchen is such a case. The cozy kitchen by Rose Wood has more of an energy than a theme, and it’s clearly working wonders.

Simple

Sometimes simplicity is key. It’s common to hear people say “less is more”, which is exactly the case here. That’s not to say it’s empty- the room is in fact, fully furnished and decorated.

However, Rose Wood manages to create a room filled to the brim with plants, kitchen appliances, and more without looking too chaotic or cluttered.

Color Scheme

While the pale colors don’t necessarily scream “cozy” to me, that’s a very subjective matter. However, the white walls and furniture and pale herringbone flooring are what brighten up the room. It gives the kitchen a fresh, cool feeling that could be used for more than just the summer months.

Realistic

We’re all aware that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is just a video game. And while some players might prefer the fantasy aspects of a video game and enjoy indulging in the whimsical or less grounded aspects of simulators like these, many enjoy playing life simulators as closely to life as possible. Or at least where their furniture is concerned.

This kitchen is without the fantastical or unrelatable aspects other builds might bring, lacking boiling cauldrons or cushions fashioned into cabbages for a garden, but it’s no less deserving of its place on this list. This, in fact, can appeal to some people, and serve as inspiration for their own kitchens.

6. Festive Kitchen by Kohaku_crossing

While you might initially think a festive/Christmas-themed kitchen might look tacky or even be a waste of time considering the length of the holiday season is only a quarter of the year at best, Kohaku_crossing’s kitchen would prove you wrong.

Tasteful

Kohaku_crossing manages to decorate their kitchen without making it look as if Christmas has thrown up all over it. They focused instead on what it might look like if someone were to be preparing for the holidays instead of obsessively decorating for it.

In fact, despite it being a holiday build, there isn’t a single festive tree in sight. It gives the kitchen a festive spin while also keeping it classy and cozy since most of the layout focuses on the architecture of the room itself rather than the holiday cheer.

Creative

By subverting the typical cheesy and gaudy nature of an overly-decorated holiday-themed room, Kohaku_crossing leans into creativity to bring the room together while also sticking to the aesthetic. One of the most creative things they did included creating what they couldn’t have with forced perspective illusions.

With custom-designed panels, they made fake shelves of dinnerware, and with a series of counters, cardboard boxes, and rock-climbing walls they built a staircase at the far end of the room to make it appear as if there were still more rooms. This incredible idea makes the room feel even more unique.

Surprisingly Versatile

Despite it being a festive-themed kitchen, the designs and items used that were actually expressly festive were limited enough that you could easily replace or remove them for timelier substitutes with barely anything amiss. This makes it so that anyone who desires to replicate this build but also doesn’t want a permanent Christmas-themed kitchen could easily make it holiday-ready or suitable for regular use with a few simple changes. This would be a great idea for players that want some simple holiday cheer without the stress of both a digital and real-life home to decorate!

5. Home Kitchen by spookles

Marking the midway point of this list is the unnamed home kitchen designed by spookles. Its lack of a name doesn’t correlate to a poor appearance. In fact, as another kitchen without a theme, it’s perfectly adorable.

Refreshing and Unique

Though without a theme, it seems kitchens designed to just be kitchens often come with the same goal, which is to be bright and refreshing. However, spookles accomplishes this while also remaining unique. One of the main traits of this layout that stands out from the others is the use of yellow as  one of the main colors.

While many kitchens have used it as an accent color, none on this list have used it as commonly as spookles. While choosing yellow for a rug and some appliances might not seem like a big deal, the size of each item and the way they were deliberately used next to each other on one particular side of the kitchen makes the yellow stand out more against the rest of the room.

Simple

The simplicity of this kitchen is its biggest appeal- well, besides the bright color palette. This kitchen is pretty and fully decorated without coming across as “too busy” or requiring complicated forced perspective builds or custom paneling. Like all things, some people prefer simple designs over anything too elaborate.

No DLC Items

As stated before, some people prefer simplicity. But others might not even have access to it, especially if the elaborate designs include items from the Paradise Planning DLC or Sanrio amiibo. For players like these, this kitchen is perfect. It comes without any items behind any paywalls and still manages to be an awesome build.

4. Eclectic Kitchen by consolecaito

Coming in at number 4 on this list is the eclectic kitchen by consolecaito. While some might argue that “eclectic” is a theme, it’s definitely more like an aesthetic. Either way, whatever it is that consolecaito set out to achieve with this kitchen, they certainly accomplished it.

Unique Aesthetic

Few have tried to create a room with an “eclectic” aesthetic- and for good reason. When creating something with such a nebulous aesthetic as “eclectic”, it’s important to make sure everything is just right.

There’s a delicate balance between “quirky” and “ugly”, and the crucial part is to be able to distinguish the two. Luckily, consolecaito seems to be an expert.

Creative

Usually, when describing a creative layout in New Horizons, the expectation is of forced perspective illusions from custom panels or furniture substitutions for items that don’t exist in-game. However, this kitchen still manages to come across as creative despite having neither of those things and not just because of the aesthetic being unique.

For example, most kitchens aren’t expected to come with a jukebox, but this one does. Plenty of the items used in the kitchen don’t seem to come with a method or reason but somehow fit perfectly inside the design anyway. Being able to bring such assorted items together and make it look amazing is its own kind of creative genius.

Incredible Colors

While there doesn’t seem to be a particular color scheme, all of the shades somehow manage to compliment each other perfectly. From the deep fuschia of the argyle rug to the forest green of the piano benches and the mid-shade deep turquoise of the tiled walls, none of it seems even slightly out of place. Even the silver accent of the kitchen appliances doesn’t clash with anything seen consolecaito’s eclectic kitchen.

3. Cottagecore Kitchen by moonrise cove

Sliding into the third spot is the cottagecore kitchen by moonrise cove! This design is aptly named after its aesthetic, which is called cottagecore. As a life simulator and decorating game, many of the people that New Horizons attracts enjoy this aesthetic, making this one an obvious choice for the list.

A Popular Aesthetic

As previously stated, cottage core is a very popular aesthetic, even for people who aren’t part of the Animal Crossing community. This makes this kitchen very appealing to a great number of people. It holds the benefits of feeling cozy and mellow without looking plain or bleak.

Complimentary Colors

Coziness is a very good benefit, even for kitchens that aren’t cottagecore. Few things are sweeter than stepping into a nice, warm home after a long day. The color scheme selected by moonrise cove exemplifies and emphasizes this aspect.

They chose warm and rich colors such as deep browns and reds with accents of white and green. All of these colors are associated with coziness, and none of the shades are jarring or conflicting with one another.

Creative

This seems to be a common idea amongst the creators of this list, but it’s still a brilliant idea. Moonrise cove used custom-designed panels to emulate fake shelves. These custom designs were personally made by a player, which makes the high quality even more commendable. 

2. Cozy Kitchen with a Breakfast Nook by Ness

Cozy might not be a theme or even a unique trait, but Ness’ cozy kitchen with a breakfast nook is still unique enough to earn itself not only a spot on this list but in second place. This modern abode is creative, sleek, and interesting without being overly complicated.

Modern Monochrome

While not everyone relates to this, many people are very into the monochrome modern style of home design. Sticking to the simplicity of black and white and combining this with the sleek, streamlined “modern” look can be attractive from a minimalist angle, even if it’s not necessarily for everyone. Still, Ness manages to create this look to an extent without coming across as bland, which is the common complaint of poorly-done modern monochrome minimalist rooms.

Creative

You might not understand why this is so, at first- if you’re expressly not a fan of this style, you might not find anything creative about black and white and modern furniture at all. But it takes some innovation to work with this style without coming across as stale and dystopian. One of the most creative things about this room is the forced perspective illusion Ness creates of giant floor-to-ceiling windows.

They use a combination of pillars, partition walls, custom designs, and an accent wall to create the image of large windows overlooking natural scenery. It takes lots of work to pull this off successfully, which is why it’s not as common as some other forms of forced perspective illusions.

Breakfast Nook

This is perhaps the one point that isn’t confusing to readers. After all, who doesn’t love breakfast nooks? Even if you don’t, this kitchen will probably change your mind. A nice separated corner of the room to sit and enjoy your breakfast on a quiet morning is inexplicably appealing to some and isn’t used by most people in their own builds.

1. Ultimate Kitchen by Miss Acnh

Miss Acnh clearly knew what they were doing when they named their kitchen the ultimate kitchen. As the name would suggest, the ultimate kitchen is, indeed, the ultimate one on this list. It’s crowned as the number one kitchen with confidence.

Simple Color Scheme

You might consider this an inherent contradiction with its name, but that’s not the case. Many might confuse the term “simple” with “plain” or “easy”, but what it really means in this context is “not too much”.

The color chosen for this kitchen is primarily white, with hints of grays and blues throughout it. This is appealing to those that don’t like their rooms having too many colors.

Creative

While the color scheme might be simple, the layout itself certainly isn’t. Like many on this list, Miss Acnh uses forced perspective illusions to make the architecture of the room seem more unique than the game allows, though they take it a step further by also turning low counters into benches with just two cushions on top.

Their illusion is also the most well done out of every other on this list- except for perhaps the fake staircase in the festive kitchen. They used custom-designed glow-in-the-dark stickers, wooden pillars, and an accent wall to create the image of a large pair of windows overlooking a bustling cityscape. It’s absolutely stunning!

White Modern Minimalist

As established in the number two listing, the modern monochrome aesthetic is quite popular. While this kitchen isn’t as expressly monochrome as Ness’ cozy kitchen, it’s still primarily white. This falls into the category and will still appeal to people who enjoy this modern all-monochrome look.

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