WHAT’S IN YOUR NEIGHBOR’S KITCHEN?
Top 10 Kitchen Design Trends
by Kathe Russell
If 2007 is any indication for what’s in store this year, old world style prevails in El Dorado Hills and Sacramento area kitchens. The Tuscan kitchen with its warm tones is the kitchen style of choice in this area. The second most popular style is the Shaker style, with its clean lines. While residents with older homes are replacing their kitchens out of dire need, owners of newer homes are opting for “mini makeovers” to upgrade their countertops, flooring, and lighting. Here are some of the popular choices that are transforming your neighbor’s homes.
- Cabinetry: The Tuscan kitchen is characterized by warm tones of browns and yellows. Cabinetry in this style has a raised panel and is often a warm brown color with a black glaze. Popular wood species are cherry, birch, and alder. The Shaker Kitchen is characterized by a recessed panel style door and is often in a rich walnut color.
- Storage: Homeowners are tired of inaccessible cabinetry space. Popular solutions are corner lazy susans or retrofitting existing cabinetry with a blind corner pull out device. Trash compactors are being replaced with double trash bin rollouts that store garbage and recyclables. Roll outs shelves and sink tray tip outs for sponges etc. are a main storage staple.
- Finishes: Popular with both the Tuscan and Shaker styles are the oil rubbed bronze finish for knobs and pulls, lighting, and plumbing fixtures. Cast iron sinks in biscuit and almond colors are still in demand and work well with both styles. Stainless steel is still the most popular finish for appliances, with any style.
- Appliances: Counter depth refrigerators that don’t stick out and give a built in look are gaining in popularity over the pricey built in refrigerators. Speed cookers and microwave combination ovens are quickly catching on for working families who want to get a home cooked meal quickly, without nuking.
- Sinks and Faucets: Single handle pull down spray faucets are the most popular due to their efficiency. Matching soap dispensers are pretty much standard accessories to keep that bottle of liquid detergent off of the countertop. Double bowl sinks are the main choice in kitchens with only one sink. When a second sink is involved, it tends to be a single bowl sink.
- Countertops: Although there are a number of countertop alternatives available on the market, the number one choice is slab granite with a bullnose or ogee edge. Popular styles have lots of movement and warm color tones of yellows, oranges, and grays.
- Backsplashes: The most popular upgrade to a kitchen is a granite countertop with a stone backsplash. Complimenting the tuscan style are metal accent tiles in oil rubbed bronze and mosaics designs in a picture frame that serve as a focal point to the cooktop area.
- Lighting: Taking out the old light boxes and replacing them with recessed lighting has become standard in this area. Multiple decorative pendants or a single chandelier over an island or peninsula are the most popular ways to lighten up the kitchen.
- Flooring: Handscraped wood flooring with 3-5” planks is still the number one choice, followed by travertine tile in rich creamy beige tones.
- Concealed Outlets: Homeowners are concealing those pesky, but necessary backsplash outlets in clever ways these days. Two popular options are to 1) leave the outlets in place and have them custom faux painted to blend in with the backsplash and 2) to remove them from the walls and install outlet strips under the cabinetry.
Perhaps the most important aspect of these design trends is the desire for residents to make their home their own and not be a cookie cutter copy of their neighbor’s home. While the trends and styles may be the same, the looks are different and customized to meet their lifestyle and preferences. The kitchen remains the single most important space in the home where family and friends gather to eat, relax, and take a break from their busy lives.
Kathe Russell, CKBR is a Certified Kitchen and Bath Remodeler by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and principle designer of DreamBuilders Kitchen and Bath, Inc. Her design center is located in the The Village Center in El Dorado Hills. She can be reached at 916.933.7371 or visit www.ourdreambuilder.com.
|
