Over decades, fashions change: clothing, cars, furniture. But it’s also true for home interiors. We’re all aware of the famous avocado-green and harvest-yellow appliances of the ’70s. That look is passé now, but it was the height of kitchen décor at the time. Trends continue to change with the times, but nowadays, they tend to be subtler, to help them better stand the test of time. As kitchens are the most frequently renovated or updated room in a home, we’ll take a look at recent trends for the two anchoring points of those spaces, and the things that relate to them: countertops and cabinets.
Materials
There is a wider array of countertop materials available today than ever before. Granite may be the one most people are familiar with, but there are many unique options: concrete, reclaimed wood, bamboo, stone, quartzite, glass, and even paper (layered and sealed). A rising trend in recent years is for people to choose eco-friendly materials such as sustainable bamboo or reclaimed barnwood.
Door And Drawers
Sometimes what was traditional becomes new again. Back in the days when custom cabinetry was made on-site, it was common to see casework with flush or recessed doors and drawers. There’s a resurgence of this visually clean style of cabinetry, where the door and drawers close flush with the faceplate, rather than closing against the front of it.
Soft Close
The soft close option for doors and drawers is not new; it’s been around for years. What’s new is that it’s now become standard instead of an option at extra expense. Soft-closer mechanisms prevent drawers and doors from being slammed shut, but also ensures they retract fully closed with even the softest push- a really nice feature.
Colors
Colors will forever be a changing trend. Most popular in recent years are colorful cabinets. Sedate grays and blues are very popular, especially as an anchor color for the cabinets with a complementary countertop. Islands and upper cabinets no longer have to be the same color as the bottom cabinets. An indigo island cabinet with a butcher block top makes a beautiful focal point that pairs well with cabinets in a harmonizing gray or white. Cabinets can be stained wood or painted.
Lighting
Lighting under the upper cabinets as well as under the kickplates are increasingly popular. They serve not only as accents, where light is layered, but are also functional. The days of the chintzy, plug-in night-light are waning. People now prefer the soft wash of kickplate lights to show the way late at night, or to dim the house during movie time while still being able to retrieve a beverage or popcorn without tripping in the dark.
Switches
Garbage disposals can now be turned on/off from an air switch, a switch that’s essentially a button that sits flush with the countertop. They’re closer to the sink than the traditional wall switch, making your work easier and eliminating the need to use wet hands on the wall.
Appliances
While induction cooktops are nothing new, they are growing in popularity. One reason for this growth is the wider availability of what use to be specialty cookware for use on induction tops. Now that cookware is commonplace in stores, making induction cooking more attractive. Plus, induction uses less energy, which allows for earning energy credits, and water literally boils in two minutes.
Convection microwaves have also grown in popularity, often taking the place of the second oven in a set of double ovens. It’s a fast and efficient way to cook foods that do well in a microwave, with the flexibility of using it as a traditional oven.
Hardware
Hardware options run the gamut from traditional styles to modern interpretations and everything in between. Nowadays many hardware options can even be finished in very specific colors to match the rest of the décor.
Heated Floors
As tankless heaters become more accessible and more popular, so do heated floors. Whether on a new home or in a renovation, heated floors are delighting the feet (and pets) of people everywhere.
The Best Trend – Making It Your Own
Even within the last decade, it used to be very common for someone to design and outfit a kitchen, and then visit a friend’s new kitchen only to discover they looked very much alike. For a while there, you could walk into five houses and everyone had similar furniture and fixtures. They all looked great, but it takes something away from the homeowner to realize their home looks just like everyone else’s. Thankfully, design has taken a more personalized turn. There is an effort to offer a wide array of customizable options. So, you may choose the same color for your kitchen as the person down the street, but how that color is used- the backsplash, the cabinets, the lighting- makes it look entirely different and unique to you.
