The Latest Residential Kitchen Trends

By Author: Jason Delmar
Total Articles: 335
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The kitchen is considered to be one of the most popular rooms in the home. Therefore, it needs to be easy to use, organized, and innovative. The popular kitchen trends of the year are helping achieve all of these things. Some of the trends for this year are repeated from last year but are just as popular, the reason being that they are becoming mass marketed and more affordable for the average homeowner to purchase. Let's take a look at the most popular kitchen trends for this year.

Sinks and Countertops

Top mounted sinks are a thing of the past. Under mounted sinks are the newest trend. The bowl of the sink is attached underneath the countertop. Unlike top mounted sinks, which have the lip of the sink showing on top of the counter, an under mounted sink is clean lines and invisible sink lines. This allows the homeowner to avoid getting dirt and grime down in the cracks of the sink, and instead wipe it into the sink. It is hard to tell where the sink begins and where the countertop ends. The industrial style sinks that are in many restaurants are a popular trend as well. It is a free standing fixture ...
... with three wash basins and legs to add height.

Natural stone is still the popular countertop choice this year, granite in particular. This is because it is durable and especially easy to keep clean. Limestone is also making a popular appearance among some countertop designers. A new innovative approach is using different materials in different areas of the kitchen, for example using granite or limestone on some countertops, butcher block for the kitchen island, and concrete on others.

Creating Space

This year, it is all about wide open spaces and bringing the living space into the kitchen. Instead of having a kitchen that is closed off from the rest of the house, homeowners are knocking down walls and turning the kitchen and family room into one large room. This allows the person cooking to interact with the rest of the family, as well as providing an open floor plan. In most cases, there is a kitchen island that separates the kitchen from the family room. Homeowners are also adding bar stools at the island so that families can sit and chat with the person cooking while still having access to the television or other activities in the family room.

Semi-Custom Cabinets

Semi-custom cabinets are giving the look and feel of pieces of furniture rather than just looking like cabinets. Many manufactures are adding fluted columns, claw feet, and detailed moldings to help create the illusion of hand crafted cabinets at a much more affordable price. Solid hardwood is also all the rage right now, especially dark colors such as cherry or maple. Many designers have been quoted saying that their main vision is to bring elegance and class into an informal atmosphere.

Appliances

The standard design of appliances hasn't changed much over the past couple of years, but more customized appliances like warming trays and refrigerator drawers are certainly becoming more requested and more affordable. One of the more unique options for refrigerators this year would have to be glass doors so that you can inside. The trend of keeping pots and pans in organized drawers with gliders that was popular last year has appeared again this year. However, this time around the tools for this are more affordable which is keeping the trend going. Other trends include under the counter beverage centers, built in coffee makers and espresso machines, two dishwashers and dual refrigerators.
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