KITCHEN TRENDS: FROM GLAMOUR TO CLASSIC

Continuity of design:

When designing a kitchen there should be a central objective in mind. The kitchen should reflect the feel and look of the home and have some consistent design elements with the rest of the residence. These elements may be architectural details such as moldings and materials, colors, style of cabinetry, or lighting. It is important that the kitchen cohesively “fit” with the character of the architecture whether it be a modern, classic, country or glamour look.
Trends come and go. The surest way to have a kitchen or any renovation feel quickly outdated is to adhere to the look of the moment without having it reflect the sense of place of the home. A sleek modern kitchen inserted into an old home as well as an old world kitchen developed in a modern structure will both soon fall out of vogue. The context of the kitchen needs to be considered along with the design direction.

See “Kitchens of many styles” on our website.

Current trends:

1. Appliances: Stainless steel still rules. Although there are some companies that offer color packages on their products, they are seldom selected as the finish of choice.
2. Cabinetry: Cabinetry selection varies greatly these days and there really is no wrong choice as long as the look works with the residence. Painted finishes along with numerous woods are all being used and interchanged. Prices do vary depending on the style, detail and finish selected, however, generally speaking painted and wood cabinets cost the same. Exotic woods are more costly. As a rule of thumb, select the best quality cabinetry that you can afford. There is a difference in craftsmanship and durability between price points. The quality of the cabinetry sets the tone and look of the kitchen and the overall home.

   There are 3 basic types of cabinetry: a) partial overlay, where the doors and drawers do not fully cover the frame b) full overlay or “European” style, where the doors and drawers fully cover the frame and c) inset, where the drawers and doors are inset flush into the frame and thus create a more furniture like look. Inset are the most expensive due to the craftsmanship involved.

3. Counter tops: Natural stones or man made solid surface materials are certainly the most popular choices. However, the look and character of the kitchen should again be considered when selecting the counter tops. Honed marbles tend to work better with older more traditional homes while man made materials such as Caesar stone blend well with a modern look.
4. Layout: The open concept layout is very much in demand. Creating a space that combines the kitchen, breakfast room and family room into one area is often a primary objective of many renovations. This often entails removing both structural and non-structural walls. If the rooms are going to be gutted and a new layout configured, the cost of opening up the walls is often not prohibitively expensive. Often the finishes cost much more then the structural changes. In the scheme of things, reconfiguring the rooms to make the plan of the home work is a worthwhile investment.

Our Firm’s goal is to develop architecture to its ultimate aesthetic, functional and investment value while reflecting each client’s unique needs and aspirations.

Update on some of our current projects »

As the housing market has resurrected, residential design and construction has followed. Schematic work continues on our commissions, while several more of our projects are preparing for construction bidding. We look forward to the next few years of strong growth. Gary continues his search with other clients and realtors to locate unique properties combining both design and investment value.