MID YEAR KITCHEN TRENDS
What used to be a room relegated to the out of sight preparation and cleanup of meals, the kitchen has evolved over the years to become the focal point of home gatherings. Now that staying at home is the best and safest thing to do, it’s good to keep up to date with the latest high end luxury furnishings and conveniences for your southwest Florida kitchen. Pull up a stool to the island, tell the faucet to fill your water bottle and read on.
KITCHEN TECHNOLOGY
Technology has made a significant impact on the kitchen, with innovations in Smart Home technology bringing an array of gadgets and possibilities into your home. The ease and availability of technology is one of the main reasons gatherings happen more often in the kitchen lately. Refrigerators now feature touch screens and interactive displays. You can program your thermostat for individual room temperature, so when that roast in the oven is heating things up, the system will regulate itself to keep things cool and comfortable. Samsung has developed a line of refrigerators featuring a technology they call the Family Hub, a built-in interactive screen to help you plan meals, stream your favorite content, manage schedules and multi-task using your luxury, high-end refrigerator. Pair it with a smart oven like the Dacor Discovery IQ Oven and your dinner practically cooks itself. Program a brew schedule into your smart coffeemaker and you can have a fresh cup of coffee awaiting you when you wake up in the morning.
KITCHEN MATERIALS
A recent report by KBB Collective indicates that popular materials trending in kitchen design are warm woods like walnut that add warmth to high end luxury kitchens. Solid surfaces for hygiene as well as durability are ranking high, and gauged porcelain tile panels are found more and more often as countertop choices. Mixed metals and glass finishes are appearing in designs as well, including mixed metallic tiles in varying shades and finishes like brushed stainless, glass and antique brass. Find these quite often in backsplashes, while touches of brass on knobs or burners are being used to showcase modern luxuxry appliances.
KITCHEN SPACE CUSTOMIZATION
By searching out specific looks and pieces, homeowners are finding they can set their kitchen apart for a look and feel all its own. By working with an interior designer, you will be offered the best options available for your goals. Trends like using custom handles on drawers and cabinets, and pops of bright color in large appliances are being seen in high end luxury kitchens. Adding texture to kitchen surfaces in turn adds a sense of detail. Custom cabinetry with integrated lighting adds both aesthetic and function to a space, indicates KBB.
There is a much bigger focus at the moment on storage and organization as we spend more time in the kitchen, as trends indicate that hiding the kitchen stuff away to make the room more of a gathering place is a goal in luxury high end kitchen spaces. Clever concealed storage is another element of space utilization. Components such as multi-storage island units, built-in appliances and reactive banks of furniture like sliding doors, pull-out larder and pop-up shelving big trends at the moment.
TRENDING KITCHEN LOOKS
The minimalist kitchen, a popular look, is attained using push-to-open hardware, like the TIP-ON mechanism created by the Blum company, whose innovations in motion and convenience for the luxury home are known worldwide. Using just a light push, one can easily open cabinets and drawers, reducing the busy look by eliminating handles and pull knobs altogether. Using this same push to open technology, upper cabinets open up and out of the way.
“Consumers are taking more chances when it comes to choosing hardware for their homes,” says Christine Zimmer, product manager at Top Knobs to Probuilder, “and, therefore, styles and design options have exploded. Our clients use decorative hardware as a form of creative expression.”
Monochromatic color schemes in the kitchen are also hot right now, especially black interiors. As House Beautifulexplains, these schemes offer a sleek and elegant design to complement a traditional kitchen for the perfect family home. The “painted kitchen” is also trending, with taupe and light greys proving to be extremely popular.
Our award-winning Clive Daniel interior design team is here to make your luxury high end kitchen dream a reality. Visit our showrooms in Naples and Boca Raton and let’s talk some kitchen design ideas!
Contact John G. (“JW”) Whitman III, Vice President of Design in our Naples showroom and start your home update today! For more information, please call 239.261.4663.
