Today, the kitchen is the focal point of the home, the place that brings everyone together at the start of the day or after a long day way. As with any modern design trend, clean and simple styles have become favorites for homeowners with natural light becoming an essential aspect of the overall look and function of the kitchen space.
Clutter-Free Counters With so little visible on their countertops, homeowners are requiring more storage. The majority of homeowners are prioritizing new storage solutions over all other functions of their kitchens, followed by creating open spaces that allow for working, playing, and living. The top requested features revolve around cabinet storage and organization, including pull-out waste or recycling baskets, organizers, revolving corner trays, pull or swing out trays and shelves.
Surfaces - Quartz is #1
For high-end kitchen countertops, quartz still reigns supreme. The material is extremely hardy, can last virtually forever, is a breeze to maintain and is anti-microbial. Granite, the main competitor in the high-end bracket, requires slightly more maintenance.
There is a notable trend toward softer and more neutral colors. More and more homeowners are opting for colors like: grey, taupe, creamy or white finishes.
Smarter Assistants and Technology
Smart kitchens are an evolving aspect of design. In fact, a lot of kitchens today are built smart from the ground up. Ease add-ons are motion sense-equipped kitchen faucets that can sense the presence of hands underneath and will come on automatically or try a one-touch feature. Refrigerators that can alert you when your groceries items are running low or a coffee maker programmed to have your coffee ready when you wake up. Technology integrated kitchens are becoming more popular as homeowners experiment with novel equipment. This is one of the biggest trends going into 2018.
White is Still Hot
White is still a big favorite for kitchen cabinets. Homeowners love it for its clean look, which is especially beneficial in a space that tends to get cluttered. White cabinets are simply beautiful and timeless and can be used in almost any kind of kitchen style. We expect white to remain a popular cabinet color in 2018 and probably for years to come. To break up the all-white kitchen expect to see islands in a variety of different paint colors or wood stain colors. The mixing of finishes create a needed accent piece and additional pops-of-color for the brave of heart.
Transitioning Styles More renovating homeowners are opting for a completely different kitchen style compared the previous two years. Iconic modern and traditional styles are giving way to transitional, contemporary, and farmhouse styles. Half of kitchen remodelers are also updating their kitchen layout (50%) and are favoring L-shaped layouts versus a traditional U-shape.
Appliances: New Styles and Preferences
One of the hottest trends we are seeing for 2018 is gray-toned appliances in a dark brushed metal finish. Stainless steel appliances have dominated the market for quite some time, so seeing a different finish come into play is not surprising. Homeowners seem willing to experiment with a wider range of tones around the kitchen these days.
More and more kitchens want to include induction cook-tops with separate single wall ovens. This trend can be more expensive than commercial ranges and often take up more space. But as in many of these trends, aesthetics is a major issue.
Changes are also happening in the oven world. Steam ovens are fast becoming the new “must-have” appliance. They cook food much faster, retain food nutrients and flavor better than conventional ovens. Are you limited on isle space, then consider getting a French Door wall oven.
Let these upcoming trends serve as design ideas for your 2018 kitchen renovation or new home construction. These ideas combine the best in functionality and aesthetics to create the ultimate kitchen.