By Deborah L. O'Mara
When it comes to kitchen remodeling, every family has a long list of 'want' items. Of course, how much they can spend always clarifies the difference between want and need, but there are many hot items that continue to come up in kitchen design.
As an interior designer and a designer on staff at DDK Kitchen Design in Glenview, Ill., Nancy Henry is serves a variety of clients. Many of the company's designs are for the newer homes in the area, and many of the kitchens are custom or semicustom. Her customers usually have the flexibility to do what they want to do and to avail themselves of the wide range of products and materials now available.
According to Nancy, here is what's high on today's kitchen 'want' lists:
- Warming drawers for food dishes are definitely a must in high-end kitchens. These small appliances also are highly prized by less affluent families who entertain often.
- Designer appliances always win out in a custom kitchen. "Custom built-in refrigerators and dishwashers make it look like they are part of the cabinetry, or have disappeared into the cabinets," Nancy says.
- Range hoods have gone custom as well, with materials such as copper, brass, faux finishes or cabinetry-like hoods that blend, accent or set off that part of the kitchen.
- Built-in wine coolers — often with locks — continue to rank high on the 'want' list. Also popular now, says Nancy, are smaller refrigerators designed for children to store their juice boxes, water and other goodies.
- Dual dishwashers are considered a major plus. The use of two dishwashers has evolved into split dishwashers, says Nancy, with units located in different areas of the kitchen for the sake of convenience. Remodelers and kitchen designers who recommend extra-quiet dishwashers get bonus points from clients, too.
- In cabinetry, an 18th-century look with a mahogany or deep chocolate color finish has become a staple, says Nancy. Another popular feature, she says, is a furniture-style custom island created with decorative feet in designs such as spade or cabriole.
- Another trend is to lit cabinets with doors made of glass, including decorative, seeded, mottled or clear.
- Finally, Nancy says, granite countertops continue at the height of popularity, with more people than ever using them in kitchen design. One of Nancy's customers has quite a small condominium kitchen, but still chose granite. The result, she says, was an extraordinary showpiece.
No matter what the style or features of a kitchen, Nancy says, it's really about designing for the clients — fulfilling their needs and wants. That's what dictates design trends.
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