Kitchen Remodeling Trends for 2012
FAQ Answer by Steve Shinn featured on Better Homes & Gardens
_First of all, I would like to congratulate you for your great question
about today’s kitchen trends, including what is hot, innovative, and
fun.
I appreciate that you want to put creative thought and planning into your new kitchen. Kitchens are the heart of the home, and as such it is always important to take these and many other things into consideration in order to have your newly remodeled kitchen serve you well in the coming years.
There are endless creative features you can add to your kitchen. Some of them add function, such as touch-to- activate sink faucets and specialty shelving units that fully emerge from a difficult corner cabinet. Others are purely fun choices, such as down-draft exhaust vents that rise up out of your counter when they are in use, and glass counter tops that offer a totally unique look.
If you are like many home owners who are planning a kitchen remodel, you will want to incorporate functional, fun and innovative features and trends into your overall kitchen design.
If you are thinking about rearranging how your kitchen features are located, be sure that you have a convenient arrangement between the sink, stove, and refrigerator. The best configuration between them is a triangle without obstructions like a kitchen island in the way.
Styles of cabinets are endless. I would say that overall Shaker style cabinets are a very popular choice and lend themselves well to many styles of kitchens. I would advise you to work with a qualified NARI design/build remodeler to help guide you in your choices.
The next thing to consider will be storage. They’re not glamorous, but both pot drawers and pantry cabinets are a must for any kitchen. If you haven’t had pot drawers before, you will be amazed at how they will give you full use of the storage in your lower kitchen cabinets.
You will feel like you have twice the storage. We have remodeled many kitchens that had almost all pot drawers in the lower cabinets. Pantry cabinets come in many configurations and widths. They include many options including, pot drawers, pull-out shelves and spice racks. They are great for storing dry food items as well as anything else you need to access quickly. Many times pantry cabinets work well adjacent to your refrigerator.
They are usually a full two foot deep, top to bottom, making the refrigerator’s size blend in better with the cabinetry. Be sure to include a matching depth cabinet above the refrigerator. How you do your upper cabinets will depend on many factors including your overall style of your kitchen. Some modern style kitchens are being remodeled to have no upper cabinets at all.
There are a couple of items that will work well for almost any style kitchen. The first is under cabinet lighting, the other is under cabinet power strips used to plug in counter top appliances. Both of these custom items make a big impact on a kitchen.
If you are planning on including a kitchen island, you may want to consider including a seating area, prep sink, wine frig, or even including a cook top in its solid surface counter top.
Counter tops can be a major expense, but they can also make the overall look and feel of your kitchen. Granite continues to lead in popularity, followed closely by quartz composite solid surfaces. Both will serve you well, although the quartz will work better if you are leaning towards a more modern style kitchen.
Once you have decided on counter tops, you can have some fun choosing a tile back splash. Your choice will depend on your style preferences. Many people are going with glass tile for a rich look, with great depth of color that can have a great variety of looks depending on your tile selection.
Last but not least will be lighting. Your choices in light fixtures and placement will be the icing on the cake for your beautiful new kitchen. Under cabinet lighting will work great for lighting up your counter top work areas. Recessed lighting framing the kitchen ceiling will showcase your beautiful new cabinetry as well as offer good general lighting. Pendant lighting can accent special areas such as an island or sink area, and add a splash of color to set things off. All of these lights will serve you better if you install dimmers to control the volume of light for deferring situations.
I appreciate that you want to put creative thought and planning into your new kitchen. Kitchens are the heart of the home, and as such it is always important to take these and many other things into consideration in order to have your newly remodeled kitchen serve you well in the coming years.
There are endless creative features you can add to your kitchen. Some of them add function, such as touch-to- activate sink faucets and specialty shelving units that fully emerge from a difficult corner cabinet. Others are purely fun choices, such as down-draft exhaust vents that rise up out of your counter when they are in use, and glass counter tops that offer a totally unique look.
If you are like many home owners who are planning a kitchen remodel, you will want to incorporate functional, fun and innovative features and trends into your overall kitchen design.
If you are thinking about rearranging how your kitchen features are located, be sure that you have a convenient arrangement between the sink, stove, and refrigerator. The best configuration between them is a triangle without obstructions like a kitchen island in the way.
Styles of cabinets are endless. I would say that overall Shaker style cabinets are a very popular choice and lend themselves well to many styles of kitchens. I would advise you to work with a qualified NARI design/build remodeler to help guide you in your choices.
The next thing to consider will be storage. They’re not glamorous, but both pot drawers and pantry cabinets are a must for any kitchen. If you haven’t had pot drawers before, you will be amazed at how they will give you full use of the storage in your lower kitchen cabinets.
You will feel like you have twice the storage. We have remodeled many kitchens that had almost all pot drawers in the lower cabinets. Pantry cabinets come in many configurations and widths. They include many options including, pot drawers, pull-out shelves and spice racks. They are great for storing dry food items as well as anything else you need to access quickly. Many times pantry cabinets work well adjacent to your refrigerator.
They are usually a full two foot deep, top to bottom, making the refrigerator’s size blend in better with the cabinetry. Be sure to include a matching depth cabinet above the refrigerator. How you do your upper cabinets will depend on many factors including your overall style of your kitchen. Some modern style kitchens are being remodeled to have no upper cabinets at all.
There are a couple of items that will work well for almost any style kitchen. The first is under cabinet lighting, the other is under cabinet power strips used to plug in counter top appliances. Both of these custom items make a big impact on a kitchen.
If you are planning on including a kitchen island, you may want to consider including a seating area, prep sink, wine frig, or even including a cook top in its solid surface counter top.
Counter tops can be a major expense, but they can also make the overall look and feel of your kitchen. Granite continues to lead in popularity, followed closely by quartz composite solid surfaces. Both will serve you well, although the quartz will work better if you are leaning towards a more modern style kitchen.
Once you have decided on counter tops, you can have some fun choosing a tile back splash. Your choice will depend on your style preferences. Many people are going with glass tile for a rich look, with great depth of color that can have a great variety of looks depending on your tile selection.
Last but not least will be lighting. Your choices in light fixtures and placement will be the icing on the cake for your beautiful new kitchen. Under cabinet lighting will work great for lighting up your counter top work areas. Recessed lighting framing the kitchen ceiling will showcase your beautiful new cabinetry as well as offer good general lighting. Pendant lighting can accent special areas such as an island or sink area, and add a splash of color to set things off. All of these lights will serve you better if you install dimmers to control the volume of light for deferring situations.
