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INDUSTRY NEWS Changing consumer tastes driving K/B scene (Continued from NKBA, page 1.)
member designers. While Traditional remains the most popular style, hav- ing been used by 76% of designers surveyed over the last three months of 2010, that’s a slight drop from the previous year. Meanwhile, the per- cent of respondents who designed Contemporary kitchens fell to 48%, while Shaker rose to 55%. Cottage was the only other style to garner at least 20% of the market, as it regis- tered at 21%. • Dark finishes — Dark natural
finishes overtook medium natural, glazed and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of
French door refrigerators jumped from 67% to 78%. Among smaller units, refrigerator or freezer drawers remained flat at 31%, while under- counter wine refrigerators fell sharply from 50% to 36%, an interesting change, given the increasing use of unchilled wine storage. • Inducting a new cooktop— In-
duction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models, but they’re closing the gap. As we entered 2010, gas cooktops had been recently spec- ified by 76% of NKBA designers, compared to 38% for electric and 26% for induction. However, while the incorporation of gas cooktops has
Other popular faucet finishes in both the kitchen and bathroom are bronze and oil-rubbed bronze, polished chrome and polished nickel.
finish toward the end of 2010. While medium natural fell from being used by 53% to 48% of designers, glazed from 53% to 42% and white painted from 49% to 47%, dark natural fin- ishes rose from 42 to 51%. Light nat- ural and colored painted finishes remained fairly common, as each rose slightly from the previous year: 24% to 25% for light natural and 24% to 29% for colored paints. Dis- tressed finishes dropped significantly from a year ago, when they were used by 16% of designers, to just 5%. • A place for wine— While the in- corporation of wine refrigerators seems to be on the decline (see Bon- jour Réfrigérateur below), unchilled wine storage is growing in popularity. While only 39% of surveyed designers incorporated wine storage areas into their kitchens at the end of 2009, just over half — 51% — did so as 2010 came to a close. While other types of cabinetry options remain more com- mon, most are on the decline, includ- ing tall pantries (89% to 84%), lazy Susans (90% to 78%) and pull-out racks (81% to 71%). Appliance garages also seem to be falling out of favor, as their use declined from 36% at the end of 2009 to 29% a year later. • Bonjour réfrigérateur — The
French door refrigerator has strength- ened its position as the type specified most often by NKBA member de- signers. While freezer-top refrigera- tors were only specified by 8% of designers as 2010 drew to a close — down from 10% a year earlier — freezer-bottom models fell very slightly from 60% to 59%, and side- by-side units actually rose slightly, from 46% to 49%. Meanwhile,
fallen to 70%, electric cooktops have risen slightly to 41%, while induction cooktops are up to 34%. Meanwhile, single wall ovens are down from 46% to 42%, although double wall ovens are up from 68% to 74%. In addition, warming drawers are down from 49% to 42%, and ranges are down sharply, from 81% to 68%. • LED lighting — Incandescent
lighting continues its journey to ob- solescence. While 50% of NKBA member designers incorporated in- candescent bulbs into their designs at the end of 2009, only 35% have done so a year later. Instead, designers are clearly opting for more energy-effi- cient lighting options. While the use of halogen lighting is down from 46% to 40% over the past year, LED (light-emitting diode) lighting has in- creased from 47% to 54%. Designers aren’t turning to CFLs (compact flu- orescent lights) as a solution, though, most likely due to the poor quality of light they produce; their use by de- signers remained flat at 35%. • Trashy designs — Greater em-
phasis is being made to address trash considerations in the kitchen. Some 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include trash or recycling pull-outs. In addition, garbage disposers were incorporated by 86% of designers, up from 75% the previous year. Trash compactors have also become more common. Entering 2010, they were recently used in designs by 11% of designers; a year later that figure had climbed to 18%. These changes may be due to an increase in sustainability awareness, but they certainly indicate an increase in concern about trash
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From the end of 2009 to the end of 2010, the percent of NKBA designers who specified a satin nickel faucet rose from 41% to 63% in the kitchen and from 45% to 57% in the bathroom.
generated in the kitchen. Bathrooms
• Quartz countertops — Quartz continues to take away market share from granite in the market for bath- room vanity tops. A year ago, 85% of NKBA bathroom designers incorpo- rated granite into a recent design, compared to just 48% for quartz, but now that gap has narrowed to 83% for granite and 54% for quartz. Un- like in the kitchen, solid surfaces haven’t gained much popularity in the bathroom, increasing only from 23% to 25% over the past year. Meanwhile, solid marble has de- clined from 46% to 37%, while cul- tured marble and onyx have increased from 12% to 19%. No other material has even 10% of the market. • Green bathrooms— No, we’re
not referring to eco-friendly spaces; we literally mean green bathrooms. A year ago, green color palettes were used by only 14% of NKBA design- ers, but at the end of 2010, that figure had risen to 24%. Still, whites and off-whites, beiges and browns are the three most commonly used color tones in bathrooms. However, while white and off-white palettes are up slightly from 57% to 60%, beiges are down sharply from 66% to 57%, and browns have dropped from 48% to 38%. Other common color tones in- clude blues at 22%, grays at 21% and
•THE WHOLESALER® —APRIL 2011
bronzes and terracottas at 17%. • A worthy vessel— Undermount
sinks continue to dominate newly re- modeled bathrooms, with 97% of NKBA bathroom designers having specified them over the last three months of 2010, up from 95% a year earlier. Vessel sinks have become the clear second choice among designers, as 51% of NKBA member designers have specified them in the final quar- ter of 2010, up from 39% a year ago. Integrated sink tops were also up from 34% to 38%, pedestal sinks were up from 21% to 29%, and drop- in sinks were up from 23% to 27%. This shows that bathroom designers have been specifying more lavatory sinks across the board. • Satin nickel faucets — This
trend relates to both bathrooms and kitchens. From the end of 2009 to the end of 2010, the percent of NKBA designers who specified a satin nickel faucet rose from 41% to 63% in the kitchen and from 45% to 57% in the bathroom, while the percent who specified a brushed nickel faucet fell from 61% to 48% in the kitchen and from 66% to 38% in the bathroom. Other popular faucet finishes in both the kitchen and bathroom are bronze and oil-rubbed bronze, polished chrome and polished nickel. While stainless steel is popular in the kitchen, specified recently by 44% of designers, that figure drops to just 16% in the bathroom. Visit
www.nkba.org.
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