FEATURE STORY
Designers Reveal 2011 Kitchen & Bath Trends
M
ore than 100 designers who are members of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and have designed kitchens or bathrooms during
the last three months of 2010, participated in a survey to reveal design trends in the marketplace for 2011. The results suggest there will be some changes in the direction kitchen and bath styles will take this year.
KITCHENS
A Place for Wine While the incorporation of wine refrigerators seems to be on the decline (see Bonjour Réfrigérateur), 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 common, most are on the decline, including tall pantries, lazy Susans, and pull-out racks. Appliance garages also seem to be falling out of favor, as their use declined from 36% to 29% a year later.
Shake It Up The Shaker style began a rise in popularity in 2009 and gained momentum in 2010. By the end of the year, Shaker has supplanted Contemporary as the second most popular style used by NKBA member designers. While Traditional remains the most popular style, having 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 percent 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 registered at 21%.
Dark Finishes Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed, and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of 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 finishes rose from 42% to 51%. Light natural and colored painted finishes remained fairly common. Distressed finishes dropped significantly from a year ago, when they were used by 16% of designers, to just 5%.
Bonjour Réfrigérateur The French door refrigerator has strengthened its position as the type specified most often. While freezer-top refrigerators were only specified by 8% of designers, freezer-bottom models fell very slightly from 60% to 59% and side-by-side units actually rose slightly to 49%. Meanwhile, French door refrigerators jumped from 67% to 78%. Among smaller units, undercounter wine refrigerators fell sharply from 50% to 36%, an interesting change given the increasing use of unchilled wine storage.
Inducting a New Cooktop Induction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models, but they’re closing the gap. As we entered 2010, gas cooktops had been recently specified by 76% of NKBA designers, compared to 38% for electric and 26% for induction. Meanwhile, double wall ovens are up from 68% to 74%. In addition, warming drawers are down to 42%, and ranges are down sharply from 81% to 68%.
LED Lighting Incandescent lighting continues its journey to obsolescence. While 50% of NKBA designers incorporated incandescent 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- efficient lighting options. While the use of halogen lighting is down from 46% to 40%, LED lighting has increased from 47% to 54%. Designers aren’t turning to CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) as a solution, though, most likely due to the poor quality of light they produce; their use by designers remained flat at 35%.
Kitchen by Huntwood Cabinets Photo credit: Alan Bisson
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Trashy Designs A greater emphasis 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 a trash or recycling pull-outs. In addition, garbage disposals were incorporated by 86% of designers. Trash compactors have also become more common, climbing from 11% to 18%. These changes may be due to an increase in sustainability awareness, but they certainly indicate an increase in concern toward trash generated in the kitchen.
MARCH 2011 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE
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