When it comes to designing the kitchen, consumers clearly want good design. This is true whether they opt for a sleek contemporary scheme or choose a more traditional style kitchen.
In keeping with the preference for earthy hues that I noted yesterday, kitchen consumers are choosing natural materials and textured finishes. Stone, granite, bamboo, tiles, wood, glass, and hammered metal are all popular choices.
Cabinets often have finishes that show a strong grain pattern and are fashioned after fine furniture. Wood tones are darkening, and combining colors and finishes adds interest. Stainless steel has become a classic and, again this year, major appliances are being offered in new colors.
There is no limit to the combinations that can be created from so many color, finish, and pattern choices. Whether selecting a kitchen for a new home or remodeling an outdated one, an individual has all of the options necessary to fully express their unique style.
Upper left: Cucine Lube Cabinets
Middle right: Miele Premier Kitchen Appliances
Lower left: Greentea Design Cabinets
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The nation’s kitchen consumers continue to express their diverse tastes through an ever-broadening range of style, color, and product choices.
When push comes to shove, however, consumers exhibit clear preferences in the items they purchase, according to the findings of a nationwide survey of kitchen and bath dealers conducted as an exclusive joint venture between Kitchen & Bath Design News and Decorá Cabinetry, the Jasper, IN-based manufacturer of semi-custom kitchen and bath cabinetry.
Conducted early last month via e-mail and fax, the survey – subtitled “The Real Deal” – polled nearly 500 kitchen and bath dealers. The poll found that while kitchen consumers continue to exhibit a wide range of style and color preferences, earthy tones remain the most popular color palette.
When asked to rank the popularity of various color palettes – with 1 being the highest and 6 being the lowest – surveyed dealers gave the highest ranking to earthy tones, scoring it an average of 1.5 out of 6. Tied for next in popularity was the traditional color palette (Chinese red, brown, butter, hunter green, etc.) and white on white (or white with one color contrast, such as black), both of which received a ranking from designers of 2.9.
Pastels were rated a 3.9 out of 6, industrial tones (metallics, grays, blacks…accented with other colors) were scored 4.4 out of 6, and very bright tones (including primary colors, neons, retro oranges, and greens) received the lowest ranking of 5.4 out of 6.
Photo Insert: Earth tones were cited by dealers as the most popular color palette, as seen here in this Old World kitchen, designed by Mark Buelow, CGR, of Distinctive Remodeling Solutions.
Excerpted from Kitchen & Bath Design News
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