Kitchen Trends

Page 1 of 3 ( 1 2 3 )

An updated kitchen can make cooking and cleaning easier and let you enjoy the space more. Kitchen improvements are also most likely to create an impression on prospective homebuyers and bring a high return when you sell your home. As you plan to remodel your kitchen, consider including the latest in design trends to turn your kitchen from just a place to cook to the entertaining hub of the home. This idea is more important than ever now that homeowners are staying in their homes longer and amenities such as a new kitchen can aid resale in a tough market for those who need to move on. In 2007, more than 11 The Amana QuickTap Entertainment Refrigerator. Photo courtesy of Amana. million homeowners remodeled their kitchen, according to U.S. Census statistics, and the majority spent over $3,000 doing so. As you plan your remodel, consider these popular themes that will give your home a modern feel you can enjoy for years to come. Entertaining Comes Home "I believe that kitchen design is going through a quiet revolution,” says Certified Kitchen Designer Susan Serra of Huntington, N.Y. With household budgets tightening, people are eating home more and having friends over more as opposed to dining out. “As a result,” Serra says, “we are also seeing more household activities moving into the kitchen. We’ll see sofas coming into the kitchen, real artwork. There will be more windows and less cabinetry.” And the cabinetry that remains, as well as the appliances, will fade into the background. Kitchens will “pop” less, designers say. Consumers are moving away from the shiny industrial stovetops and refrigerators that dominated the room and moving toward black ceramic-top ranges and refrigerators that are indistinguishable from cabinetry. "You do tend to see a lot more big appliances being paneled, particularly dishwashers, warming drawers and refrigerators,” says Certified Kitchen Designer Maria Martina, custom appliance consultant at Reno’s Appliance in Fairfield, N.J. “The new thing with refrigeration is what they call a fully integrated, built-in unit that’s constructed in such a way that you really don’t see the hinges or the trim or anything. It’s so fully flush with the surrounding cabinetry that it really doesn’t even look like an appliance.” Appliance technology is also moving more toward at-home socializing. The Amana Quick-Tap Entertaining Refrigerator allows you to fill your beverage dispenser with your drink of choice, be it iced tea for the kids’ slumber party or margaritas for your Cinco de Mayo bash. Refrigerators are also getting larger in part to accommodate the foods and drinks needed for a party and also to allow for homeowners who save on household costs by buying in bulk. The LG Ultra-Capacity Four-Door French Door Refrigerator features nearly 28 cubic feet of storage space, which will store your dressed turkey as well as your hors d’oeuvres. Most French door models max out at 25 cubic feet. And to make it even more party-friendly, the water and ice dispenser is 13 inches tall, making it the industry’s largest and able to easily accommodate most pitchers.

...Continued - Page 1 of 3 ( 1 2 3 )
Next Page >