Home Improvement Trends: The Kitchen

There’s no place where a home comes alive more than in the kitchen. Whether first thing in the morning, coming home from a long day, or entertaining on special occasions, the kitchen is where your home comes to life. Now, with the summer winding down, this weekend is a great time to contemplate some of the latest trends for people rebuilding or remodeling their kitchens – from light fixtures to flooring, from smart layouts to smart appliances – just in time for next year.

Maximizing Kitchen Space

Functionality is essential for a good kitchen space. Improved functionality and accessibility are in greater demand than ever, with open floor spaces becoming more popular. Even beyond a large floor plan, manufacturers have made more efficient use of space with multi-tiered drawers to double up storage area.

Bold Fixtures

Let there be light! And along with it, a refinement of the retro light fixtures that have been popular in recent years. Edison-style LED bulbs fuse modern technology with old-fashioned warmth, while the fixtures themselves are being made with sleeker metals and in a wider variety of tones and alternative designs.

Light and Shadow

For homes with natural splendour right outside, there’s a trend to show it off with floor-to-ceiling windows. As well, wallpapered backsplashes offer a great opportunity to add some colourful brightness, set behind glass to keep clean. In contrast to this trend of lighter colours on the walls, darker floors will add coziness to your kitchen space. These floors also offer the timeless advantage of being easier to clean.

Statement Floor Tiles

For those who don’t opt for hardwood flooring, an exciting trend in ceramic tile has been its growing variety of styles, designs, and sizes. Thanks to innovations in technology, you can even get wide plank ceramic tiles that closely resemble hardwood flooring, right down to a surface texture that mimics hardwood.

Smarter Kitchens

Sensor-activated lights and no-touch water faucets were just the beginning. Kitchens are now seeing wild innovations like fridges that inform you when groceries are running low, and meat thermometers that alert your phone when that roast is hot enough are making kitchen chores and cooking easier than ever. Look for this trend to gain even more momentum as new technologies are developed, turning the kitchen more of a gathering place than a workplace.

Large Kitchen Islands

Speaking of which, large kitchen islands have become a focal point for the whole room rather than just a place to prepare your food. Beyond the practical advantage of being a centralized space for cooking or eating, islands offer an excellent space for entertaining.

Lookalike Countertops

You don’t have to break the bank on a granite countertop. For a similar look, the budget-conscious can take advantage of attractive laminate countertops which add a bold definition to your kitchen’s appearance.

For High End, Quartz Countertops

Like cabinets, the trend for durable, anti-microbial quartz countertops has been towards muted colours like grey, taupe, or creamy white. This clean, uniform look is a breeze to maintain – heat-resistant quartz countertops are spill- and scratch-resistant – and has been more popular in recent years than another high-end material, granite.

Whether you’re thinking of remodelling or rebuilding your kitchen from scratch, any of these trends will transform your space into a welcoming, modern area to cook, dine, and entertain.

Copyright ©2017 Gilbert + Burke Associates Ltd. All Rights Reserved