Top trends emerge for kitchens and bathrooms
Several thousand fortunate designers and retailers spent the past few days in Las Vegas, ogling the latest stunning kitchen and bathroom designs at the 2014 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.
In its annual design survey, the U.S.-based National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), a not-for-profit trade group with more than 60,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, asked 420 designers what they saw cooking for the coming year for the two most-renovated rooms in the home.
In kitchens, contemporary styles are rapidly gaining ground on the ever-popular traditional look. “While transitional styles are still No. 1,” says John Petrie, NKBA president, “we see kitchen design trending contemporary this year, with clean, simple lines, less clutter and little ornamentation.”
More practical considerations are surfacing. Consumers don’t want “froufrou,” one designer said, as much as they want “good storage and space planning.”
1. Cool Contemporary: While transitional styles still hold the No. 1 spot, 62 per cent of respondents said contemporary kitchens are on the upswing. Shaker is No. 3, being a style chameleon that usually fits either traditional or contemporary spaces. Retro or mid-century came in at No. 8 on a list of 10 styles.
Slipping in demand in 2013 were Tuscan and Provincial styles, distressed or glazed finishes and country looks. Painted cabinetry will still be very hot, while walnut will be chasing maple as the wood choice.
2. Grey Hues: Whites and off-whites took over from beiges or bones in 2013 in the colour category, but grey will be tops for kitchens in 2014, 71 per cent of designers said. Grey also will be this year’s colour scheme for bathrooms, 58 per cent of respondents say. Currently, beige-toned decor with white fixtures and polished chrome faucets are popular.
3. Furniture-style Pieces: Eighty per cent of designers called for furniture-style pieces in 2013, where, for example, a kitchen island stands off the floor on legs, and may be of a different finish and style than the wall cabinetry. Fifty-six per cent see that style continuing through 2014.
4. Spa-like Bathrooms: Increasingly moving away from the traditional, bathrooms are sleeker, cleaner, with a spa-like look. The association calls this a major shift; just a few years ago 75 per cent of bathrooms installed were traditional; now it’s at 62 per cent, and respondents expect contemporary to continue its growth.