For most homeowners, with spring inevitably comes spring cleaning. But along with dusting away the winter grime, it’s also a time that many consider home-improvement projects, from small, cosmetic touchups to full-scale renovations. Lets explore the kitchen remodeling trends of 2015
“Everyone is wanting to do remodels, and new construction is booming this time of year,” says Missy Nelson, designer for one of Quality Renovations’ longtime vendors, Earthwoods Custom Cabinetry in Loveland, Colo. “By March, our designers get busy.”
And since kitchens tend to make the top of that home-improvement list, we asked Nelson for the latest trends in kitchen design, offering homeowners ideas as we approach this spring-remodel season.
- Fifty shades of…white? Design magazines and Houzz are showing a lot of white, so everyone for the last couple years wants white cabinets with either gray or black touches. Many homeowners are also choosing solid black or white countertops, including carrera marble and soapstone. It’s an overall retro black-and-white look.
- Bold backsplash design. While once a mere afterthought, backsplashes are now an important element in modern kitchens. Oftentimes they adorn at least a significant part of if not all of the walls, adding color and texture to the room. And it doesn’t have to be one design. For instance, a backsplash may incorporate a multitude of patterns or colors; many similarly colored tiles of different shapes and sizes to add texture and variation; or offset as focal point in certain areas of the backsplash, such as a unique mosaic behind a range. The possibilities are limitless, and homeowners are more willing to be daring in their designs.
- A touch of color. While many homeowners these days are choosing more classic, timeless colors, they’re also accenting that muted palette with more bold hues. That may be an island of a more distinctive color or design than the rest of the kitchen, a funky backsplash, a trendy paint choice or some bright accent pieces. In short, homeowners are often choosing fun colors in the elements that can be easily and inexpensively updated to match color trends without revamping the entire kitchen.
- Storage. Storage. Storage. It’s all about using the space you have to the fullest. After all, if you have a small kitchen, you have a small kitchen no matter what. But homeowners can make things more accessible and organized in general so that it not only looks but feels larger. From spice organizers to full-extension drawers, tray dividers to toe-kick drawers, the goal in modern-day kitchen design is to make every square inch of usable space more, well, usable.
- Entertaining is key. Watch any home-improvement show, and it’s clear that what’s drives design decisions is the ability to entertain. And kitchens are no exception. Starting with an open floor plan and natural light, kitchen designs are implementing eat-in dining areas, islands with bar-stool seating and lots of space for meal prep, as well as all the bells and whistles of a gourmet kitchen including double ovens, high-end ranges and warming ovens, to name a few. Inviting, open and efficient kitchens are top-of-mind for designers.