By Deb Williamson
Refreshing Kitchen Updates
While April Showers are starting to refresh our outdoors with the hope of May flowers, springtime is the perfect time to start planning for refreshing updates to yourkitchen. Kitchens are the heart of every home. Whether you’re cooking dinner for your family, entertaining friends or just midnight snacking, you’ll find yourself hanging out in the kitchen. That’s why kitchen updates always top the list of homeowners’ wishes and are the focus of so many home improvements. This spring, I would like to offer some fresh ideas to update your kitchen space.
Open Floor Plans
Sooooo….. what do today’s kitchens wish for? Open and airy come to mind. Wide open kitchen layouts that provide unobstructed views of the dining room, living room or outdoors are a must. Homeowners wish-lists include large oversized windows, sinks, islands, hoods and appliances. Other desirable items include cabinets that reach to the ceiling and stacked crown moldings that delight the eye and make the room visibly taller than it actually is. New floor plans need to provide an efficient flow within the kitchen, making it easy to move from the refrigerator to the sink and cooktop within a few steps without feeling crowded. Homeowners are also requesting larger kitchen spaces to accommodate several cooks in the kitchen and plenty of seating for guests.
Cabinet Ideas
Fresh ideas in the kitchen start with cabinetry. Today’s cabinets offer endless options including numerous wood species, stain colors, paint colors, door styles, and finishing techniques. Your cabinetry plan should not only look great but should also offer you improved function and flow over your existing kitchen. Currently, homeowners are opting for multi-toned kitchens which incorporate a mix of painted and stained cabinets and makes it easy to mix and match furniture and accessories. White painted cabinets are still the most requested cabinet with gray and blue tones following closely behind.
Storage Solutions
Storage solutions are another way homeowners are freshening up their kitchens. Luxury kitchens are re-introducing the butler’s pantry in addition to walk-in pantries and tons of cabinetry. And for those who are lacking space, storage solutions are incorporated into their cabinetry plan, including kitchen pantries, oversized drawer bases, garbage recycling centers, charging drawers and pop-up mixing stands. High-end cabinetry hardware comes standard these days with full extension drawers allowing easy access to items in the back of the drawer and soft-close mechanisms that allow doors and drawers to gently glide shut while eliminating annoying noises.
Countertops Surfaces
Finally, new countertops are great way to refresh an existing kitchen or add the perfect complement to a new one. Solid surfaces such as quartz and granite countertops are highly sought-after options that provide durable work spaces and adds style to the overall kitchen plan. Quartz in black or white seem to be the countertops of choice with their no-maintenance finish and food-safe surface. If solid surfaces aren’t in your budget, there are some great looking high-definition laminates that can finish off your kitchen for a fraction of the price.
Attention to Details
Today’s kitchens require attention to details! Homeowners are using unique, oversized hoods as centerpieces and accenting the space with distinctive materials such as shiplap, stainless steel, huge corbels or wood beams and adorning the backsplashes with beautiful and unique tiles and accessories. Flooring trends are quickly lightening up in color contributing to the light and airy feel that homeowners crave. All of these details combined with an open floorplan create kitchens homeowners are dreaming of. This spring, there’s no better time to start thinking about ways to refresh your kitchen!
