newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MARGARET MORGAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

More than 100 designers who are members of the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA), and have designed kitchens or bathrooms during the last three months of 2010, participated in an NKBA survey to reveal design trends in the marketplace for 2011. The results of this survey suggest there will be some changes in the direction that kitchen and bath styles will take this year.

Although the survey findings may not reflect activity in all parts of the country, several commonalities did emerge, indicating that changes in kitchen and bath styles are afoot in this new year. Here are 7 kitchen trends and 4 bathroom trends that are poised to take hold in 2011, surveyed as general trends across the United States and Canada, which don't necessarily appear in all geographic areas.

Kitchen Trends:

1. Shake it up. Although the popularity of the Shaker style began in 2009, it truly gained momentum in 2010. By the end of the year, it overtook contemporary as the second most popular style used by NKBA member designers, which, given its versatility, may not come as a huge surprise. Here’s the breakdown: Traditional still dominates, but has fallen to 76%; more than half of the designers specified Shaker-style cabinetry; 48% specified contemporary and 21% selected cottage-style cabinets.

2. Maple is sugar coating. For designers in the survey, cherry was the wood of choice for kitchen cabinetry in early 2010 with 78% specifying it in their work (compared to 64% who selected maple, the second most popular wood). In 2011, those numbers are nearly reversed with cherry falling to 71% and maple rising to 76%. Alder was used by 28% of designers surveyed over the last three months of 2010, representing a sharp decline from the previous year (39%).

3. Dark is in. Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of finish toward the end of 2010 with 51% of the designers specifying dark natural finishes in contrast to only 42% in 2010. Usage of medium natural, white painted and glazed finishes dropped slightly, while light natural and colored painted finishes remained constant. However, distressed finishes dropped significantly to only 5%.

4. Kitchen orderly. While kitchen organization remains a priority, many features are the decline – wine refrigerators are no longer in great demand, as wine storage at room temperature has become more popular; tall pantry cupboards, pull-out racks and lazy Susans are all on the wane as well.

5. Stone cold. Granite and quartz continue to reign as the top two countertop materials with marble and butcher block counter showing a significant increase in popularity.

6. The neutrals are in. It seems that uncertain times often lead to more conservative behavior, which may explain why homeowners seemed to shy from color as 2010 drew to a close. The use of every color, except beige and gray as in interior colors, remained either level or down across the board from a year earlier. Whites and off-whites were slightly down also.

7. Trash is greener and cleaner. A greater emphasis is being placed on trash considerations in the kitchen perhaps as a consequence of an increased awareness of and/or interest in living greener. Does living greener mean living cleaner? It could as 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include trash or recycling pullouts; garbage disposals and trash compactor usage increased significantly.

Bathroom Trends:

1. Quartz has come on as strong as in the kitchen and is the material of choice for bathroom vanity tops. Demand for cultured marble and onyx increased slightly, while solid marble slid a bit.

2. Vessel sinks are quickly becoming the "it" piece to have. These sleek countertop sinks are undermounts, which come in a range of materials and will fit in any setting. They continue to dominate newly remodeled bathrooms.

3. Green is golden. This is the color green, not the eco-friendly variety. Green connotes a spa atmosphere, soothing and more relaxing. For many, neutrals seem to do the trick and remain popular, as whites (and off-whites), beiges and browns ~ the three most commonly used color tones in bathrooms.

4. Fixed on faucets. The most popular finish for the faucet fixtures is satin nickel closely followed by bronze, oil-rubbed bronze and polished chrome or nickel.

Given the slumping economy and sluggish real estate market, more homeowners are remodeling, rather than selling and are planning for the long term, possibly the rest of their lives. To save money in remodeling, the obvious first step is the bathroom(s). Baths cost much less than a kitchen or addition and, with most houses having more than one bath, remodeling the bathrooms will freshen your home’s interior without breaking the bank.

Keep a watch on this page to follow more tips on remodeling revealed in a recent poll from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

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