Regardless of whether you’re carving pumpkins—or turnips—chances are you’ll be doing it in the kitchen. Years ago that made sense because the kitchen was pretty much a working room—cut off from the rest of the house. If you were going to make a mess, you did it in the kitchen because that was a place guests didn’t go. But today’s kitchen is about so much more than just meal preparation. The modern kitchen is the social center of the home. It’s still where we prepare meals, but it’s also where we entertain guests. As a matter of fact, it’s almost impossible to keep people out of the kitchen!
That’s one reason that so many home remodeling projects focus on the kitchen—and incorporate a great room concept in which the kitchen flows freely into the family room. That’s changed the way kitchens look and feel. One thing we’ve noticed is that whereas appliances often used to dominate the kitchen landscape, there’s more of a trend today to have appliances that blend in.
And being open to the family room or great room means that homeowners are more apt to pick cabinetry and color schemes that flow from the kitchen into other living spaces. Kitchens are being designed as rooms in their own right—as places where family and friends can feel comfortable.
Current kitchen trends, however, aren’t purely cosmetic. While the kitchen has taken on an increasingly social role, it’s still a place where work gets done. And that means designs that pay attention to functionality. That extends even to how cabinet doors and drawers function. There are now hydraulic, easy-close doors that fold up and out of the way with the touch of a button making them perfect for kitchens where space is an issue.
And speaking of space, not everyone has the luxury of a large kitchen. Another trend is to double up storage with multi-tiered drawers—and to find “hidden” or wasted kitchen space that can be used for storage or infrequently used items.
Stay tuned. There’s always something new cooking in today’s kitchen designs!