Kitchens appear to be on the cusp of a revolution where new brighter colours are taking over from traditional browns and where the sink – of all things – is becoming the sculptural centre of attention in the most utilitarian of ways.
“We are seeing a trend towards white and light painted cabinetry. Customers like to blend light with dark. A white kitchen with dark island accent cabinetry is in fashion,” said Pam Graves.
Sinks have come a long way. Granite and cast iron sinks are a popular choice and offered in numerous styles and colours. Also apron sinks that wrap around the front of the cabinet are gaining in popularity.
Some sinks are made from new modern materials that absorb sound. The colours are different too ranging from traditional stainless steel and white to black or charcoal-coloured sinks with a flat, matte finish.
“Sinks may be white and shiny cast iron or they may have a flat finish. They may also be made of crushed granite and are so easy to clean you can even use the little green scrubbies on them,” said Christina Kempinsky, manager of Robinson Lighting and Bath.
Kempinsky noted that sinks are most fashionable these days when they are square.
“Customers want square, square, square. Even the faucets are square,” she said.
Traditional wood cabinets are still popular, but designers are often combining brown wood panels with white, grey or even stainless steel doors.
“New textures are popular and we have used stainless-steel doors to help break up the heavy look of wood,” said Nina Gerhard, a designer with Cucina Bella kitchen boutique.
Cabinet finishes range from the traditional to the antique-look of distressed wood to a more European styling featuring the same highly polished coloured lacquers found on Porsches.
“In North America, white lacquer is still more popular than the bright colours but sometimes, depending on the size of the kitchen, that white is combined with grey or red,” said Orlando Milite of Le Belle Arti.
To complement these space-age finishes, the counters may be made of cement, Milite said.
“The countertops are either very thin, perhaps 12 mm thick Corian, or very thick – five-inches thick – concrete. In many cases the two are combined so you will have the thin counter in one area and the thick counter in another,” Milite said.
There’s a hocus pocus element to the new kitchen gadgetry that is making its way into the modern dĂ©cor.
Taps have turned into fountains, drawers now come with tiny lights inside them, cabinet doors may open automatically at a wave from your hand and kitchen workspaces have set-in stove elements that almost disappear into a glass-smooth expanse of counter.
Those counters may even have built-in temperature controls, said Milite.
“The new trend for countertops is to have a sensor that may be turned on or off. You may want the cold temperature, if for example you are cooking fish and want to keep it cool. Or if you want to keep the food hot, there is a heating sensor for that too,” he said.
Sinks come with new practical features, such as the slide-out rack that can be fitted on one side of the tub to provide a place for either cut up vegetables or hot pots.
“You can take a hot pot from the stove and you have an instant surface on the side of the sink. You can pull it out and wash it,” said Kempinsky.
The new angular taps, which look like minimalist works of art, may also be so automatic that you don’t have to touch them to make them produce water.
“Even if your hands are full of chicken, you can wave your elbow to turn them on,” said Kempinsky as she explained that temperature control is a single lever on the side of the faucet.
Kitchen organization is better than ever before with designers making the most of every nook and cranny, even in very small spaces.
U-shaped drawers under the sink provide a practical place for cleaning products and corner drawer cabinets offer optimal storage for a normally difficult to access space, Graves said.
“They are a great functional solution for organized storage,” she said.
