Tomorrow’s Trends for Today’s Homes
Bringing today’s trends into the home is a great way to update a room. But trends are just that—fashionable items that may eventually go out of style.
So how can you create a contemporary room that will look stylish today, but not dated tomorrow? By studying the latest in interior design styles and focusing on the way people live, the design team at KraftMaid is able to forecast how design trends will evolve over time. At KraftMaid, we plan for products that are “trend-on” vs. “trendy.” Believe it or not, there is a big difference.
Our Design, Innovation and Product Development teams work with global trend leaders to identify the design elements that will be emerging now and into the next five years – those that are on the horizon and will be “trend-on” for many years to come. These are separate from those that are “trendy” and will be dated by next season.
We apply this approach when developing KraftMaid products, ensuring we bring you trend-on cabinetry, color tones and finishes, storage solutions and decorative enhancements that will be beautiful in your home now and for years to come.
Who knew cabinetry could be so stylish, yet so timeless? We did.
Our expert interior design team will help you understand today’s trends and how you can integrate these styles into your room design to create a fresh yet timeless look.
Design Trend 1: Heart of the Home – The Multifunctional Kitchen
Today’s kitchen is more than just a place to prepare a meal. It is the heart of the home, the center of family activity. Whether it’s gathering around the island to share a meal, helping kids with homework, paying bills, finding recipes on-line, or entertaining friends and extended family—the most important trend in kitchen design is to create a space that is multifunctional and welcoming.
Integrated Seating
One of the most requested features in the kitchen is an eating area. Incorporate stylish seating into an island or peninsula by supporting a countertop overhang with decorative Olive Leaf Corbels for a traditional look, or with Plain Square Posts for casual style. Build-in a beautiful banquette - one of today’s hottest trends – with cabinetry components and finishing details for a truly custom look.
Home Office/Homework Area
Carve out a home office in a quiet corner in your kitchen for bill-paying, organizing family schedules, catching up on work, or keeping an eye on the kids while they’re doing homework or surfing the net. Stylish and practical storage options help control the clutter and keep your kitchen organized.
Secondary/Specialized Work Zones
The basic principles of the work triangle remain important, but secondary work zones create areas for the specialized activities that take place in today’s multi-functional kitchen. Lower than standard counter heights create a baking center, perfect for kneading bread or rolling out cookies; a second sink in an island allows multiple cooks to help with food prep or clean-up; wine is stored at optimal temperatures, ready to be enjoyed by a crowd, or just two.
Design Trend 2: The Open Floor Plan
The walls between the kitchen, dining, and family room are coming down – literally – to create a more versatile space that reflects the way people live today. With expansive, flat-screen TVs and wireless technology, families are gathering in one central area for cooking, entertaining, gaming, relaxing, and the occasional work assignment. As a result, the kitchen is being treated with fine finishing details – decorative moldings and enhancements, specialty lighting, and quality flooring and surfacing materials. Beautiful cabinetry – available in a variety of wood species, finishes and laminates - makes a seamless transition from room to room.
Design Trend 3: The Furniture Look
Customizing cabinetry with furniture detailing gives functional pieces a distinctive presence in the room. Whether it’s the kitchen, home office, bath retreat or media room, using cabinetry components and decorative enhancements allows you to customize the size, function and appearance of your unique “furniture piece”. Get the Look With Decorative Enhancements.
Elegant moldings, onlays, ornaments, corbels and valances; turned legs, feet and toe kick treatments; and beautiful hardware options are finishing details which can be used to give cabinetry the look of fine furniture. Express your personal style by creating a focal point in your room with these decorative enhancements.
Design Trend 4: Beautiful Glass
Glass is one of the most exciting elements you can add to a kitchen – it’s also one of the most popular design trends today. Adding glass doors – whether it’s part of a cabinetry run or a free standing furniture piece – allows you to showcase your personality. Silver serving pieces, collectibles, fine china and rustic pottery all have the chance to shine in lighted cabinets with a variety of glass options: A hutch tucked in at the end of a run of cabinetry has Timeless Camed Inserts in 2 sizes; Palladia mullion doors on wall cabinets and in the island create glamour in this high-style kitchen; elegant serving pieces become a focal point behind Classic Camed glass; and a free-standing hutch shows off collectibles behind Textured glass.
Design Trend 5: Combining Finishes
Instead of having a roomful of cabinets all in one finish, one of today’s hottest trends is to combine colors, finish options and even wood types to create interest, define a focal point, or complement the architecture of a room. Of course, some combinations work better than others: make sure you see the actual samples together to determine how they will look in your space.
Birch Praline cabinetry is the backdrop for a dramatic island in Cherry Vintage Onyx; a focal point hearth area in Maple Canvas with Cocoa Glaze stands out against surrounding cabinets in Cherry Chocolate; Cherry Cinnamon frames cabinetry in soft Maple Willow, making for a much more interesting design.
A Closing Note:
Defining your interior design style and selecting elements from the latest design trends to incorporate in your room should be exciting and fun. Just make sure your design selections are “trend-on”, not just “trendy”. Your decisions should reflect your taste and suit your lifestyle to ensure that the look is fresh and timeless.
Now that you have a better understanding of emerging trends in home interior design, it’s time to discover how to add a splash of color to your space. Get the latest design trends in color.
Work with your local KraftMaid designer to find the features, options, finishes and enhancements to create a look that is uniquely you.