Kitchen Trends 2008 - What's To Come?
Do kitchens really change that quickly, from one year to the next? Should we be looking for trends for kitchen design in 2008 and discard what we saw in 2007? What new things will we see for 2008? What do we look for and where do we look?
Progress is a good thing. Progress brings us new ideas, new solutions, a fresh, creative, look at familiar, comfortable, and sometimes, boring, or cumbersome, territory. Often, progress evolves into a trend. Here's where it gets tricky.
Trends, to me, are singular ideas, seen with little differentiation, across numerous manufacturer's product lines and showcased in mass media directed at consumers, resulting in maximum visibility.
A trend which can become highly influential. Take the color black. It's become trendy to incorporate black in cabinetry, even for all the cabinetry in a kitchen. Black kitchens are seen now in shelter magazines, blogs (yes, here too), showroom displays, and manufacturer's brochures. Top image from HGTV.
I don't think black kitchens have ever been on the radar for kitchen design...in a big way. They are now. So are tiled walls...wide swaths of walls with tiles, often mosaic tile, or, the same, seen all across a backsplash, inlcluding behind a range. Imagine a tiled wall combined with a black kitchen? See image above. Very cool from 2006 (first seen) till...oh, maybe three to five years as a guess? No, be careful going down that road. Kitchen materials are not accessories as in fashion or smaller interior design accessories, easily changed, such as pillows. A kitchen should be designed to last decades.
Let me say it this way...it's best when "fresh, new, creative" comes from original ideas suited to specific situatiions rather than being influenced by the power, and security, of a frequently seen/published/displayed idea.
So, create your own original ideas for 2008. Don't know where to begin? No time? No vision? Then, look for a creative designer, interview her/him carefully, and express your desire for true originality, something special...just for you! Something that is a personal expression, an aesthetic that is yours alone that may even break the rules. Go ahead, color outside the lines. Make it meaningful.
Interested in what's happening now AND expressing your personal vision? Take a look at this kitchen at left. The clients, from the UK, were inspired by.....um, Stilton cheese! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!
I guess that's really my message for all kitchen renovations in 2008. I'll be doing mine this year, and once I started to relax, this past week, the ideas began to flow. It's good advice for anyone. That's the first step.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 02:26PM
Reader Comments (6)
what are you trying to say? Just say it! I read this article 3 times and still don't know what you are trying to say.
The message, kitchen redo, is that one need not follow trends blindly, especially since a kitchen is usually done once or twice in one's life. Trends are fun, useful, interesting, and sure, they can be followed, but my message, as stated, is to consider digging deeper and add one's personal aesthetic into one's kitchen, regardless of trends. Is that a little more clear?
I am hoping that stainless steel and granite will go away soon! I know it is a very popular look (thanks to HGTV forcing it down everyones throat with scripted shows)and that it photographs well.
I tend to like something that is timeless and easy to clean and maintain that will not look dated in 5 years.
It will not be long before the current 'must have' kitchen will be considered cold and outdated and I see it as the next "avocado green" that will need to be updated with some new idea.
I have a 1950s ranch that still has much of the orginal things that make it a classic 50s house. My goal is to keep the house true to itself...it is not a Tuscan retreat anymore than it is a Craftsman bungalow. Those designs are out of place in this home and I have no intention of trying to make it something that it isn't for the sake of current fashion.
Remember the Southwest look? Or the harvest gold, avocado green and bright orange? Wallpaper with dancing magic mushrooms or psychedelic flowers?
My kitchen has 'good bones' and just needs to be freshened up and if anything brought back to the atomic age with some funky retro touches. Why gut a functional kitchen that was built with custom wood cabinets?
Sandra
Still, I'm looking at purchasing a new condo, and I'd like to know that the kitchen, the most important room, will continue to look fashionable for the next 5-10 years, the time I plan to live there. So... do I choose dark or light cabinets, stainless or other appliances, etc. I know what will be useful as far as layout, storage, etc., just looking for advice since the market now is opening up and I may actually have some choices! Thanks.
Are stainless steel appliances here to stay? I'm about to buy new appliances for my kitchen. Any insights are welcome!
Don't stop posting such stories. I like to read blogs like that. By the way add some pics :)