Home owners these days are focusing more than ever on extravagant touches and convenient details all throughout the house. But the room that benefits the most is the kitchen.

At this year’s Tour du Jour sponsored by the Junior League of Chattanooga, visitors viewed homes with some of the most beautiful kitchens in the city, said Amanda Kelley, who helped coordinate the event.

“People are either going for a modern trend or a more ornate look,” she said, describing the design of the kitchens featured.

Ms. Kelley said big trends include hidden storage and spaces for children in the kitchen. Wood-covered refrigerators, food prep areas tucked into center islands, out-of-sight garbage cans and microwaves make the kitchen more aesthetically pleasing, she said.

“(Kitchens) are becoming much more functional as people figure out their needs,” she said.

Advertisement:

realtycenter.com

Click to enlarge photo

A Council Fire kitchen that Ms. Kelley said was a popular tour stop had an all-white design, from countertops to cabinets.

Others were in renovated older homes that were not built for the large grand kitchens. As a result, the owners converted their smaller kitchens to laundry rooms and just built additions onto the back of the house on what used to be the deck.

“I have seen a lot of the older homes, and the owners have redone their spaces to fit with the kitchen trends,” she said.

For example, she said, houses in the Overlook have very big, open kitchens, with lots of counter space. People are getting a lot of double ovens and detailed tile work for their backsplashes and the spaces behind their ovens.

Advertisement:

prudentialrealtycenter.com

Click to enlarge photo

Other homes around Chattanooga, such as the lofts at 417 Frazier are designed with a more modern look, she said, while others have very ornate features all through-out their kitchens. Even the hood over the stove in some homes has been designed with ornate scrollwork and other finishes that are very rich and luxe, she said.

A $1.75 million home under construction on Lookout Mountain embodies another trend in home gadgetry — wiring houses for technology. Gina Sakich with Real Estate Partners Chattanooga, the realty firm listing the development, has implemented technology by Smarthomes Chattanooga, owned by Jon Lancaster.

The house features advanced security, entertainment and environmental controls installed by Smarthomes Chattanooga.

Advertisement:

www.robinsonteam.com

Click to enlarge photo

When someone rings the doorbell, a camera puts his picture on the front room’s television set, Ms. Sakich said. Also, someone taking a bath in the master bathroom can watch a plasma television which is mounted behind the mirror. Other technical features include the ability to control the audio system from anywhere in the house, she said, as well as dimming the lights.

The technology also can lower or raise the window shades and program the thermostat, Mr. Lancaster said.

Staff writer Jason Reynolds contributed to this report.