A vessel sink is on display at Classic Cabinetry.The National Kitchen and Bath Association polled 100 of its members who designed kitchens or bathrooms during the last three months of 2010. From those surveys, trends in kitchen/bath design were found nationwide, not just by geographic areas. We checked with designers Kris Keith and Becky Worley at Classic Cabinetry on Broad Street to see whether these trends had made their way into local home remodels and new builds. Classic Cabinetry is an NKBA member, though these designers were not participants in this survey.
Chill Out
The trend: The incorporation of wine refrigerators into kitchen design is on the decline, while unchilled wine storage is growing in popularity. Although 51 percent of the designers said they incorporated wine storage areas into kitchens in 2010, undercounter wine refrigerators fell from 50 percent to 36 percent. Other cabinetry options falling out of favor: lazy Susans, pullout racks and appliance garages.
- Kris Keith: “Yes, we do more cabinetry wine storage than wine refrigerators, but I have not seen a decline in the others.”
French-door refrigerators
The trend: The French-door refrigerator (a half-and-half armoire style with a double-door refrigerator on top and freezer on bottom) has strengthened its position as the type most often chosen for kitchens, jumping from 67 to 78 percent of respondents. Freezer-top refrigerators were specified by only 8 percent of designers; side-by-side units rose slightly from 46 to 49 percent.