2013 Kitchen Remodeling Trends

1. CLEANER, MORE MODERN LINES

Perhaps the biggest change to hit kitchen remodeling in recent years is the simpler, sleeker look coming over from Europe.

fewer wall cabinets — usually replaced by open shelving less ornamentation, including on cabinet doors, which are now often a simple slab. Proportions are tending toward the masculine; becoming “squarer, thicker, chunkier, and more architectural. To offset the bolder scale, finishes such as painted cabinets and marble countertops are “staying more feminine.”

2. UPDATED LAYOUTS

Open-concept kitchens have been popular for some time, but the older homes in Columbus, OH often require an addition to create them. Many homeowners are doing away with that extra expense by eliminating the formal dining room.

Additionally, the work triangle — with the stove, refrigerator, and sink forming its three points — is no longer the focus of kitchen design. Instead, restaurant-inspired workstations are being set up. There may be a prep area for vegetables near the main sink, a baking station with a pullout cutting board or lift-up mixer in the base cabinets, a sandwich-prep area near the refrigerator, and a bar area with second sink and mini-fridge in the island.

3.  DOCKING STATIONS

Beginning in the 1990s, with the rise of home computers, remodeling contractors started adding office areas to kitchens in new-construction homes, and the trend soon moved to kitchen renovations. But those office spaces are falling out of favor, because in most homes they quickly became where bills, receipts, recipes, kids’ school permission slips, and the like got tossed into a pile to be ignored.Charging cords and outlets for hand-held devices that live in a countertop cubbyhole can be hidden with a slide-up door, and upper areas containing pockets for kids’ stuff, personalized mail slots, key hooks, and electronics storage can be masked by doors that close when guests arrive.

4. EXPANDED HARDWARE OPTIONS
For years, the only adornments on well-dressed cabinets were brushed-nickel rod handles. Today that’s changing, with many more materials and styles available. Old-fashioned scallop pulls are becoming popular again; other options include flush hardware that mounts along the top edge of base cabinets.

In keeping with the cleaner lines of the transitional style, some homeowners are selecting no visible cabinet hardware, instead using concealed hinges, finger-pulls that are notched out of the edges of doors, or latches that close magnetically.

5. LESS MATCHING

Maybe a decade ago, a style began to emerge that has by now become practically de rigueur for designers: a kitchen island in materials or colors unlike those found at the room’s perimeter.

In its latest iteration, the trend has moved beyond islands to other areas of the kitchen. In the perimeter, for example, top cabinets may be different from base cabinets.

6. VARIED CABINET CHOICES

Cabinets come in a wider array of materials and configurations than ever before. Among the most popular new designs are those with doors that open not with the traditional left or right swing, but by lifting up garage-door-style, by retracting into the sides of the cabinet, by operating as a bi-fold, or even by sliding. All of these options offer increased efficiency for the cook or server. If you use a particular upper cabinet often, for example, you can keep it open while making dinner rather than taking each ingredient out in advance and cluttering up the counter. And if there’s a sliding door under the sink, it gives you access to the trash can until you’re finished preparing food without causing an obstruction to bump your knee on.

7. THICK OR THIN COUNTERTOPS

There’s not that much change in countertop materials — granite, quartz, and marble still reign supreme — but whatever surface you choose, it’s likely to be either thicker or thinner than the standard 1¼ or 1½ inches you’ve seen in the past. Today’s countertops can go as thin as a half inch or as thick as 5 inches. Island countertops are often twice as thick as perimeter ones, and, in very contemporary designs, may extend down the sides of the islands for the sort of boxy, masculine look. And many countertops are being fitted with built-ins such as a cutting board or a flush-mount composting bucket near the sink.

8.      MAXIMIZED SPACE

The trend toward organizing and simple lines is forcing kitchen designers to use every inch of space as efficiently as possible. It starts with the frameless look and extends to pullout drawers in the cabinets that allow the whole 24-inch depth to be used rather than just the front, spacious refrigerated beverage drawers in the island, and pullout spice racks as narrow as 3 inches in what once might have been dead space.

To amateur chefs and busy home cooks, beautiful designs are nice but will always play second fiddle to appliances. For them, we’ve saved the best for last:

• Built-in Espresso Machines  The latest machines, plumbed right into the water source, are pricey but give the family barista steamed milk, espresso, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and, oh yeah, freshly ground coffee at the touch of a button.
• New Finishes  Sleek glass appliances are making inroads, with Whirlpool’s White Ice and Black Ice versions, out this summer starting at $599, being touted as “the new stainless.”
• Double Ovens Wall-mounted double ovens have been common for decades, but now something new has hit the big-box stores.
• Warming Drawers Keep your food hot and fresh; perfect for hot dinners and parties.
• Steam Ovens  Use steam instead of dry heat to cook foods and can make everything from shrimp to vegetables to super-moist cakes.
• Infrared Broilers Use less energy than traditional broilers and require little or no preheating.
• Induction Cooktops Rather than a burning ring or red-hot coils on the stove’s surface, induction uses electromagnetism to heat pans directly.