By Rieva Lesonsky
As I mentioned last week, the housing market is making a comeback. A survey just released by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) says contemporary is the hottest trend in bathroom design. And while the NKBA reports “transitional styles are still number one” in kitchen design, the trend is towards contemporary, incorporating “clean, simple lines, less clutter and little ornamentation,” says NKBA president John Petrie.
As with bathroom design, there’s a rising demand for universal/accessible design (including “easy-maintenance features” in kitchens, due to the aging of Baby Boomers. Also in demand are kitchens that incorporate docking and/or charging stations, desks or home office spaces. More than half of survey respondents report including a flat-screen TV in their kitchen design projects.
Outdoor kitchens are rising in popularity, as is the demand for energy-saving appliances, including water-saving faucets. Granite, which once topped nearly everyone’s kitchen-remodeling list, is waning in popularity, as the demand for countertops made of quartz or recycled materials increases.
Some of last year’s trends are expected to continue this year, including wood flooring, satin nickel faucets and stainless steel sinks. But glass backsplashes and granite composite sinks (I just got one of those) are making a run for the top in 2014.
The NKBA reports other popular kitchen features include:
- Induction cooktops
- Steam ovens
- French-door and bottom-freezer refrigerators
- Touch-activated faucets
- LED lighting
One of the newest kitchen trends is creating a space that accommodates the family pet, including day beds, feeding stations, cabinets for litter boxes and doggy faucets.
What’s not hot? Tuscan and Provincial-style kitchens are on their way out, as are cabinets with distressed and glazed finishes.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow her on Google+ and Twitter.com/Rieva and visit her website, SmallBizDaily.com, to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.
