Kitchen Trends
Kitchens have come a long way in a very short time. Once a cramped, unadorned space unused except in the preparation of food, technology has transformed the kitchen into something almost unimagined earlier – a space sometimes not even wholly dedicated to food. But fear not, gourmands! The kitchen has simultaneously transformed into something far more useful to those concerned with its primary purpose – food preparation.
Entertainment – Lucielle Ball once entertained her audience with madcap cooking antics, but the typical cook toils away without stimulation. Now, with the advent of flat screen televisions, cooks can watch television at any available nook. Now, installing a flat screen television monitor on a refrigerator may seem a bit extravagant, but the larger point is that food preparation is yet another activity where the television can take the mind off the mundane nature of some tasks. In fact, the available of entertainment options has made the kitchen more useful for other activities. Given space limitations in many homes, the kitchen has evolved into something else:
The Gathering Place – Fancier kitchen designs have transformed kitchens into gathering places for the entire family. Kitchen cabinets have been redesigned with an eye towards providing a pleasing backdrop for entertainment, while fine furniture is now sold for more comfortable kitchen seating.
Storage and Space: The rise of Costco and other bulk supermarkets have put no strains on kitchen spaces that may have once been designed for daily trips to the market. Many people are opting for Walk-In Pantries and other solutions to store those Box Store Bargains.
The march of technology has impacted food storage since the days of ice deliveries, and today, new technology is transforming food storage options with an eye towards both appearance and freshness. Undercounter refrigerators function as pull-out drawers, while dishwashers brandish a variety of colors to fit in any décor. Many dishwashers now come equipped with floating glass front panels to watch the newer dishwashing technologies work their magic.
Colors: Much of the transformation of the kitchen has been driven by the color green – the color of money. Whether it is space limitations or simply the design of your home, the desire to get the most out of available space is driving many of the newer kitchen trends.
Green also describes the growing awareness of how our kitchens impact the environment. Many kitchens have long used wood as a primary building material, but with new awareness of how timber harvesting can negatively affect ecology, builders and chefs alike have sought out alternatives. The fast-growing bamboo, for example, has replaced wood for butcher blocks in many green kitchens. New dishwasher and sink technologies minimize water consumption, while indoor air quality-certified laminates offer healthy surfacing options.
The Color White – The color of clean, white is making inroads in both style and function. White cabinets are useful in a variety of kitchen styles, allowing for flexibility in both design and color choices. The emphasis on clean can be seen with the renewed demand for stainless steel appliances. Unlike earlier generations of stainless steel appliances, these new appliances appeal to more boutique functions such as making espresso or pizza.
Finally, kitchen lighting has also advanced markedly with improvements in technology and technique. Particularly, new advances in LED lighting, combined with new layered lighting techniques, offer a nuanced effect which can highlight subtle color choices while keeping the kitchen bright enough to cook in.
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