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"Starting to see?" - Kitchen Trends for 2013

allison0704
11 years ago

Must Have Kitchen Trends for 2013
Yahoo Homes article:

"I am starting to see kitchen cabinetry painted in shades of cream, taupe and gray, often mixing in a darker wood for an island or the lower cabinets," says Fies." They have been living under a rock....

"Trend #3 - Hardwood." Seriously?!

This article sounds to me like it was written 10 years ago....

Here is a link that might be useful: Article

Comments (33)

  • taggie
    11 years ago

    Well, to be fair I think he is talking about cream+taupe+grey in the same kitchen. And they aren't saying hardwood is a trend, that just the section heading, I think they are saying that lighter hardwood is trending. That's definitely a change from 10 years back.

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I don't read the multi-color section that way.

    I don't think lighter hardwoods is a new trend either, as it's been around and used near beaches (as in the article) and further inland for years. Not as common as dark wood, for certain, but we did light/natural in our 2nd story addition in 1993.

  • palimpsest
    11 years ago

    I think there is a Lot of regional variation. I've yet to see the "classic white and soapstone" where I live, mostly what goes in are medium toned, raised panel distressed finishes or super dark slab doors. I would imagine that Metro DC is much different than right outside in Maryland and Virginia, as well. In the burbs here maybe there is a lot of white and soapstone, but there seems to be a lot of cabinets painted an actual color, too.

    At the price point my sister was looking at, several hours from here, there were very few full, tile backsplashes. The "upgraded" finishes in her new townhouse are a 4" granite backsplash and a medium dark stained cabinet. Not what she would have picked starting from scratch, but not hard to work with, either. The house that she rented, also within her price point, had formica and vinyl flooring. That house was about ten years old had finishes that were popular 20 years ago, here.

    If Metro DC is anything like here, there was a lot of very dark, almost black floors done here in the last dozen years and I think people are pulling back from this because of the daily maintenance needed.

  • angie_diy
    11 years ago

    I believe that articles such as that one don't have to be right and they don't have to be accurate. They just have to get written!

  • EATREALFOOD
    11 years ago

    Angie LOL ! :)

    They just have to get written and the author needs to get his/her check...

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    11 years ago

    I didn't read it yet, but DH was looking at the latest House Beautiful and among the "Hot New Picks" or whatever the section was called, were such fascinating items as grey grout, a plunger, and a wooden toilet seat.

    A lot of very bad "journalism" in the design field. Just fill the pages, and appease the sponsors. Not everyone is up to AtticMag's standards. : )

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    lol mtnrdredux. Thank you for the compliment.

    I usually don't even read trend articles, and I used to read the house magazine I subscribe to... but lately, between not having enough time and the content, I find myself mostly looking at the pictures. Seems you can find better content online nowadays.

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    11 years ago

    "A lot of very bad "journalism" in the design field. Just fill the pages, and appease the sponsors. Not everyone is up to AtticMag's standards. : )"

    Not just the design field- it's everywhere.
    There is such competition for web hits and advertising money that I think often they choose their hot topic keywords first and structure an "article" around them.

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    For me, that would be boring. I have to have a subject or picture I want to write about, or else I browse until I do!

  • Elraes Miller
    11 years ago

    A touch OT, but have you guys seen the all stainless kitchens? The cabinets are completely stainless. Plus mirrored cabinets too. I should have looked at the counters used, but was too fascinated with what they did. My fascination was how to keep the place clean. Can't remember where I saw this first, but link below shows this is not an unusual move.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Stainless kitchens

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    11 years ago

    Like so many other things, that stainless kitchen or mirror idea falls into the category of "just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."

  • ppbenn
    11 years ago

    DD did an editorial internship at our local "Style" mag last summer; it is definately a "just get it written" world. Poor kid no longer looks at magazines the same way.
    The magazine industry machine lost a decent budding wordsmith.
    No wonder blogs and pinterest are so popular.

  • springroz
    11 years ago

    I am SO glad to hear that my kitchen won't be totally "OUT" until 2014!!

    One less thing to worry about this year!?,

    Nancy

  • lazy_gardens
    11 years ago

    There is such competition for web hits and advertising money that I think often they choose their hot topic keywords first and structure an "article" around them.

    Yes, they do. I've written this sort of article and the web sites send the topic and the keywords that MUST be used. And how often to use them.

  • Bunny
    11 years ago

    Same thing as applying for a job. Take the exact words used to promote a job and use them to describe your work experience.

  • jterrilynn
    11 years ago

    Out of curiosity what blogs would one go to if one wanted to see some real designs and creativity that are NOT keyword based? Being that I will most likely be remodeling a smaller house in the future I would love to find some blogs with eclectic design/decorating that also included product, hardware info. My next house will be much smaller and will most likely be either the last or close to the last residence before my expiration. I want to choose things much differently than I have in the past, as in higher quality to last.

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Jterrilynn, I can tell you that Jane and I feature kitchens that interest us - we don't base them around keywords or ads and although I can't speak for her, I know I have never written about anything because someone asked me to - pretty sure she hasn't either. I have to like it, want it or be drawn to it. If you read the About Us, you'll see that Jane started AM during their home renovation, and it started out being called Kitchens We Love.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Atticmag

  • beekeeperswife
    11 years ago

    Allison, you are THAT Allison? Why didn't I know that? I knew about Jane, but geez.....how did I miss that?

    And in regards to trends....I read an interesting editorial about the differences between Trends and Fads. I thought it was very thought provoking. And true. I had never thought of the words together. Now I think about how they are so different. To me a fad is the Color of the Year, but a Trend is the fact that we are seeing more and more kitchens being painted vs stained. I don't care what color, we saw white, now we are seeing gray, sometimes we see a daring navy blue (or a luscious butter yellow ;-) ). That's not to say that every area is doing painted kitchens. I tell you that here in Central PA the closest thing to painted kitchen cabinets that is just catching on is the glazed cabinet look. I'm the Marilyn Munster of Central PA, just for the record. The look of horror on every builder's face as well as every fabricator's face when I mentioned white cabinets and marble was priceless. Should have taken pictures of all of their faces.... So that's my thought...I don't think Trends are yearly and short lived, like Fads are. I think they are something we slowly move into. And I'm not saying that EVERYBODY will have painted cabinets, just saying slowly they are becoming more and more accepted. (Obviously we will always have stained cabinets, some of the new species we are seeing being used are gorgeous).

    Oh well.

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    lol Yes, I am THAT Allison. I met Jane here, on GW. She loved my kitchen. I started with just shopping, but started writing about decorating, kitchens and bathrooms a year later? Not sure. We actually met for the first time this summer when we were both in Chicago visiting our grandchildren. :)

    You're correct about trends and fads. Fads are short term and trends are long term, with more influence.

  • motherof3sons
    11 years ago

    Allison - please let me know the next time you come to Chicago! I would love to meet you!

  • northcarolina
    11 years ago

    I got to see a friend's kitchen for the first time today. I don't know the age of the house exactly but the neighborhood was built in the 1920's. The kitchen had cream-colored cabinets, honed black granite, an island with a wood top (probably walnut), and a white single-basin apron-front sink (maybe a Rohl?). The tile, which extended down to the countertop, was 5-6" squares laid in a diamond pattern, cream colored to match the cabinets. The kitchen was pretty small considering the size of the house, though a wall had been taken down so it was open to the den. So I asked her, while admiring the honed granite, if they'd done the kitchen recently (they are renovating another part of the house now). She said no, the previous owners did it AT LEAST 10 years ago.

    I told her they were ahead of the curve 10 years ago, also that she had a gorgeous kitchen (she got a good laugh out of that because there was kid stuff all over the place). It looked exactly right for the house, by the way, which is a big... I think Georgian, though I am not very knowledgeable about architecture. The cabinetry looked old (don't ask me why, just my fleeting impression), which I think is partly why the kitchen seemed to fit in well.

  • allison0704
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I sure will! It will be this Spring. It would be fun to do a GW get-together while there - large or small.

    DS lives in the theater district, but I don't venture very far - too busy having baby time!

  • RoRo67
    11 years ago

    I am relatively new to Garden Web although I have been reading it for over a year. So I thought I might as weigh in on something controversial. :) As for the color, they say it comes out of Paris in the clothing designs! From there, it is incorporated into designs from Macy's to Walmart, then to interior designers, architects, and builders. Personally it is a bit much. Back in 1984 I chose a wallpaper for my kitchen that had that exact color background! Trends come and go so finding that it sounds like 10, 20, even 30 years ago is quite normal. Remember those clothes you wore in high school that your daughter wants to wear now? Quartz is touted as maintainence free. What they don't tell you is that if it is in direct sunlight, it will fade. It will also scorch. Granite on the other hand is nearly indestructable. It can only be scratched by granite, diamond, sapphire and corundum. Sealing it is just a matter of once or twice a YEAR pouring the sealant on the stone rubbing it on as car wax, letting it sit for a short period of time, then rubbing off the excess! It is not time consuming nor is it expensive. Of course, there are some granites that should be done more often. Your salesperson or fabricator should tell you how often it needs to be done before you buy. You can cut directly on granite, but you will dull your knives. I used to work in a kitchen and bath showroom that sold both granite and quartz products, but for the money, you can get one of the most expensive granites for the price they are charging for the plain quartz. Yes, there is movement in granite at times a lot of it, but oh so stunning! People are buying commercial stoves. As a warning, they need to ensure they are meant to be installed in a residence by checking with the local fire marshal. True commercial ranges are dangerous if not installed properly. Hardwood floors will be in for a long time. The fact that it took them so long to realize that dark floors show dust, dirt, and just about anything that lands on them is what baffles me. Stainless steel single bowl sinks that are 9"-11" are what is going on now. Oh by the way, I live in Atlanta.

  • wi-sailorgirl
    11 years ago

    Nobody was talking about granite vs. quartz in this thread, were they?

  • gr8daygw
    11 years ago

    I think she was referring to it as a trend vs. fad and if it's on it's way out. As far as granite is concerned I still like it best. I see it being done differently than when it first arrived on the scene but still very prolific. i don't really like any of the alternatives enough to switch to it.

    I am hoping to do my cabinets in a dark painted espresso with a glaze. I hope that isn't on it's way out!!! According to the OP original article some people are just now seeing them. I also plan on the off white island. So looks like I will be on trend only in reverse order. I even have light hardwood floors in white oak. Yea! Now all I need is a money tree!

  • PeterH2
    11 years ago

    > What they don't tell you is that [quartz] will scorch.

    They don't tell you that because it is not true. I heated a cast-iron skillet to over 500F and placed it on a near-white sample of quartz. No scorching. I had to take a blowtorch to the quartz to get it to scorch (over 1,000F).

    I have no way to check the fading story, but I think we would have heard a lot more about it if it were a major problem.

  • RoRo67
    11 years ago

    I read the whole story. In it, there was a mention of quartz which is why I brought it up. I went by the Marble Institute of America's posts that quartz scorches. Maybe some does, some not. I know I have seen one of the white ones scorch, not sure of the manufacturer. As for the fading, it stands to reason that it will. It is 7% resin that binds the quartz/glass, etc. together. I read it and several of my old customers traded their quartz for granite, same room, no fading. gr8day, your kitchen sounds delicious. The contrasts are there to bring your eyes up and around the room.

  • suzanne_sl
    11 years ago

    Several things come to mind:

    A lot of very bad "journalism" in the design field. Just fill the pages...

    This also applies to craft type magazines, the zillion Better Homes and Gardens publications being at the top of the list. I always get the feeling that whoever writes the articles has no interest whatsoever in that particular endeavor. My biggest regret is for the change at Quilter's Newsletter which has moved from interesting stuff in the world of quilting to blah, blah, blah. Yes, I did let my subscription lapse a couple of years ago.

    beekeeperswife: I tell you that here in Central PA the closest thing to painted kitchen cabinets that is just catching on is the glazed cabinet look. I'm the Marilyn Munster of Central PA, just for the record. The look of horror on every builder's face as well as every fabricator's face when I mentioned white cabinets and marble was priceless. Should have taken pictures of all of their faces....

    Ha! A friend was born with some weird heart valve issue that evidently made interesting noises. She delighted in not warning new doctors before they had a listen. She took great amusement in their reactions, the classic being the frozen face followed by the polite, neutral face, and then very polite language suggesting that, well, this might require some follow-up. [That heart really didn't cause her any issues until it quit working one day when she was 70. She was fixing dinner at the time in her custom kitchen. Not a bad way to go.]

    One of the really great things about GW is that so many practical things get examined from so many perspectives: corner cabinet solutions, placement of cabinet hardware, function of different sink options, thorough dissection of layout issues, GC and fabricator problems. And then there's fashion/fad/trend side of things. This is the icing on the cake corner of the world and lots of fun. There are kitchens I love here and ones that I don't love, but I appreciate them all and am glad everyone shares - much better than pay-by-the-word keyword dependent non-info.

  • PeterH2
    11 years ago

    > I know I have seen one of the white ones scorch

    Probably because someone applied a direct flame to it, which is not a normal event for a kitchen countertop. I can imagine someone who has an interest in selling stone doing that to "prove" that quartz is inferior.

    > As for the fading, it stands to reason that it will.

    Why?

  • wi-sailorgirl
    11 years ago

    "several of my old customers traded their quartz for granite, same room, no fading"

    Oh ... so you sell granite. Well that explains it.

  • whit461
    11 years ago

    Honestly, this thread is some pretty funny reading. Keep it up, you guys. Allison0704 is so right. The article lacks, and smells of bad journalism. Not all journalism is bad, but with so much media available, there is inevitably a lot of crap out there.

    Next month the editors need something else to fill copy space. Cable channels need to fill air space. Newspapers, well, they're just shutting down and dying everywhere.

    Demo started this week. Cabinets get delivered next Friday. Appliances are all bought (except a wall oven). In three weeks plus my trendy kitchen will have been a fad and will be dated before I can post pictures to Photobucket! DW and I will love it. The beer is already cold and the Sav Blanc is in the wine cooler.

  • marcolo
    11 years ago

    I think trends are more related to product and technology innovations, which is why they last longer. The globalization of the past decade and a half is what really pushed the stone industry forward, because it's so easy to source stone from around the world. Now everybody thinks that showcasing a rock as the centerpiece of a kitchen is "the way it's done," but it's not. It's simply the result of a material becoming more widely available in greater variety.

    In researching time-sensitive kitchen questions, I've really come to hate click harvesting sites. They are flat-out evil. I don't think most blogs are any better--they're just more subtle about it.

  • RoRo67
    11 years ago

    wi-sailorgirl I used to sell granite, quartz, and marble. I prefer granite myself. Here are a couple of websites besides the Marble Institute of American to show you that quartz, indeed, can fade and that is why it is not recommended for exterior use or where the sun/uv rays will hit it on a regular basis. http://www.countertopspecialty.com/silestone-co http://www.northstargranitetops.com/faq.htmlunter-tops.htmlur counters,