fads on the way out.

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jmirawm

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excerpt from an article by Sally Beatty from realestatejournal.com. <p>So for homeowners considering installing open cabinets, floating staircases and bowl-shaped bathroom sinks, the question is: Which of these is the next doomed avocado-colored dishwasher? We talked to decorators, retailers and manufacturers and came up with five trends most likely to die<p> Not doomed if we find it first. :)<p> Here is a link to the whole article.

 
Great article Tom; TYVM.

Fascinating how the average Joe forgets the practical aspects-
A woman in my office is ripping out a perfeclty good 3 y.o. kitchen to get with the new look and is spending zillons on a designer gas commerical-look stove.

=>Is it self- cleaning(many aren't) I DON'T KNOW.

=>Do you have a vented exhaust hood for it, it needs its products of combustion drawn out- NOT SURE.(Her current m-wave is over the stove and NOT vented.)

I'm getting the picture that her re-do is to impress; no other reason.

ANYHOOO-
Said: The new look is oversized stone tiles, measuring 12 inches by 36 inches, instead of the traditional 12 inches by 12 inches.

Nice- the reason 12 x 12 tiles and smaller exist is to avoid excessive cracks should the floor shift. Idealy the cracks shoulf fall in he grouted joints. Hexagonal mosaic-style tiling holds up forever- many large apt buildngs in my area have it in the hallways and bathrooms.

A great article, thanks again
 
One of the designs I am very quickly growing tired of is the whole "mediterranean garden" look to the kitchens. Kitchens featuring this style are usually fixed up with large granite stoney tile arranged to look like the walls are built out of terra-cotta. They usually have viney, greenery patterns all around, engraved in cabinet door glass, on countertops, and everything is in earth tone browns and a sandy beige. Another styling cue of this is black wrought iron furniture and fixtures like shelves. Chairs made out of this stuff are terribly uncomfortable as the seats and backs cut into your skin. The design is made to look like you are outside in a courtyard at some ancient adobe homes in Spain or Italy. Open up any design magazine, and the Mediterranean garden design is in pretty much all the kitchens. It's sure to face as it invades just about every home.

The issue I have is that before the Mediterranean garden look was popular, it was the "Country Kitchen". This look was created with stenciling on the walls, and cabinetry that looks like it was stick-built out of scrap wood from a demolished barn. Country kitchens also frequently feature exposed-beam ceilings, and cut-tin light fixtures. And, you can't forget one of the things that make me want to poke my eyeballs out...wicker baskets everywhere!...UGH!!!

Hopefully the next upcoming trend in kitchens won't be as awful as these two,,,they can be thrown into the scrap-heap of history along with the way too baggy sagging clothes of the ninties you used to see where the kids kids wearing with their undershorts hanging out.

Free standing bowl sinks are an intriguing look that follows right in the Mediterranean garden theme. I can tolerate them, but they mention that they are not that practical, so they dont' go in my home. It seems like the design could be adopted into an ultra-modern look without much work.

They mention glass cabinet doors as a trend that's going to die. I don't think it is going to go completely away...there have always been a contingent of people who like glass cabinet doors. They've always been there, and I imagine will continue on, but maybe not as popular. Frosted glass and other patterned grass may be more popular than transparent glass because, as they mention, cabinets are designed to hide things inside them.

The flat-panel TV monitor is NOT going to die, but they mention the "built-ins" as something to avoid. Being in the A/V industry, I can defninitely be qualified to say go towards a built-in flat panel with caution. Flat-panel displays are great because they don't take up much space, and they can go just about anywhere. Don't get too carried away though. Install some wall sockets for CATV in the most common locations you think you may use the TV, and then buy a portable, or surface mounted unit. Don't EVER design a permanant fixture that's designed to last more than 10 years around a piece of technology! That device may go obsolete, or malfunction. Finding the exact model to replace it with isn't going to happen, and you will be stuck with an ill-fitting hole even if you get a similar model.

Oversized tile....YES...DIE!!!! This is one of the core parts of the Mediterranean garden design that I want to go away so bad! Give me my minature mid-century black & white polished tiles back!!!

Stainless steel...well, it's not going to go away, it's always been around, and it's going to stay around. However, it's probably not going to be as popular in the future as it is now.

Professional looking appliances. Probablly won't either, as people find out that they just aren't using them, and that they are terribly inefficient even when they aren't. (how many of the yuppies that buy these things actually use them regularly!)

I see the retro-fifties look gathering more steam in the future, and coming back slowly but surely, and hanging around a while. Over the next 10 years or so, I believe we will see more "fifies diner" style kitchens crop up in magazines and books, as well as a more refined modern look. There will still be a contingent of people out there that want their brand new home to look like it's been ther for 200 or even 2000 years, and they will probably be the ones to set the new style fad.
 
The odd thing I noticed is that they interviewed people in my hometown. I have never thought of this town as being a very trendy one in terms of architectural styles, or in clothing styles. It takes a trend a few years to make it here typically. People seem to take things with much more reservation, which makes me wonder why they came here to find out which kitchen trends would fall outo of favor, since they probably never went into favor!
 
Simple Is Better

I like things simple in my life. My condo has a U-shaped kitchen with a pantry/water heater on one end and a washer-dryer on the other end. In between are light colored oak cabinets, a stainless steel sink, and all-white appliances of recent vintage. I was considering granite to replace the tile counters, but I've decided I will retile my counters with a mixture of blue and white, with bullnose tiles instead of the wood that surrounds them. Maybe not thrilling, but I like the idea.
BTW, I agree on no wall-mounting for flat-screen TV's. My new 26-inch Sony LCD is on its stand in the spot where my old 26 inch Magnavox used to call home in my entertainment center. The stand and the black surround nicely hide the tangle of wires behind it. Plus the wiring for my hard-drive recorder, combo VCR/DVD recorder and surround sound system. Yes, simple is better.
 
Style? Trend?

All of my stuff was out of style when I got it! Duh! Of course its still useful and I adore it so thats all that matters!
 
If and when I finally get a big plasma or LCD HDTV, it will most definitely be mounted above the fireplace.

It might actually "sit" on the mantel, with extra attachment to the wall so that in this quake prone region it won't be likely to topple over and fall flat on its face. The lower mounting would help to obscure the cables and such. But then again, so would a strategically placed mantel clock.

With regard to kitchen fads... there are lots of designers out there whose daily task is to render obsolete what they did last year, maybe even last month, maybe even yesterday. The economists that have a current death grip on our pocketbooks have declared that "supply creates demand" and we do often see this in the non-essential parts of life. But the savvy consumer realizes it's necessary from time to time to BACK AWAY FROM THE SUPPLY and think about what's really important.
 
Cookware and the cajun kitchen.

All that cookware just to eat salads and grilled chicken. Healthy food, bah humbug.

And send all your avocado appliances to me. Whenever I get a house I'm gonna do Extreme Makeover, 70s Edition.

An big gumbo pot, an iron jambalaya pot, and a smaller rice pot, and an even smaller one if you plan of making smothered potatos or green beans. That's all you need. Oh, and a frying skillet for bacon and eggs in the morning.
 
Am I the only one that's noticed than when we lived in 1,000 square foot houses with those skinny kitchens, everyone put out beautiful home cooked meals on a regular basis, while these kitchens costing several times more than the whole house once costed are oft rarely used?

Return of darker woods? Blech. Hopefully that won't infiltrate so strongly as to render the lighter hues impossible to find. It reminds me too much of bad '70s kitchens (sorry Jason). There are a few good '70s kitchens, the Brady Bunch one being one example. The best example of a really bad one I can think of is that KitchenAid dishwasher picture of the day with the mom and daughter loading the machine. ****SHUDDER****

I tend to prefer light or painted wood, and anything easy care. I eschew anything "shiny" in a kitchen setting (we had shiny countertops in Minneapolis and the constant cleaning of fingerprints and things that probably only I saw (but still!) drove me crazy. We also had a stainless sink that was a shiny, rather than brushed, surface. I think my roommate thought it was going to stay that way forever and was just inconsolable when lines started showing up, to the point that he took to it with one of those drill-mounted buffer things for cars several times early on. He got past that, and the sink looks great 4 years later, though not unlike the typical brushed ones you buy. Upon looking at sinks recently in Home Depot, I noticed only the brushed style was being offered for stainless steel.

A shiny floor I am fine with, because it looks nice, and you can strip it and restore the shine as necessary. That said, we had a ceramic floor in the kitchen in Minneapolis that was a matte finish that I loved. For whatever reason, some folks intensely dislike ceramic floors in kitchens, but I thought it was great. I've seen nothing I like better than Formica for countertops.

Anyway, perhaps its owing to many years of apartment life, but I actually like and prefer the smaller, galley-style kitchens, and think they can be easier to work in than the grand, spread out ones. In all events, my basic rule of thumb is I want a kitchen to look like a kitchen, not like it's made out of built-in living room furniture or a mahogany corporate boardroom. I detest that look.

As for TVs, were it not for Netflix, the only question for me is would I bother replacing it if it quit. I never use the silly thing really other than for Netflix, the news and Saturday Night Live. I have cable tv now, and am not really sure why. I could pull it, but I'm kind of hooked on that on-screen guide I can use to confirm that nothing is on. (LOL) That said, I really do like the flat ones, and any that I do purchase will sit on top of the stand, exactly where the current one sits. It will probably be a size or two up from the current 20" model.
 
I love looking thru model showhomes and there's thousands here in every price bracket. What I don't like about most of them is they're trying to cram every feature they can think of into them. Take columns for example, they're in so many new houses, whether they're iconic or doric who knows the difference but they look so out of place in many of the houses. Palladian windows, must have one of those somewhere, best in front of the master bath so all the neighbors get a show. Monsterous foyers so there's no room in the living room if there is one to put a couch, those belong back in the great room?
Many of the houses are done tastefully but some of the builders don't know where to stop or draw the line. The McMansions going up down the street from me are unfortunately on the tasteless side, more like mini-Taj Mahals meet Frank Lloyd wright.
 
Whelp, my kitchen has dark wood, dark granite countertop, and stainless appliances and sink. And earth-tone paints. My floor is travertine tile, 16" x 16". Not polished, mostly kind of splotchy, but it shines a little depending on how light hits it. ;-)

I do not have any Calphalon. Not even close.

I've had a 42" plasma TV since Sept 2002, but do not have it wall-mounted.
 
I have seen Glenn's kitchen and house. Both are incredibly beautiful with the earth-tone paints. The deep rich woods and kitchen colors are incredible, beautiful. I loved the dark reds, hunter greens, and navy blue rooms with light colored accents so many houses used from the mid-90s on. And dark wood dones't show dirt as much as lighter woods in kitchens. To jme darker cabinetry is much more elegant and stately.

And me personally, I love that KitchenAid commercial with the hot harvest gold compactor and dishwasher.
 
I've seen pictures of Glenn's kitchen. His is very nice. I don't like the stuff that looks almost black and seems to have no life to it. I'll always prefer the blonde cabinetry being the mid century person that I am, but trends will always come and go.
 
Misc thoughts

I never cared what the "fads" were. Fads come and go, you have to live with your house.

What was with the lady who spent $45,000 on cabinets and countertops? I could do many kitchens with that. And now she is complaining it's outdated? Aw, my heart really goes out to her (sarcasm off).

My last kitchen I did entirely myself, retro before retro was a common description. I had white square old fashioned cabinets. One of them was glass to show off my Franciscan Starburst. My countertops were red Formica. Yes, Formica, in red. There was my O and M stove and my 1963 GE fridge to round it off. I loved it.

When we showed the house, I could tell it was not everyone's cup of tea. Screw them. I knew that was going to happen and I could care less. The guy that bought the house, amazingly, was sold on how great the kitchen was.

Finally, I cannot even imagine what fool would put in kitchen countertops that STAIN. The kitchen is where you are SUPPOSED to spill things!

Amazing how stupid some people are.
 
At this point I would ignore what the "tends" are and build the home and kitchen the way YOU want it-You have to live in it and use it.My kitchen is 70'shas yellow Formica counters and dark wood cabintes-with Mediterranian style door handles.I still have the GE oven and stove-the oven is "Almond" and the cooktop is white.I put in an "almond" KA 17 Dishwasher-interesting-the mounting holes under the counter lined up EXACTLY.Figured my house like others in the neighborhood-used KA dishwashers.Would like to put in an "Almond" cooker-to match the other machines-the fridge I have is White-the other that came in the house was on its last legs-an old KN.Was very mildewy.Hard to clean.
I don't like the SS "look" in many kitchens-I want to COOK my food-not do an "Autopsy" on it.The SS kitchens look to much like a hospital lab or morgue Autopsy room to me-maybe the folks that like the SS would love a SS autopsy table in their kitchen as a "work island"!the SS has something going for it-hard to stain!!Good for messy cooks.Just about anyone that uses the kitchen is going to make a mess.
 

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