I'm not enthused by 2 and 3, but I almost always pick function over form.

My personal take on the trends, for what its worth (not much but here goes) - I like the cozy warm trend vs. sleek and contemporary. Contemporary is beautiful, its just kind of cold looking to me. Kitchens to me should be cozy and warm, reminds me of baking with grandma as a child. I do believe that bronze hardware is due for a comeback, its been a long time. Not for me the open shelves, too much effort in keeping them picture perfect, more area to dust, no thanks! Wallpaper? It works in the right setting, but I've spent too much time peeling it off my walls in miniscule pieces, I'm not ready to bring it back just yet. I do like the black kitchens, such a bold, elegant look!

Coming from someone who is heavily biased towards modern...
1. Furniture-style design features. - Nope... I have enough actual furniture to dust underneath without adding cabinets to the mix.

2. Airy (and user-friendly), open shelving. - Great big nope. Our plates and glasses aren't objects of art. They don't exactly go with our house even, but they're only out when someone is using them so it doesn't matter.

3. Wallpaper that wows. - Yep. I put it up this summer in the entry hall and formal living room (grasscloth). If you use wallpaper primer beforehand it's surprisingly easy to remove later but the trouble is that lots of people don't do it.

4. Modern traditional style. - Great big nope, but we like actual modern. Personal preference here.

5. Ceilings that make you look up. - I like what they did with the windows and the zebrawood. The vent on the second one though is not GW approved. This seems like something that would have to be planned well in advance.

6. Luxe metallics - I can be down with this so long as it's not the 1990s style, super polished, fake brass. Didn't like it then, still hate it now.

7. Touch-me textures. *poke* *poke* Hmmm... not so much, but it's preference talking again. We weren't big fans of honed materials, and like the smooth variety better. Smooth wood vs. bumpy is nice too, but I agree on saying no to high gloss.

8. Beautiful black. - Nope. Maybe only if it's a bright space and is well lit at night. I have a hard time imagining not getting tired of it.

9. Minimal wall cabinets - I guess if you have the storage space otherwise. Not for people with small kitchens though. Everyone was already supposed to take down the upper cabinets that hang above a peninsula and I can't imagine people losing the rest of the uppers as well.

10. Repetitive patterns. - Yeah that can look nice, that's ok.

11. Tribal-inspired tones. - Let's call it what it really is, using colors in the kitchen. Better in wall colors than cabinets though, because I can't imagine changing the color of those would be easy.

12. Vertical-joint wood paneling. - How is this a trend that has come or gone? I thought it was something that has just been around forever.

13. Shaker style. - LOOK OUT, THEY'RE READING THIS FORUM!!!

Umm the only ones I liked are 4 and 8. the rest look like they belong in the jetsons- ugh.. not for me I like traditional design= comfy and cozy vs modern- metal-ish, cold, no detail, sterile.

Open shelves= more grime and dust to collect. no thanks
Wallpaper? never
Patterns? maybe
Shaker style? yes but NOT THAT shaker style.

The one with the led lighting looks like a party boat for 20 somethings on spring break.

My favorite part is the comments, where people show off their own recent renovations as supposedly "better" than the pictures in the article.

Most are great examples of the kind of kitchen layout you can achieve if you first go to Whole Foods and ask them to cut out a quarter pound of your brain.

I noticed that one of the designers consulted on the story (Natale) was frequently citing the Maison & Objet show in Paris. I've found that European kitchen trends seem to vary quite a bit from US trends, compared say to fashion trends. For example, Shaker is considered rare and unusual in many European countries. Here, some people are claiming it's passe. (Full disclosure: I do like Natale's work, especially the floors in the yellow and white kitchen)

I did chuckle, though, how quickly we've evolved from "Brass is Back" to this year's metals: Gold, copper and Bronze

This post was edited by gooster on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 18:33

Interesting, but I think I'll just "watch" most of those trends come until they go. Many have negatives that will have people switching them out when they learn the reality of open shelving, lack of storage cabinets, dust settling on black and/or textured items, gumballs under the furniture island, lingering haunts of gold finishes and wallpaper removal, and the narrower appeal of cabinets in whatever bright color chosen. Ceiling features may last a bit longer and evolve IMO, partly because it will take longer for them to get rolling--many kitchens will be difficult to retro with those types of designs, so new builds may have more of an opportunity to tout them. Patterns might become strong, but will also date quickly. That wallpaper might be easier to remove than a patterned backsplash.

I like this:

8........Natale says black will be one of the âÂÂItâ colors in kitchen design next year. Why? âÂÂWe spend so much time in our kitchens, and I think that more and more people want to make them a really special space. Black makes a strong, sleek statement,â he says. "

So black is the "it" color because we spend so much time in our kitchens and want to make it a special place?

Sort of makes you feel guilty if you went with a different color. Maybe you don't want to spend much time in your kitchen and don't care if it is a special place?

LOL

This post was edited by Dovetonsils on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 23:24

Only one kitchen with stainless steel appliances. I am surprise they didn't mention that as a trend.

This post was edited by kZim on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 21:58

So I can keep the copper hinges, the bronze trim on the blue and white porcelain pendant over the table, the white cabs. Does my wood-framed fluorescent count as a ceiling feature? I can't get rid of the open shelves that get so dusty and, ick, cat hair. I should have left up the wallpaper 7 years ago. My only stainless appliance is the wall oven, so I'm good there. I was going to repaint the walls a paler yellow than they are now, but now I guess I have to go with a more "tribal" stronger yellow. Well, at least I can get rid of the tile floor.

I love the seventh picture, it certainly reflects what I've been seeing in shelter magazines for a couple of years, so not that new.

Gyr_Falcon, limited open shelving is no big issue, having lived with it for several years now. It is convenient and can look great, adding warmth and character to homes when done well. Dusting every week or two really isn't that onerous.

I was so surprised to see a lot of dark. Guess my white classic kitchen is already outdated before I got any backsplash decided and installed. Oh well. But maybe with some luck, I'll have something in place before it my kitchen recycles back into favor. Just wouldn't put any $$ on it though.

Guess I wouldn't be doing a kitchen if those trends were my only choices.

Yea, I'm getting down on my knees to sweep the dog hair out from under the first island. That comes complete with legs that look like they are from a 1960s TV!! None of those trends look appealing to me. I'll keep my dated, medium tone wood cabinets & my bisque appliances any day. Do people really follow these trends?

The latest trends are just that, nothing says that you have to have any of them. If love your kitchen, don't worry about trends. For me, its more about the upkeep, is this or that particular feature going to cause me more work (such as the space under the furniture style island, never thought of that one, but yeah, dust catcher!) I guess I am getting lazy in my old age.

sochi, guess it depends upon where you live. Our home has been a constant project zone for the past 4 years, so dusting the open shelving every five minutes might work in our kitchen right now. ;) At another property, the dust is fine and dark. It floats in with every opening of an outside door, and settles everywhere. And when those Santa Ana winds blow--forget it! I suppose there is considerably less dust to contend with in a lush landscape area than in a desert. Although a 1-2 week dusting sounds very nice, at least our snow shoveling schedule is never.

Fork over your bucks to be trendy. Every 5 years? Not here thank you.

Oh, I dunno, I didn't see much there that wasn't an evolution of something else that's already been around and only two that I really didn't care for in at least some Generic sense. None of them were anything I want to copy, but for the most part I don't want to run away screaming either. The two that I don't get at all were the shiny black and walnut cubist thing that appears to have pink neon lighting. (I can't even figure out what it is, it looks like an island with a liquor cabinet) and the one below it with the "Show-stopping" ceiling with the purple LED lighting.

I am not paying attention at all to layout here, just looking at esthetics. So don't really like most of them, don't really hate most of them, don't see tons of redeeming factors either. But there are probably clues to the way that some things are headed within them.

Tribal colors- what are those? I wasn't aware that there is a "native american palette". According to them, it's "bold, yet dusty". hmmmm... okay.

The industry is required to produce these lists every year, just as Money Magazine always needed to come up with a list of "Five Places to Invest Now!"

But some were real stretches to pass off as new. Shaker doors? Traditional styling? What decade is this?

I've seen the open shelving trend on Houzz for several years. It certainly photographs well, but who wants to continually clean those shelves and the objects on them? This is a 'trend' for people who can afford a daily maid.

Wallpaper can look lovely, but also pricey to purchase and have installed/ later removed. What happens if you tire of it after a couple years? I prefer it in powder rooms and accent walls. Same with bold patterns - best to use them in ways that aren't costly to change.

Bright gold fixtures? Welcome back 1980's! I still have some of those touches in my house built in 1991. Dated though they are, now I won't feel so bad about not replacing them.

>>Tribal colors- what are those?

Colors to go with the 2005 tribal tattoo that people had to get.

I can get behind the wallpaper trend and the warm hardware trend.

To me wallpaper is so trendy that when it goes out of style, it is difficult to change and paint is easier to change. I do like that Shaker Style is continuing to be trendy as I love these simple type of cabinets.

You could do a plain bs, plain counter, and then jazz things up with wallpaper, which you could later remove when you tire of it.

I guess what I'm saying is: If you want a statement in your kitchen, do it with wallpaper instead of tile/counter.

I love the idea of black cabinets and open shelving, but let's be real. My kitchen tends to be dark and is small. I'm in the planning stages of painting my cabinets, but full black would just turn it into a dungeon. And I'd have no practical storage without full cabinets! Also... what an OCD nightmare. I couldn't imagine all my mismatched plates and mugs being in view 24/7.

Re: Hydragea comment on wallpaper for kitchen backsplash

That's an idea I'd be willing to try. Especially since I recently read about wallpapers that are easy to put up and take down - ideal for renters was a pitch. Sounds like it could be a cool way to add color and personality to a kitchen without heavy investment and feeling stuck with a choice for many years.

Name me a wallpaper pattern that was trendy five years ago and is dated today. Name any wallpaper pattern.

A lot of books are filled with patterns decades and sometimes centuries old.

Who are all these poor exhausted souls who "tire" of everything unless it is replaced every two years? Maybe they should stop spending on decor and save their money for Ritalin.

I found I did tire of wallpaper fairly quickly. For me, I think it was just anything with a pattern. Even too much color in the paint on my walls gets old to me. This is why I got rid of all the paper, all the deep paint shades and keep it neutral. Some might say that is boring. For me, its soothing and I am able to punch it up with colorful accessories when I feel it needs more interest. Not that I don't see some rooms done beautifully with wallpaper or deeper paint tones. Just doesn't work for me.

Hi,

We are building a new home, so I have been regularly reading posts on this forum, and have been visiting the Houzz website for years just because I always seem to be doing something around my house. This is my first post.

I agree with those that see many of the kitchens as cold and sterile. I like sprinklings of modern, and generally do not oppose the integration of some aspect of the modern into kitchen design.

From an artistic perspective, I can appreciate the design etc. as most appear to be well done, but, they remind me of the high end fashion shows where the models are wearing outfits that would never be practical or even comfortable for most people. You would not really want to spend time in the outfit, use it, or deal with cleaning or even storing it. Often designers will modify and re-style high end fashion to meet the tastes and needs of the masses. I think that elements found in those kitchens can be modified and/or utilized in kitchens that are more realistic for many homeowners.

Can you image a person with kids and some of the surfaces in those kitchens....

Lynn

The particular wallpaper shown in the article is a Cole and Son paper, that is a reworked Piero Fornasetti motif from the 1950s. He's been dead since 1988. It's a 55-60 year old pattern.

I don't see anything new. I personally already have #'s 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 in our 8yo kitchen - yet I don't think of it as a trendy kitchen. And I've written about everything on the list since 2008. Of course, there aren't really any "new" ideas, only variations. Trends are never "new," they are just ideas that become over exposed via Houzz, blogs, magazines and HGTV, et al.

LOL I just read all the posts. I vacuum under all our furniture, including beds, so vacuuming under the island doesn't bother me. I love my English kitchen and wouldn't change a thing!

Here is a link that might be useful: more kitchen pictures