Kitchen Design
Bathroom Design
Designer Shares Her Top 10 Kitchen and Bathroom Trends
At San Francisco Design Week, designer Sabrina Alfin spoke about the looks she’s seeing and her clients are asking for
Interior designer Sabrina Alfin has been helping her clients renovate their homes in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than a decade. As an active member of the American Society of Interior Designers and the National Kitchen and Bath Association, Alfin continually monitors emerging trends in kitchen and bath design. In a presentation recently at the 2019 San Francisco Design Week, Alfin shared the top 10 trends for kitchens and baths she’s seeing now.
2. Drawers, Pullouts and Organizers
Alfin is seeing more remodeled kitchens that have few or no upper cabinets. “Kitchens with no uppers are cleaner and sleeker,” she says. “But with fewer cabinets comes less storage.”
The designer suggests making the most of lower cabinet storage by adding custom drawers and pullouts with built-in organizers, plate racks and spice racks.
Alfin is seeing more remodeled kitchens that have few or no upper cabinets. “Kitchens with no uppers are cleaner and sleeker,” she says. “But with fewer cabinets comes less storage.”
The designer suggests making the most of lower cabinet storage by adding custom drawers and pullouts with built-in organizers, plate racks and spice racks.
3. Patterned or Geometric Tile Floors
Bold patterned or graphic tile kitchen floors are all the rage, Alfin says. Encaustic cement tiles, such as the black-and-white ones in this kitchen by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, are particularly popular.
Alfin says if you want the look of encaustic cement tiles but prefer something with less upkeep, consider porcelain tiles that mimic the look of cement. Many tile companies make them.
Bold patterned or graphic tile kitchen floors are all the rage, Alfin says. Encaustic cement tiles, such as the black-and-white ones in this kitchen by Jessica Helgerson Interior Design, are particularly popular.
Alfin says if you want the look of encaustic cement tiles but prefer something with less upkeep, consider porcelain tiles that mimic the look of cement. Many tile companies make them.
4. Indoor-Outdoor Flow
For those living in temperate climates, the popularity of building kitchens that open up to the outdoors is on the rise. “People at parties always want to hang out in the kitchen,” Alfin says. “A kitchen that opens up to a deck or patio allows guests to flow outside while giving some breathing room to those working in the kitchen.”
For those living in temperate climates, the popularity of building kitchens that open up to the outdoors is on the rise. “People at parties always want to hang out in the kitchen,” Alfin says. “A kitchen that opens up to a deck or patio allows guests to flow outside while giving some breathing room to those working in the kitchen.”
5. Colorful Appliances
Alfin says a great way to inject energy into a kitchen is by adding colorful appliances. “Nearly every line of high-end appliance makers is now offering appliances in multiple colors,” the designer says. “Some will even match the exact color you want.”
Alfin says a great way to inject energy into a kitchen is by adding colorful appliances. “Nearly every line of high-end appliance makers is now offering appliances in multiple colors,” the designer says. “Some will even match the exact color you want.”
Top 5 Bathroom Trends
1. Curbless Showers
“More and more of my clients are concerned with aging in place when renovating their homes,” Alfin says. “Curbless showers are a popular request because they allow you to enter a shower without having to lift your legs over a lip.” A curbless shower also allows wheelchair access as long as the entrance is at least 32 inches wide.
1. Curbless Showers
“More and more of my clients are concerned with aging in place when renovating their homes,” Alfin says. “Curbless showers are a popular request because they allow you to enter a shower without having to lift your legs over a lip.” A curbless shower also allows wheelchair access as long as the entrance is at least 32 inches wide.
2. Feature Walls
Creating a dramatic feature wall in a bathroom is a trend that seems here to stay. “It’s a great way to draw one’s eye in a bathroom to the location you want to show off most,” Alfin says.
The Boston master bathroom seen here, designed by Right Angle Kitchens & Design, includes a feature wall covered in scalloped tiles in various shades of blue, creating a dreamy mermaid-like quality.
Creating a dramatic feature wall in a bathroom is a trend that seems here to stay. “It’s a great way to draw one’s eye in a bathroom to the location you want to show off most,” Alfin says.
The Boston master bathroom seen here, designed by Right Angle Kitchens & Design, includes a feature wall covered in scalloped tiles in various shades of blue, creating a dreamy mermaid-like quality.
3. Resort-Style Spa Baths
Alfin says nothing quite evokes the feeling of a resort experience like a freestanding tub situated in front of a great view. The trend of creating a master bathroom with a spa-like atmosphere is as popular as ever.
If you’re not lucky enough to have breathtaking views out your bathroom window, Alfin recommends walling off the area directly outside the window to create a private oasis. Take some inspiration from the master bathroom seen here, by Janet Brooks Design.
Alfin says nothing quite evokes the feeling of a resort experience like a freestanding tub situated in front of a great view. The trend of creating a master bathroom with a spa-like atmosphere is as popular as ever.
If you’re not lucky enough to have breathtaking views out your bathroom window, Alfin recommends walling off the area directly outside the window to create a private oasis. Take some inspiration from the master bathroom seen here, by Janet Brooks Design.
4. Cabinets in Serene Colors
While the trend in kitchens is to paint cabinets in rich, saturated colors, Alfin says cabinets in serene colors are the way to go in bathrooms. “People want their bathrooms to feel calm and soothing,” she says. The vanity in this bathroom by Lisette Voute Designs is painted in Pale Powder by Farrow & Ball.
While the trend in kitchens is to paint cabinets in rich, saturated colors, Alfin says cabinets in serene colors are the way to go in bathrooms. “People want their bathrooms to feel calm and soothing,” she says. The vanity in this bathroom by Lisette Voute Designs is painted in Pale Powder by Farrow & Ball.
5. Jewel Box Powder Rooms
Maximalist style is trending, and if there is one room in a house made for over-the-top design, it’s the powder room. “It’s a bathroom that you can add wallpaper [to], because you don’t have to worry about it peeling off due to steam from a bathtub or shower,” Alfin says. The powder room seen here, with its pink-and-purple floral wallpaper, was created by the team at Christine Sheldon Design.
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Maximalist style is trending, and if there is one room in a house made for over-the-top design, it’s the powder room. “It’s a bathroom that you can add wallpaper [to], because you don’t have to worry about it peeling off due to steam from a bathtub or shower,” Alfin says. The powder room seen here, with its pink-and-purple floral wallpaper, was created by the team at Christine Sheldon Design.
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1. Rich Colors for Cabinetry
Alfin says infusing more color into kitchens is on the rise. “While white kitchens are still popular, they’re finally on the downtrend,” she says. One of the best ways to inject color into a kitchen is by adding cabinets painted in rich, saturated colors.
If you’re afraid of being too trendy, consider choosing historical colors, Alfin says: “Most paint companies offer historical lines of colors that have stood the test of time.” In the kitchen pictured here, the team at Heidi Caillier Design installed new cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Oval Room Blue.