Most-Asked-About Products for Kitchens

Every publication at the end of the year seems to feature “lists” – news stories, people who made the news, the best photographs, and so on.  I do find them thought provoking and a good way to define a year. 

Likewise a recent article in one of the professional journals I read may be of interest if one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to renovate your kitchen

The article, “Most-Asked-About Products” in Kitchen and Bath Design News, featured products tallied from reader requests made throughout the year – about 2,000 in all.  Of note, many of the products on the list incorporated sustainable, eco-conscious materials such as bamboo, natural stone and LED lighting.

Of the featured products, the following are my favorites and the ones I will try to make part of my kitchen design projects in the coming year.

Bamboo Countertops   The manufacturer, Teragren Bamboo states, “People like the warmth…carmelized coffee color is the trend… they are bacteria resistant and feature a mineral oil/beeswax finish.”

Decorative LED Splash    Element Designs’ offer of a backsplash of painted glass, architectural resin or decorative metals incorporated with LED lighting is eye-catching.  It’s a win-win – very unique and adding light where you need it most around the countertop.

Decorative Hardware    If you have looked at hardware recently, the choices for this finishing touch “jewelry” is mind-boggling.  So why is so much of what is chosen the  “same old-same old?”   Granted, it may not be in the budget to place a more expensive piece in a high quality design and finish on every cabinet.  But why not feature something unusual in some areas – pantry doors, a center island, a wet bar or tableware cabinets?  Look at the three-dimensional designs from Metaltec Innovations or Jamestown Furniture Hardware with its many options of finishes on solid brass.

Quartz Stone Countertops   Cambria, a company with product stocked in Ohio, has an exciting palette of Greenguard-certified quartz in 16 new colors – “in shades that possess significant movement, depth and veining.”    This material is an excellent alternative to granite.

Power Center Grommets   There can never be enough outlets in a kitchen.  Outwater Plastics Industries has a great solution to placing numerous outlets in the backsplash area.  While I always recommend using a strip of outlets, combined with under-cabinet lighting, this offers three power outlets and a waterproof seal designed especially for kitchens.  Voila!  It pops up when you need it and slides down into the counter when you don’t.

Laminate Countertops   Not everyone has, or even has to have, the budget for natural stone countertops.  Gone are the days when laminate was the plain, boring and simple choice.  All of the laminate manufacturers – Wilsonart and Formica are just two of them – now use the most advanced printing technology that capture the details of granite slabs.  Laminates are very good alternatives, especially for a price sensitive upgrade.

Pendant Lights   I really like the very contemporary “rail system” of lighting for a kitchen.  It allows you to use spots of task light where you need them as well as adding decorative fixtures as well.  WAC Lighting pendants feature glass designs from artisans in the Pacific Northwest. – forest hues, sandstone formations and tone-on-tone speckled

motifs.

Next month I will list the most-requested bath products.  Happy Renovating in 2011!