Trendspotting - Kitchen Designs | New Trends | Classy Glam Living

Hello there! I took a little break from blogging the last 2 weeks. It was little man's birthday party last weekend, so I decided to focus on the last minute party-prepping (thanks to procrastination). The party went well, kids had a blast, then we sent them home overloaded with sugar. Ha! That's what parties are all about! And now, I've developed a case of paper-cutting phobia. Anybody who had thrown a Ninjago-themed birthday party would know about the ninja eyes cutting...

After nights of party-prepping tasks and cutting out ninja eyes and what nots, I quickly made myself a treat and curled up on the couch with the Chatelaine Kitchen and Bath special issue. I needed to be away from Ninja's staring eyes for a bit.

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A much deserved break after all the #partyprepping today. Time to be a #couchpotato with #Chatelaine's #kitchen&bath issue. Ovaltine with #almondmilk and #baileys Mmm Mmm good! #nomnom #decor #interiordesign
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As I flipped through the issue, I noticed trends that we're also contemplating for our new house's kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of the house, and being mindful that our new kitchen will be smaller than the one at our old house, we wanted to make it functional and beautiful. It'll definitely make prepping and cooking all the more enjoyable.

We'll talk about the functional part of the kitchen in another post. I'm always ready to talk design, so let's start with some kitchen trendspotting!

Brass or chrome hardware

Having had a white kitchen with chrome hardware, I think we're ready to take the plunge into the unknown. The Mr. said he's tired of the white cabinets, and so am I. Nothing was wrong with the colour, but I think we're ready to move on with another cabinet colour. We've chosen a light grey cabinet colour, which will probably look like these:

The vendor only had the colour swatch on an oak cabinet door, but the grains on it made it hard to imagine how the colour would look on our maple doors. We will live with the colour a bit to see how we like it. Ultimately, this is what we love:

A greige (grey + beige, like the first photo) or a darker grey cabinet colour, with brass hardware. They just go so well together - the grey gives it a modern flare, while the gold tones it down with a bit of traditional touch.

Why the unknown? I'm not sure how our stainless steel appliances would go with the brass hardware... or should I care if we love the look of grey and brass?

statement or practical faucet

Since we're on the topic of brass hardware, the next question is, do we also go with a faucet with a brass finish? Or would that look way over the top? I'm also not sure if this brass trend will be short-lived, and will quickly make the kitchen look dated once the fad is over. If we're ready to embrace it, we've picked out the faucet that will look stunning against the brass hardware:

I think this bronze is a toned down version of its gold counterpart. It's less "in your face" and yet has the touch of warmth like gold.

If we decide not to go the brass hardware + faucet route, then I think we would go for a more practical solution for the faucet. The touch-activated faucets are getting popular now, and I do see how it would be put into much use during meal prepping. I keep seeing this on TV commercials:

Do let me know what you think about these touch faucets if you own one. The Mr. and I are finicky about these high-tech gimmicks, afraid that they will break down easily.

Our other practical option would be a kitchen faucet that doubles as a water filter. This one from Grohe does double duty while looking sleek.

Marble countertop, yay or nay

If you've been to the Interior Design Show in Toronto earlier this year, you would gasp again when you see this IKEA kitchen:

The grey cabinets with brass handle, topped with the elegant marble countertop, elevates this big-box kitchen to the next level... even without those massive chateau chandeliers! Who doesn't love a kitchen this dreamy? But then again, lil' ole' practical me just isn't sure about how the marble can withstand our daily abuse. With it comes along the commitment to reseal every 3-6 months. Hmm... The Mr. and I both love the natural grey veining of marble. We've also considered the engineered stones that resemble the marble veining, like these:

The decision is still up for debate at this point... I have a feeling that the Mr. will constantly hover over my clumsy back if we choose to go with marble. Would I want that?

tile or slab backsplash

While I was browsing through photos of marble countertops, it's not uncommon to find the marble slab carried up as the backsplash.

We love the beautiful seamless look of a slab backsplash, and it makes the kitchen look extravagant. However, if budget constraint is a concern, I think the marble subway tiles would look just as classic, at a fraction of the cost.

one large sink or stainless steel apron sink

Enough is enough, I'm just sick of double sinks. Sure it is more practical to have the divider in between (or is it?), but that divider becomes a nuance when it comes time to wash a large pot or grill, or anything! It constantly gets in the way! I used to use the other smaller side for a sink drying rack for little man's plastic cups and plates, but I could just easily place them on a counter rack.

I NEED a single large sink, in which I can soak a dirty frying pan laid down flat. Not slanted with its handle hanging on the double sink divider... FLAT! So I started looking at single sink options. In particular, I'm looking for a straight edge sink, like this:

Then I noticed apron sinks are all over kitchen renovations these days. I'm not a big farmhouse fan, but I do love the practicality of having the edge of the sink closer to the edge of the counter. In fact, it's easier on the back since one doesn't need to lean in as much as traditional sinks. I'm not crazy about the traditional white apron sinks, but stainless steel options like this one can be a potential candidate:

open shelving or glass-front cabinet

Most builder's kitchens come standard with walls of cabinet doors. In a smaller kitchen like ours, not only would it seem boring, but could also be a bit too closed-in. I'm still trying to drill the idea into the Mr., that we don't need uniformity throughout the kitchen with closed doors. I would like the side wall of the kitchen to have a sense of openness. We can achieve that with open shelving or glass-front cabinets.

This beautiful display is a great example:

The corner of the upper cabinets were left as open shelves to avoid a whole upper wall of doors. It's a great design element to reserve a space for displaying collections and instill some personality in the kitchen. However, practical me again would question how often we would be dusting those open shelves. So I think glass-front cabinets such as these would work better for our family:

The mirror back and glass shelves opens up this side of the wall, making it seemingly wider, while reflecting the light from the windows. This is a similar side wall that I have in mind, as the mirror backs would reflect the light off of our patio doors. This is a fight that I'm determined to win over the Mr.!

Wow, this turned out to be quite a lengthy post! I didn't know I love kitchen design that much, since I'm not the cook of the house. But a beautiful kitchen makes my Chef Honey happy, and a happy chef makes more yummies for our tummies!

What's your favourite trend from the above? What other kitchen design trends have you spotted lately?