Both nature and artificial lighting has being played such an important role for the kitchen design in the recent years not just for functionalities but also aesthetic and wellness as well. A well-lit kitchen always appears more pleasant to you no matter how simple it is. There are several ways to bring in more nature light into a kitchen space such as having new windows at the location that can be exposed to the most of the light during a day, enlarging windows and doors, making windows and doors as high as possible to close to the ceilings to bounce back more light, installing sky lights, etc.The lighter and high sheen paints also can reflect more light back to the room. The same rule applies for the countertops. But there is always a catch because the too shining and polished surfaces will create a lot of glares. We just need to be more mindful when we take consider of all of the design elements. There are 5 pillars of kitchen lighting design—task lighting, accent lighting , general lighting and ambient lighting and decorative lighting.Today we are going to focus on one of the pillars of lighting design –ambient lighting.
When we just came back KBIS a week ago, we were really blown away by some of the innovations in the show. After all, the kitchen is the fastest growing sections among the whole home improvement industry. We always see some of the coolest things in kitchen from pro cooking appliances, range hoods, to refrigerators, faucets, countertop, smart technologies, lightings, etc… Although I am still working on the blog of KBIS 2019 (hope soon I can publish it), we were invited to a local trade kitchen showroom industry event several days ago, and actually were able to see some newer trends and technologies in the showroom that resonate what we saw from KBIS2019. This kitchen showroom is not that big but quite modern, neat and sleek even with a luxury walk-in closet and some cool technologies. Ladies, who doesn’t love a stylish, open and airy walk-in closet with a lot of bells and whistles?!!! And last but not the least, we had professional chefs working in the kitchen and making some yummy gourmet foods. Here are some of our wonderful moments from this beautiful night!
Fresh flowers always make guests feel so welcoming! I just love these saturated colors! They create a cheerful mood and beautiful moments. It is always such a good idea to have some fresh plants and flowers in kitchens. They make everyone happy and enhance the appetites!Hospitality! A stylish cheese platter is always a great idea to host a party in kitchens.What an eye-candy!Floral art
Here comes our pro chef! One of the things when we cook at home is that we can always use fresh veggies and other ingredients…
Yummy and beautiful!The kitchen is quite modern and sleek. Yet I like how the showroom styled the food with wood trays –very organic, warm and welcoming ..
Pretty and organic!
Here are some cool things in the kitchen area:
Touch-to-open sliding cabinet door! How cool it is! specially when you have a tight space, this type of doors can be a great idea!Miele Coffee machine—How neat it is! The coffee station incorporating a compact coffee machine in the kitchen is quite trendy in 2019. It’s convenient and very handy. Who wouldn’t love the coffee aroma in the earlier morning in our own kitchens?Here is my espresso just made from Miele coffee machine!
Time for some desserts
Yummy and pretty!
Well, after being through all of those above kitchen experiences, I think everyone just cannot wait to create a pretty live-in kitchen for ourselves or host a family/friends get-tother event soon in the already-pretty kitchens. After all, it is a life style!
Ok, let’s continue our beautiful evening by walking to the rear of the showroom. Wow, here is the large walk-in closet:
Love the central island and above chandelier and of course the lovely tufted leather bench.What a nice touch to be able to see your jewelries on the top island surface.Here is the overview walk-throughObviously, I don’t have any problem to just chill out here for the whole day!
We all agree that kitchen is the heart of home. Today, people treat kitchen more like a new living room, where, besides cooking, they lounge, entertain and host get- together parties. Therefore, kitchen design has shifted from traditional triangle focus to creating multi-functional zones.
1. Clean lines, built-ins and simple door styles dominate kitchen designs. Contemporary- styled kitchens will overtake traditional to be the second most popular design after transitional. Emerging: industrial and mid century modern. Mountain modern and coastal are variations on contemporary.
Credits: Designer: Nar Bustamante. NAR Fine Carpentry Inc., Carmichael, CA. Photo: Fred Donha
2. White and gray painted cabinets dominate kitchen color schemes and show no signs of slowing down, especially gray. Blue painted and high gloss cabinets are emerging. For overall color schemes, blue as well as black are emerging.
3. Two-toned kitchens are gaining in popularity. Also mixing it up: materials and metals, across surfaces and as accents.
Credits: Designer: Leslie Lamarre, CKD, CID. Co-Designer: J. Michael McGinn, CID. TRG Architecture + Interior Design, San Mateo, CA. Photo: Bernard Andre
4.While wood cabinets dominate kitchen designs, metal – currently a small segment of the cabinet market – appears to be emerging. Metal cabinets are most frequently specified by younger and male designers.
Credits: Designer: Sandra Gjesdahl. Co-Designer: Scott Gjesdahl. Bristol Design and Construction, Seattle, WA. Photo: Cory Holland
5.Furniture-look pieces, rollouts, pullouts and under cabinet lighting (LED) are among the most popular kitchen cabinet features. Crown molding is declining. Rustic and reclaimed woods were mentioned.
7. Induction cooktops and convection ovens are trending higher, and microwave drawers are outpacing freestanding or built-in microwaves.
Credits: Designer: Gladys Schanstra, CKD, CBD. Schanstra Interior Design, Melrose Park, IL. Photo: Eric Hausman
8. Technology in the kitchen is increasing. About one-third of NKBA professionals included wiring and pathways for future tech integration. Also trending: internet connected appliances and docking stations.
Credits: Designer: Leslie Lamarre, CKD, CID. Co-Designer: J. Michael McGinn, CID. TRG Architecture + Interior Design, San Mateo, CA. Photo: Bernard Andre
9.Interior barn and pocket doors are trending up.
Credits: Designer: Robin R. Fisher, CMKBD, CAPS. Robin Rigby Fisher Design, Portland, OR. Photo: Dale Lang
10. Accessible and/or universal design features continue to trend up for kitchens.
Credits:Designer: Cassandra Nordell-MacLean. William Standen Co., Sarnia, ON. Photo: Gerald Mabee
For more NKBA studies on this topic, please click here
Thinking about remodeling your kitchen in 2017? From today, we are going to blog kitchen trends in 2017:
Yes, white will remain as popular as ever. However, it will be more fun to make it interesting like adding an elegant chandelier, eat-in breakfast table, gold hardwares…
#TBTThursday ! Here is the kitchen we renovated 5 years ago. I am still in love with it deeply today. We totally changed the overal layout.
A Modern Kitchen
the minimalism warm cherry cabinetry style with long pulls.
The black trims on the top and bottom of the cabinets lend a hand of a cool feeling in this kitchen while balancing off the warm tone on the cabinetry.
Modern multi-color glass tiles add a touch of playfulness and bring life to this kitchen.
The metal-framed glass doors are another cool element in the space.
Black leather granite countertop is a practical choice yet looks very classic.
Under and over-cabinet lighting for task and mood.
The curved island makes access to the kitchen much easier and serves as a large prep station and bar.
