By Jane Meagher
As 2007 comes to a close, here are what we see as hot design trends that will continue into 2008 and beyond…they’ve probably already hit your design studio, but look for them to make a broader and deeper impact into your product offerings in 2008.
The Real World
While homebuyers are buying a brand new home, they don’t want it to look mass-produced. Many of today’s hottest selling design studio products represent the authentic, vintage, rustic and timeless look of weathered family heirlooms and old world charm. Wide planks and hand-scraped hardwoods, such as Shaw’s Artisan’s Touch or Artisan’s Craft, continue to trend up as buyers yearn for an authentic timeworn look representative of fond memories, warmth, coziness, and uniqueness. In cabinetry, glazed cabinets and distressed finishes, such as Yorktowne’s Character Finish Packages, continue to increase in popularity. These products often represent the upper end of the product lines for both cabinets and flooring. Who would have thought we would one day pay significantly more for someone at a factory to purposefully and methodically rub off part of a newly-applied finish, create worm holes or spatter marks, or even scrape sharp metal objects across a brand new hardwood floor? The magnificent Ann Sacks stone floor I’m putting into my new kitchen is terra cotta, reclaimed from ceiling materials found in 19th century stables in France! Authentic materials provide an opportunity for highly individualized expression.
K.I.S.S. (Keep it Sleek & Simple)
In typical trend/countertrend fashion, new homebuyers also gravitate toward the opposite aesthetic as well, but still in an individualistic way which allows intense personal expression. The movement toward clean, uncluttered, uncomplicated, harmonious surroundings reflects the “home as a haven” concept. Many people, seeking refuge from their hectic and complex lives, don’t want to come home to a house filled with knick-knacks, ornate trimwork, and complex layered finishes. They want serenity and are finding it in products which provide an antidote to life’s everyday craziness.
The Glass is Half Full
In keeping with the K.I.S.S. trend above, we are also seeing glass, or the glass look, emerging in all kinds of applications. Kay Green from Kay Green Design identifies some popular new products such as Jenn-Air’s glass front kitchen appliances and Corian’s new translucent Illumination Series. Additionally, Dal Tile’s cool Egyptian glass series offers some stunning glass mosaics in a wide array of b reathtaking colors and combinations, including blends and iridescents. Ann Sacks offers a collection of glass tiles so spectacular they appear to be artwork. The Ann Sacks Pila Vetro series is actually comprised of sculpted glass, whereas their Erin Adams Facet line includes glass mosaics which form modern graphics, soft florals, and other amazing creations for a truly bold and individualized statement. I was completely blown away (pun intended) by these new looks upon a recent visit to the Ann Sacks showroom.
Heavy Metal
Metallic finishes continue to expand and receive more attention, whether they are inserts into backsplashes or floors, or just because consumers are paying more attention to their faucets and door hardware. In keeping with the above-noted trend toward authenticity, Oil Rubbed Bronze and other distressed metal finishes are still quite popular. While the cooler silver finishes have been in demand for a long time, and brushed nickel is definitely a popular finish today, look for gold to make a comeback, both in an antiqued and distressed version and a cleaner version. Copper sinks and counters and brushed or antiqued bronze finishes represent the warmer end of the spectrum. The mixing of metal finishes, seen in jewelry, home décor and home finishing products, will continue to trend up, according to Dawn Duhamel of Design Lines in Denver, Colorado, who also stresses that gold is the metallic of the moment.
Attention: This is your shower speaking - get ready for blast off
If you thought your television, thermostat, structured wiring, and home monitoring system were the only places in your home where digital technology lives, think again. Technology has become a permanent resident in the kitchens and baths of today and the future. Fueled by the dual forces of technological advances and consumers’ needs to find serenity in their busy lives, Kohler’s DTV embodies the spirit of this concept. The DTV is a Custom Showering Experience allowing each user to select the perfectly individualized combination of water location, water temperature, music, ambient lighting, chromatherapy, and steam to provide a unique sensory showering experience. Smart technology in the kitchen is increasingly becoming an essential part of kitchen equipment, and we’re not just talking about speed cooking. Your TV can be embedded into your refrigerator (LG), your self-programming microwave can read the barcode on packaged food and take care of business without you (Beyond Microwave), and more than one company offers remote command centers for your networked kitchen equipment. Kohler’s Wellspring touchless kitchen faucet uses tri-point sensing technology to turn itself on and off. And the list goes on.
As I’m sure you’ve all seen, many products simultaneously embody more than one of the above-note d trends. Maybe someone will invent an iridescent glass and metallic gold glazed euro-style cabinet which uses digital technology. Maybe it could determine, by reading from the networked kitchen equipment, which serving pieces and utensils stored within will be required for the meal sitting inside the warming drawer or the refrigerator. Maybe the cabinet could then warm or chill those serving pieces and utensils. While that is admittedly far-fetched, five years ago you never thought you’d see a refrigerator that turns into an oven, did you?
Jane Meagher is President of Success Strategies, a full-service design studio strategy company working with leading builders in over 30 states and Canada. Her website is www.opt4success.net. She can be reached at (732) 761-8134 or via email at Jane@opt4success.net.
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