We have several hot new looks for 2012 in the Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly showrooms (Williston Park, NY). Six kitchen trends you’ll notice more of this year are:
1) Open Shelving 2) Glass 3) Outdoor Kitchens 4) Texture 5) Darker Finishes 6) Furniture Style Cabinetry:
1) Open Shelving – On upper or lower cabinets… Open shelves can keep everyday items within arms reach or provide a display for serving dishes, special heirlooms or collections, and even artwork. If you’re not thrilled about keeping these items behind closed doors, open shelving might be for you.
2) Glass – Glass in the backsplash, glass and mirror in the cabinetry panels, and glass countertops. Textured glass in particular can be spectacular when combined with fabulous room lighting. There are a plethora of glass tile design options, and they’re not just for kitchens! We just completed an outdoor kitchen with the fabulous Mark Esswein Associates 631-673-1910 – Dix Hills, NY (landscape design), and look at the glass tile design in the pool and hot tub below.
3) Outdoor Kitchens – Outdoor kitchen options just keep getting better. Many of our clients are opting to put in outdoor kitchens because they entertain frequently at their homes and enjoy this additional living space. You can have every convenience in your outdoor kitchen, and I’ll write more extensively about this topic in future posts. The specialty items like outdoor pizza ovens and outdoor beer taps are phenomenal.

White is still popular – We are combining with darker colors -Bentwood Cabinetry
4) Texture – In traditional, transitional, and modern kitchen design, expect to see texture in either the actual cabinet, in the cabinet door panel design, or in the finish. The jobs we did below illustrate a sampling of some of the things we are using such as: chicken wire, mesh, lattice, rattan, and interesting finishing techniques (catalyzed).
Allmilmo Wave -Photo doesn’t do it justice. I will have to take a better pic.
lattice & wire

Interesting combinations of stainless steel, glass, and bamboo cabinetry by Bentwood
5) Darker Finishes – You will see darker shades in kitchen cabinetry finishes that include Gray, Black and Expresso (Brown)

Bentwood cabinetry – glass counters and walls

Glass, teak, and stainless – Bentwood Cabinetry
6) Furniture Style Cabinetry – Some of the pieces are freestanding as shown in the white shudder cabinets below, and others are built in as china hutches or buffets.

Wood Mode freestanding designs
The heirloom black kitchen we recently finished below incorporates many of the 2012 kitchen design trends discussed in this post (glass, texture, darker finish, furniture style cabinetry). (See story and video here)
Make an appointment with one of our designers and see how we can incorporate some of these ideas into the designs we create for you. If you’re not local, we are happy to do a phone consult to review your plans and give you some ideas and guidance. 516-746-3435, Kitchen Designs by Ken Kelly, 26 Hillside Avenue, Williston Pk, kitchendesigns.com
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