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IN KITCHENS & BATHS
BY LYNN PEITHMAN STOCK
While classic looks never go out of style, these days
consumers do not want any more of the same-ol’, same-ol’
in their kitchens and baths. They’re wanting unique items
and touches, such as embossed tile and glass, touches of
THINK HOME
1 WALLS GO WILD
Gerard Cuozzo, manager of Catalfamo Gallery, says large format glass
tiles are becoming a trend for both kitchens and baths. Today, consumers
may choose from glass, mosaics, pebbles and embossed glass. Large
format pieces of glass — 12 inches by 24 inches — adorn home walls,
particularly in bathrooms. One particularly stunning treatment is gold
glass tiles embossed with a scrollwork design. Such intricate detail “is
usually what catches people’s eye,” Cuozzo said. “It’s a ‘wow’ factor.
“The glass mosaics are becoming more popular,” he said. “This is a trend
that’s increasing faster and faster.” Some glass pieces are even larger —
four feet by eight feet and his company can create custom pieces that
are seamless.
2 TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
“We’re seeing a resurgence of mid-century,” said Joe Fava, owner of
Fava Design Group. “Bathrooms are becoming more graphic and
geometric.” Even with a mostly white bathroom, playful splashes of
geometric circles in rich burgundy, brown and tan may accent one wall
of a shower. This shines the focal point on the unusual details and allows
for use of pops of color and pattern.
3 REVIVING OLD FAVORITES
Maintenance never goes out of style, and existing marble and tile floors
need some love, too, said Robert Schwartz, vice president of A&S Total
Cleaning. The company specializes in restoring find stone flooring,
including travertine, granite, marble and terrazzo. Marble flooring should
be cleaned and sealed to protect against water and stains. Using a
processing called “honing” to restore marble floors, “we grind down the
marble surface to take out the imperfections. It’s really restoring the floor
to new. Over time, in a high-traffic area, the marble wears.” Polishing and
sealing the marble floor will extend its life and reintroduce its sheen.
technology and clean and white backdrops
for semi-precious countertops. Here’s a look
at what South Florida designers and kitchen
and bath experts say is trendy right now:
Catalfam
o G
allery
Fava D
esign G
roup
4 CLEAN AND WHITE … AND VERSATILE
“We’re seeing a surge in white cabinets,” said Elliott Landman, owner of Kitchen Designs and More in Weston. “A classic white, painted kitchen is forever,” he said. “It could be contemporary, it could be traditional, it could be retro … depending on what you use for backsplashes.” Kitchen Designs and More chooses to offer manufacturers that use a multistep process for their finishes, and these cabinets have lifetime warranties.
5 TECHNOLOGY GOES TO THE KITCHEN
We want our iPads and tablets close at hand, so cabinetry is making accommodations for that technology in the kitchen, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom Kitchens. People want technology at their fingertips, such as digitized recipes on their iPads. But high tech extends beyond tablets in the kitchen. Refrigerators now have touchscreens on their fronts. Drawers can open electronically at the touch of a button, and cabinets can light up when we open them and shut off when we close them.
Homeowners also want lots of electrical plugins, and Broward Custom Kitchens find ways to incorporate those. “Kids are doing homework in the kitchen and everyone needs to plug in their gadgets,” Maggio said.
6 QUIET IN THE KITCHEN
Cabinet doors and drawers now can close more quietly and softly, said Landman of Kitchen Designs and More. “The trend is also with softly closing doors and drawers,” he said, citing Blum as the best in the world for this detail. “They’ve figured out how to put in the hinge and put it in the tracks. They’re putting furniture into the kitchen.”
7 STAY AWAY STAINS
Another trend is countertops manufactured from manmade materials, which will not stain, come with a warranty and can be almost any color imaginable, Maggio said. Today, manufacturers have colors that rival stone. Many of these are made with 93 percent quartz and 7 percent material that make the countertop non-porous. “With the quartz, (consumers) can do a lighter color and not have to worry about staining.” Even if granite is sealed, stains can still seep in, she said.
8 MAKING THE TRANSITION
“We’re seeing a lot of transitional styles,” said Maggio of Broward Custom Kitchens. People are getting away from the purely traditional look but don’t want to abandon it entirely. For instance, a kitchen may have a Shaker door. These details “are still elegant but have a bit of contemporary feel to them.”
THINK HOME
Kitchen Designs and More
9 SURFACES LIGHTEN UP
“For years, it’s been all about espresso,” Fava said. At recent furniture shows in Milan
and Paris, “they were showing walnut with a grayish tint to it.” The colors are lightening
up, with gray palettes becoming the hot color now.
“The trend right now, whether it’s kitchens or bathrooms, is more of a neutral palette.
Taupes and grays are being used, but with texture,” such as pebbles in a shower floor.
Cabinets are going pale, too, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom
Kitchens. Popular shades for cabinets and painted products are alabaster and
eggshell … not bright white and not the almond popular during the 1970s. This is more
of a creamy white, she said. “It’s white but it’s not so bright that it is overbearing.”
10 COUNTERTOPS GET MORE PRECIOUS
“On the high end, people are using semi-precious stones in bathrooms and for
countertops,” Fava said — amethyst, quartz, agate, tiger eye. “That’s the top of the
heap right now.” But as the name “semi-precious” suggests, this material is definitely
on the high-end, price wise. Semi-precious material runs $300 to $400 a square foot,
compared to granite, which is “only” $10 to $15 a square foot.
“You definitely have to find the right client,” Fava said. “They see it and fall in love
with it. The colors are unique. It’s a conversation piece.” For instance, a slab of white
quartz could be used in a shower or a slab of amethyst quartz would be on a bar. It’s
a completely different element, but for a client who’s looking for something a little
different, that’s one way to go,” Fava said. “I look at it as more of a piece of art.”
THINK HOME
RESOURCES A&S Total Cleaning: 1015 W. Newport Center Drive, Suite 103, Deerfield Beach; 954.570.1165; totalcleaning.com. Broward Custom Kitchens: 1721 Powerline Road, Pompano Beach; 954.960.0550; browardcustomkitchens.com. Catalfamo Gallery: 2534 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954.561.5770; catalfamogallery.com. Fava Design Group: 3556 N.E. 12th Ave., Oakland Park; 954.568.3732; favadesigngroup.com. Kitchen Designs and More: 2330 Weston Road, Weston; 954.389.5991; kitchendesignsandmore.com.
Broward Custom Kitchens
Catalfam
o G
allery