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| Image from House Beautiful |
This week I'll continue with my commentary on the 2011 National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) Kitchen and Bath Trends, as featured in the May/June 2011 issue of Urban Home Charlotte:
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| Walls planked with pure white CeasarStone (Image from MyHomeIdeas.com) |
1) Quartz Countertops
Unlike marble or granite countertops, 'Quartz countertops' are actually a composite material made from quartz and resin. There are great advantages to quartz which include low maintenance, durability, and uniformity of material. Basically you get the look and feel of stone, without the worry about the red wine stains.
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| Image from House Beautiful |
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| Image from House Beautiful |
2) Green Bathrooms
What isn't going 'green' these days? But in this case, they really mean the color green. Though "off-whites, beiges, and browns are still the most commonly used color palettes", green has increased as the preferred paint color used in the bathroom. I would guess it has something to do with our increased environmental awareness, the universal appeal of green (i.e. men and women can agree on it), and the calming nature of green. I will agree that blue-greens and taupey-greens are great choices for bathrooms, mainly because they look great with bright white sinks, tubs, and toilets.
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| Image via Southern Accents |
However, it is possible to get too seafoamy-green in your quest to achieve the perfect 'bathroom-green'. When we renovated our master bathroom a few years ago, my unfortunate first attempt ended up looking more 'medical scrubs' than 'soothing spa'. You can never go wrong with Silver Sage by Restoration Hardware. Now almost every paint manufacturer has their own version of it. We ended up using Behr's 'Pewter Tray', which was perfect.
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| Bobby McAlpine designed bathroom, Image by House Beautiful |
3) Vessel Sinks
Vessel sinks have become a very popular option in the bathroom. Their roots are based upon the old washbasin / washstands that become popular in the early 19th century, which would sit on a stand and would be filled with a large pitcher of water nearby.
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| Image from House Beautiful |
There's a number of great options available, in a wide range of prices. I prefer those with a shallower bowl, with simple materials and profiles.
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| Image from MyHomeIdeas.com |
The main thing to remember if you want to use a vessel sink in your bathroom, is that the vessel sink sits above the countertop and therefore your cabinet base must be shorter so that the top of the sink doesn't get too tall.
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| Bathroom by BRONWYN Designs |
4) Satin Nickel Faucets
The survey noted that " . . .oil-rubbed bronze, polished chrome, and polished nickel are all popular finishes for faucets. But satin nickel is the most preferred finish for faucets, rising from 41% last year to 63% in th ekitchen and from 45% to 57% in the bathroom".
This statistic really shocked me. I agree that the popularity of oil-rubbed bronze has started to decline, but I would have guessed the same for satin nickel. In my experience, polished nickel has been the most popular finish that I've specified in the past year. Nickel is much warmer than chrome, and it has that same timeless appeal and works well in both contemporary and more traditional kitchens and baths.
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| Kitchen by BRONWYN Designs |
Similar to the resurgence of gold in fashion, I've noticed that brass finishes, especially antiqued brass, is becoming extremely popular in home decor. You'll notice it not only in faucets and cabinet hardware, but also as lamps, occasional tables, framing, etc.
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| Powder room by BRONWYN Designs |
That wraps up my commentary on the NKBA 2011 Kitchen and Bath trends. I'll be interested to see if I continue to notice these trends in the designs of the kitchens and baths in the year to come.
Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn
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