Hidden Assets

Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes. So, too, do today’s kitchen consumers, especially when it comes to their cabinets. That’s the opinion of manufacturers and kitchen dealers and designers recently surveyed by Kitchen & Bath Design News.

The trend isn’t just about maximizing every nook and cranny of interior cabinet space, however. It also means designing that interior space with style that’s meant to be seen and appreciated ­– every bit as much as exterior living spaces have been in the past.

“What’s behind these spaces is certainly becoming much more important,” says Philip Martin, business development manager for Häfele America Co., in Archdale, NC. “Cabinet consumers want these things as they entertain in their homes, and the kitchen industry is looking for more accessorization [and more complementary accessorization] as their consumers ask for it.”

It’s clear that the upscale kitchen consumer has had enough of rummaging into dark corners, no matter how well organized those corners might be. And kitchen dealers and manufacturers are stepping up – ready, willing and eager to help consumers throw open those cabinet doors and shed some light onto this traditionally hidden world.

While the storage aid and accessory segment of the market has traditionally allowed others in the industry to steer design trends, focusing instead on introducing new products and refining established ones that help the consumer organize and carve out kitchen space, it is beginning to understand the value of complementing these overall trends. “We’ve introduced a whole new series of products that comes in a range of warmer finishes,” says Martin. “This creates a pleasing look to the consumer, but at the same time [it still emphasizes] a very functional organization in the cabinetry.”

Joey Shimm, marketing director for Outwater Plastics Industries, in Bogota, NJ, sees the rising interest in overall design trends as a sign that the storage aid industry has come of age. “By and large, the most popular ‘industry standard’ items have remained principally unchanged since their introductions,” he says. “Thus, most of the product trends, aside from the occasional introduction of a new product, are primarily aesthetically inspired.”

THE MARTHA STEWART EFFECT

It’s not just about consumers choosing to spend more on their homes, agree manufacturers. They are also educating themselves, coming into the process armed with more refined opinions.

“They have higher expectations and have become much more specific about what they want out of their kitchen experience, and it only follows that what they see on television and on the Internet becomes desirable to them in their own homes,” says Kathryn Constantine, director of sales and marketing for Brown Wood Products, Co., in Lincolnwood, IL.

Rob Jenkins, director of marketing for Rev-a-Shelf, LLC, in Louisville, KY, cites finished interiors as an example of this phenomenon. “They’re becoming a standard now, with mainstream, mid-market cabinet makers offering that.”

“A column is no longer just a decorative element that you put in your kitchen,” emphasizes Constantine, citing a new product from her company that is routed for the electrical box and comes with a matching face plate. “The column is routed all the way through and can be used even on islands to completely hide the electrical.”

The rise in popularity of more design-minded and versatile storage aids and accessories, combined with greater than ever availability, can only help the industry. For dealers and designers grappling with competition and narrowing profit margins, these snazzy add-ons can quickly turn into a lively profit center.

“No [consumer] looks at an accessory [in a showroom] and says, ‘I don’t want that,’ ” suggests Shari McPeek, marketing manager of Rev-a-Shelf. “It’s always been a matter of cost and, if it’s a budget issue, [accessories and storage aids] have traditionally been the first to be cut.”