Cleaning the Cabinets

Cleaning the Cabinets

The only constant in the kitchen cabinet industry today is change, with new design trends, new technology and new ways of marketing all making news.

by Daina Darzin

However, the Internet generation of newly upscale twentysomethings has its own ideas. Along with changes in technology that are impacting the kitchen cabinet market (see related story, Page 58), high-tech influences are also turning up on the design front.

"We're seeing a change [to] contemporary," states Tom Krotzer, national sales manager for Sokee, in Monroe, WA.

"The Generation Xers come in and they've got millions of dollars from high-tech businesses. They're into a more modern look," he explains.

But while today's consumers may be favoring a more modern style, the new wave of modern doesn't have to mean cold, minimalist or sterile. 

"We're due for a change to a less busy look with a more contemporary simplicity," agrees Karen Lehmann, ASID, CKD, and product designer for Canyon Creek Cabinet Co., in Monroe, WA, who believes that part of this look has to do with convenience as well as style. "The younger generation wants to spend more time with their families and less time cleaning all the nooks and crannies of the Old World look," she explains. 

"It's modern Frank Lloyd Wright," adds Robert Castriciano, v.p./sales for LesCare Kitchens, in Waterbury, CT.

"Contempor-ary's coming back. It used to be the old square-edged door, but now they're [developing] radius edges or interesting lips at the tops of doors." 

"A lot of that [trend] is driven by today's media," thinks David Wylie, national sales manager for Kitchen Craft Cabinetry, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "People are into the cable cooking shows, they're into that high-end commercial look" that's compatible with more contemporary cabinetry. 

Lehmann emphasizes, however, that modern doesn't have to mean stark. "A lot of [those clients] have offices out of their homes and they still like the look of wood. The furniture look [offers] flexibility [instead of] looking at a long line of cabinetry."

"People don't feel they have to have kitchens that all look the same," elaborates Stacie Gilles, media public relations specialist for Master Brand Cabinets, in Jasper, IN, about the enduring popularity of unfitted style. "[They mix] traditional cabinetry with high-tech stainless steel appliances; a hutch with an [antique] glaze with modern cabinetry, stock with custom."

Of course, while contemporary is on the upswing, Old World looks remain a strong design trend. "Cabinets seem to be taking a few different directions," notes Bob Seeley, executive v.p./sales and marketing for Yorktowne and MasterCraft, in Red Lion, PA. Furniture looks and finishes, with valances, feet, spindles, Enkeboll-style appliques and mouldings, as well as unfitted cabinetry in custom sizes and shapes, are just some of the popular applications. 

"For clients who want the best of both worlds, Dan Fuehring, national sales manager for the Kreamer, PA-based Wood-Mode explains, "there's an Arts and Crafts look out there that has very clean, minimalist lines, but again can use mid-range tones on cherry. That's a warmer contemporary, not necessarily the hard-edge, high-gloss approach that we saw in the '80s." 

Opening up
The unfitted furniture looks of the last few years have gotten design away from the monolithic bank of cabinets. The newest way to create interest is with steel or glass cabinet door inserts, as well as open shelving to display a client's collectibles.

"Consumers want to show off their finds," says Pattee. "It gives them an opportunity to show off their personality."

Designers also like open shelving because "it creates interest, and provides emphasis and a focal point for the overall space," she adds.

"I think we're going to see a lot more open shelving and inserts," agrees Lehmann. " We're doing a lot of mullioned glass doors and glass inserts." 

Wood-Mode's Fuehring cites etched, ribbed and crackle finish as popular glass choices.