Company News
New England Kitchen Trends
Our traditional New England kitchens will have maple or cherry cabinets with raised panel doors. We used to do a dark finish with oak. But now we’re doing a light finish with maple.
Or we’re doing a glaze on top of a stain. Maybe a natural maple door with a light brown glaze as an accent. The glaze outlines the shapes to give a worn country look. Red birch is also popular because of the availability of the trees here in New England. It gives a traditional look, and it’s a wood that looks like natural cherry but doesn’t darken and mellow. Traditional-style hardware would be brass or the next new thing—pewter. We’re also using off-white paint on cabinets or shades of green and burgundy. Large crown moulding tops it off.
The contemporary look is coming back. The trend is toward a softer, warmer contemporary—not as glossy as the high shine of the ’80s. Our contemporary kitchens will have a smaller moulding than the traditional kitchens—something like a 1.5-inch, double bull-nose moulding to give a linear look. Then we’ll use a Shaker door in cherry with a clear finish and a flat panel and frame around the door. We have vertical nickel handles that run from 8 inches to 30 inches from the top to the bottom of the door. We can take a simple looking door and put that hardware on it and it makes a contemporary statement, but not a shiny or industrial one. It’s still sleek but warmer.
People want more natural light in their kitchens, so they’re taking down walls to put in bigger windows, and there go the cabinets. We’re seeing this more, particularly along the coast where they want the view. To make up for the lost storage space, we’re putting more accessories in drawers and using partitions in deep drawers to store individual plates.
Depending on the hardware, you can completely change the look of the cabinets. Stainless steel hardware works well with modern. You can have different finishes on the hardware, ranging from rust to black. Hardware is very popular because it’s a way to make the kitchen unique. There are whimsical choices—a lot of tubular and curved handles. In a more contemporary streamlined look, you’ll see chrome, brushed chrome, and stainless steel. A traditional kitchen might have brass knobs.
In mouldings, people are going for subdued. Moulding that’s a double bull nose doesn’t designate your cabinets to any real style. They’re not looking to make a statement with their mouldings and trim. With some cabinets, it’s gone entirely.
By Bill Hecht, President
Jinny Plasse, Design Consultant
David Hecht Custom Kitchen Centre
Norwich, Connecticut
www.davidhechtkitchens.com
phone (302) 644-1405 | fax (302) 644-1406 | toll free (888) 644-1405
