Here’s What I Love … trend spotting at KBIS – the kitchen

We have been designing up a storm here at LBI lately and most of our recent projects include the kitchen.  It’s a well-known fact that a well-designed kitchen not only improves your lifestyle on a daily basis but also increases the value of your home. That is if it’s done right.

When speaking to clients about their kitchen -and how they work in it-  a key component is the appliance package. Gas or the new star, induction? All fridge or fridge/freezer combination? Is the layout of the kitchen best served by a range, or can we work in double ovens?  Do you even need a microwave anymore?  These decisions are highly individual and we tailor our designs to meet not only the potential of the home but also the specific needs of the family cook.  Or cooks if you are so lucky.

Let’s look at the new kitchen darling: induction. We find more and more clients leaning in this direction when considering the choices available. The speed of electric cooking is always a plus and with the new introduction from Thermador of the largest cooking surface in the Freedom model, to the high tech Liberty induction, I think more homeowners will convert. Who wouldn’t love pre-programmed heat settings and flexible pot placement?

Steam cooking is fast overtaking cooking duty as well, and we design more kitchen including this versatile appliance and a few of my clients are choosing a steam over a microwave.

We’ve all wished for it an now its here. Side swing wall oven doors. Huzzah!  No more reaching over the drop-down oven door, into a hot oven.  Also how sleek is this installation?  I love that there is no trim kit. Designer wish list box checked off!

Do you entertain? One of the ooh and ahh-inducing appliances this year was this dishwasher.  We all loved the tall glass racking and why not club-like interior lighting?

Connected appliances have been around for some time now, and this year at KBIS we saw new ways to integrate appliances and technology.  Want to turn on your oven from your Tesla on the way home from work?  Yep, got that.  Forgot to turn on your exhaust fan when you put that pie in the oven?  Your automated hood fan can take care of that. Out grocery shopping and forgot the list on the Counter.  Your fridge can tell you what to pick up.  All this and more through the nifty HomeConnect program on your phone. It’s all very Jetsons , I know and some are not yet on the market as they are brand spanking new, but I think our kitchens will eventually start looking a wee bit like:

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Xx LeAnne