Kitchen Design-Remodel Trends 2018

What room gives you the best bang for the buck when considering a remodel? The kitchen wins just about every time. Many of our clients are staying in their homes longer, and at some point, it’s time to think about new kitchen designs and a remodel. So what are the latest trends in kitchen design-remodel?

With that in mind, we interviewed some top area designers and a few DIY homeowners to see what the latest trends are in kitchen design and remodel. As you can imagine, Santa Barbara does not follow many other markets due to the type of architecture and the number of historic homes in the region.

Goleta and much of the downtown inventory does conform to many of the national trends, likely due to the number of track homes and newer urban architecture.

In this article, we will look at many kitchen design trends utilized by some area design pros as well as inclinations seen on a more regional scale. We will take a look at the following areas of the kitchen.

Cabinets
Counters
Appliances
Lighting
Flooring
Common Mistakes DYI Homeowners Make

Kitchen Design-Remodel Trends – Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets have changed a lot over the years. Today, homeowners are choosing cabinets with many storage conveniences including:

Split drawers are a fantastic option. With these, your drawers have two levels on sliders; One part holds silverware and another stores items like other kitchen gadgets. The two sections slide back and forth to expose each other.
Cabinets with slide-outs make it easier to get to pots, pans, and other stuff. It’s also great for older people who may not want to bend over to get to things, especially those pesky items way in the back.
Vertical dividers are another handy feature. Dividers allow the chef to store cookie sheets, serving trays and other flat items side-by-side between multiple dividers, thus keeping them in place and a snap to retrieve.
Newer panty cabinets are seeing many design improvement. Slide out drawers and storage units give easy access and utilize space better.

Flush face or inset doors and drawers are one of the favorite trends. With these, the drawers and doors are mounted inside the cabinet frame giving a sleek appearance compared to the older style of installing them on the outside.

Most kitchen cabinets have a painted finish. Since they get cleaned a lot, a durable finish is essential. Check the warranty on the cabinets you buy; many top manufacturers offer 20 year or even lifetime warranties while most off the shelf brands have limited guarantees and overall quality may not be what you want long term.

Kitchen Design-Remodel Trends – Countertops

Everyone we talked to said the same thing about countertops. Quartz is in; granite is mostly out.

Quartz counters are a human-made product and come in a bunch of finishes. The benefit is they are genuinely damage resistant. Our research suggests American and Canadian made quartz counters are the best. Companies such as Cambria and Caesarstone appear to have the fewest complaints. Some say if the manufacturer uses Breton machinery, it is most likely a durable quartz countertop.

Kitchen Design-Remodeling Trends – Appliances

Despite difficulties, Stainless continues to be the most popular appliance finish with white coming in a distant second. A new option is matte finishes like we see on some cars.

Side-by-side refrigerators are still the top choice. Many cooks prefer gas over electric for cooktops and ranges. Lastly, flush mounted appliances are a significant trend.

HOT TIP. Most refrigerators are deeper than your cabinets. You know this as you often see the fridge sticking out. You can order appliances that are the same depth as your cabinets and give your kitchen a sleek modern look.

Kitchen Design-Remodel Trends – Lighting

A lot has changed in kitchen design when it comes to lighting. That’s a good thing in our opinion. Gone are the days of recessed fluorescent tubes hidden behind ugly plastic panels. Today’s kitchen designers use LED canned lights flush-mounted in the ceiling, thus adding height and giving a more spacious feel.

FYI: The good news about LED’s is they now provide much warmer light than in the early days.

Under-cabinet lighting is all the rage these days. They can be flush mounted, dimmable and on separate switches. Owners love the extra food prep surface lighting, and how these hidden lights can add just the right ambiance when the overhead lights are turned off.

Kitchen Design-Remodel Trends – Flooring

Today’s cook areas have lots of flooring options. The two most significant trends are tiles and laminates that look like wood. It is uncanny how real these human-made products look like the real thing. The advantage is durability. Real wood and potentially wet areas are not a wise mix.

FYI: Do you know the most common source of a water leak in the kitchen? Drum roll, please. Your refrigerator’s ice maker. 2^nd are under counter water purification systems.

Laminates have come a long way since the early Pergo days. Today’s homeowner has lots of color and finish options, plus the better products are incredibly resilient. If you have a dog whose claws can chew through many surfaces, a quality laminate floor may be just what you need.

Thoughts From Some Local Kitchen Design Pros

Naturally, we couldn’t talk to everyone. We chose three firms who have been around a long time and came referred by some of our clients/friends and earned high online reviews. Hahka Kitchens in Goleta and the Kitchen Company on State Street answered our calls and were happy to chat about the industry they love while the third one never returned our call.

Linda Williams and Jan Hahka serve the greater Santa Barbara market, yet seem to do much work in Goleta. Many of their projects are track homes and condos that make up the bulk of the area’s housing. Let’s hear a bit from them.

Despite the extensive color palette available, white is still a top choice for cabinets and counters. Linda says they are experiencing a slight uptick in more modern (European style) kitchens and people incorporating greys and blues in their design scheme. They feel spending a bit more on quality cabinets pays off in the long run. Most all their clients like the plethora of tricked out storage options we described above.

One thing I saw in their showroom was the utilization of advanced design software. When Hahka designs your you kitchen you not only get a standard architectural drawing, you can view life-like renderings from a variety of views. As a visual person, I found this service darn sweet.

You can learn more on their website or pop by their showroom across from Costco at 72 Santa Felicia Dr, Goleta, CA.

We had a nice chat with Gillian Amery at the Kitchen Company on State Street. Gillian and her husband Mike have been around since 1987 and had an impressive portfolio. Let’s find out what Gillian sees as design trends.

Gillian says every kitchen design is wildly different. Some clients want to match the home’s style such as a woman I met during our interview. This client is building a French country style home and wants her kitchen to carry that feel.

She and Mike see millennials trend towards more European style kitchens. She also commented on the fact that while white or blue/grey colors are quite popular, many of their clients have large homes and are choosing darker woods that can coordinate well with the bigger kitchens. Like many others, she is a strong proponent of Quartz countertop for its resilience and often sends clients appliance shopping first so they can best harmonize design with their choices.

Gillian is happy to meet with you to discuss your dreams and needs. Check out their website or drop by their showroom at 1717 N. State St. in Santa Barbara

Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make When Remodeling A Kitchen

Below are some of the most common mistakes.

Windows and Doors. We would not have thought of this one! Many homeowners change out windows and sliding glass doors before thinking about a kitchen remodel. What happens if your new kitchen requires moving things around a bit? Suddenly, that window above the sink is in the wrong place, or your shiny new doorway becomes a design obstacle.
Not knowing the steps it takes to remodel a kitchen. A kitchen remodel has lots of moving parts. Orchestrating them in the right order takes a trained person. You may have walls to move, maybe the ceiling raised, how about plumbing changes and modifications to the electrical items.
Not having things ordered in time. Two of the homeowners we chatted with had the same issue. They didn’t know it takes several weeks for their semi-custom cabinets to arrive. They started dismantling the old kitchen only to find out they were two to three months away from the new cabinets and countertops coming.

FYI: Countertops are measured and manufactured AFTER the cabinets are installed. Pros tell us it can take 2 or more weeks to get your new counters in place.

Using a kitchen design contractor is much more expensive. Although you will pay more to hire a pro, the cost is not as much as you might think. They often get discounted rates from plumbers, electricians, and others, so the price to you is nearly the same as if you did the subcontracting yourself. The big win is time. DIY kitchens often have delays because the homeowner missed an important step or forgot to order something required before moving on to the next item.

All but one of the DIY homeowners we talked with said if they had it to do over again, they would have hired a professional kitchen remodeling contractor.

Conclusions:

We certainly hope this article has been of value. We thought it an important one since kitchens add so much beauty and value to a home. Naturally, if you have real estate questions or needs, please know we are here for you.

Best to you,

Joe Parker, Garrett McCaw, Avi Becker
The Santa Barbara Group
Berkshire Hathaway HSCP
3868 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105
info@thesantabarbaragroup.com
Serving Santa Barbara, Goleta and more