This time of year, hope springs eternal. Days grow longer, plants bloom, and temperatures warm. The feeling that anything is possible is inescapable.
With a custom kitchen, designed, crafted, and installed by Holland’s Custom Cabinets anything is possible. Whether it’s adding a few modern conveniences, making small updates that make huge differences, or undertaking a complete refresh of an out-of-date space, today’s homeowners have lots of ways to turn their kitchen makeover dreams into reality.
Let’s look at a few of the possibilities.
Smart Kitchens
Smart kitchens use technology to free up homeowners from mundane daily kitchen-related tasks. This gives them more free time to do whatever they want, such as entertaining friends and family or simply relaxing.
Smart appliances, such as refrigerators, ovens, microwaves, and even sinks monitor and optimize energy and water use. They’re typically controlled through smartphone apps and notify homeowners when there’s a problem or a task has completed.
For example, a smart oven can notify when the pre-heat has come up to temperature or when the roast is done. A smart refrigerator can alert when the door is ajar or the internal temperature rises unexpectedly, signaling a potential problem. A smart refrigerator can also keep track of what’s in the fridge. The possibilities are endless.
Storage Solutions
Modernizing a kitchen isn’t all about technology. Sometimes getting more out of your kitchen is creating better ways to store more stuff. From the simple to the more complex, modern storage solutions can turned wasted or unused kitchen space into newfound capacity goldmines.
Pull-Out Pantries—No one enjoys digging through a jumble of spices, oils, dry goods, and other cooking must-haves at the back of a drawer or dark cabinet. Invariably, you’ll miss something or have to get down on hands-and-knees to do a proper search. Pull-out pantries let you bring all those items “into the light” where you can easily see what you have or don’t have.
Vertical Slot Storage—This is so simple, it’s almost embarrassing. Vertical slot storage is a great way to repurpose cabinet space for orderly storage of cutting boards, baking pans, and cooking sheets.
Shelves in All the Right Places—There are no hard and fast rules to where shelving can or can’t go in a kitchen. Floating shelves are a quick and distinctive way to add storage and style to a kitchen. They’re great for storing decorative kitchen items, recipe books, plants, or even high-end kitchenware and plates. Shelving can also be beneficial above microwaves, windows, or the sink area.
Appliance Garages—Kitchen countertops are busy places in most modern homes, and those pesky, small appliances, such as toasters and blenders, often get in the way. Custom, built-in appliance garages that repurpose unused wall, cabinet, or counter space are fashionable again. They’re the secret sauce for reducing countertop clutter while gaining convenient storage and access to common, everyday kitchen appliances.
Ceiling-Height Cabinets—That space between the ceiling and your cabinets doesn’t have to be wasted space that collects dust. Many of today’s custom kitchen designs incorporate ceiling-height cabinets. While you won’t want to store your favorite coffee cup or every day dinnerware so far out of reach, ceiling-height storage is a huge storage bonus ideal for seldom-used but critical items. To get to items, all you need is a sturdy, stepping stool or sliding ladder.
Lighting
Lighting can either make or break your kitchen design. No one likes a kitchen that’s too dark, and too much light can make you feel like you’re in a hospital operating room. Plus, lighting can be a relatively easy way to add some function and style to an otherwise lackluster space.
Pendant lights are in for 2022, especially in kitchens with high ceilings. Pendant lights come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They can be single or grouped (usually in triplets) and, depending on the material and how they’ve been crafted, they give kitchens industrial or sleek and modern feels.
As their name suggests, accent lights are designed to accent or enhance an area of the kitchen, often to create a distinctive atmosphere, highlight a design element, or focus light on a task. Common accent lights include toe kick lights, interior cabinet and drawer lights, under and over cabinet lights, and track lights.
LED Smart bulbs allow you to control color temperature and light intensity in your kitchen via a smartphone app. You can transition from a cooler-tone, bright white while cooking to a cozier, soft yellow while eating.
Kitchens with large or numerous windows, or even skylights, benefit from abundant natural, ambient light, which can add warmth to an otherwise drab space. For kitchens without access to lots of natural light, accent lights, pendant lights, and recessed lighting can be used (often in combination) to fill in.
Use of Color
A change in color scheme is almost a given with any kitchen makeover. Switching colors can be as easy as a fresh coat of new paint, or it can be more complicated, involving completely new cabinetry, backsplashes, countertops, and appliances.
While sleek, white color schemes are always popular, for the past few years designs and colors inspired by nature have been the trend. This involves organic, earthy colors that range from cozy shades of green and brown, to spicy colors inspired by gardens and flowers, to soothing seascape palettes.
Green is especially popular as of late, particularly warmer, natural shades that go well with natural wood colors. Blue is becoming more of an accent for kitchens looking for a pop of color, while red should be on everyone’s radar for the coming years.
We Are Here to Help
Whether you’re looking to do something small with a big impact or want to completely redo your kitchen, we want to hear from you. The key to achieving the kitchen of your dreams is to choose what works best for you, your personal style, and your budget. For more information and to explore your options, call us today at 619.443.6081 or contact us online.
