Best Kitchen Trends For 2010

A kitchen remodel not only adds significant value to your home, but it can also improve your quality of life. If you are thinking of giving your outdated kitchen a much needed overhaul, it is important to consider current kitchen trends. This will allow you to create a space not only pleases you and your family, but also appeals to prospective future buyers. Below you will find an over-view of the most current kitchen trends that will help enhance your lifestyle and the value of your home.

• The Sustainable Kitchen. Eco-friendly is all the rage these days, but most notably in the kitchen where a few small changes can make a significant impact. You can use inexpensive recycled or natural materials such as recycled glass counter tops or formaldehyde-free bamboo for work surfaces and flooring. Convenient built-in recycling centers and food composters can save space and make recycling simple. The overall idea is making the kitchen effortlessly eco-friendly so that being green isn't a sacrifice, it's just an easy part of your everyday life.

• Multi-functional Convenience. Since your kitchen remodel should focus on making life easier, multi-functional features are the way to go. Some examples of this trend include sinks with accessories, such as built-in preparation boards, colanders, and/or drain trays. Storage that is both stylish and highly engineered can save you both space and frustration. Cupboard inserts and custom storage areas with adjustable dividers and pull out baskets are big value-adders. Some of today's homes have appliances set on wheels or movable islands which allow you to easily rearrange the kitchen for convenient preparation, cleaning, and entertaining... which is not just multi-functional, but also kind of fun.

• The High-Tech Kitchen. Just like every other aspect of our lives, kitchens are featuring more technology than ever. A lot of this technology is focused on making the kitchen more enjoyable and adding a bit of the "wow" factor. From flat-screen televisions and computer-based entertainment systems to retracting ventilation hoods and gas burners, technology can make the kitchen more fun, convenient, and cool. The kitchen is both a social and functional space in the home. Small additions, like a small mobile device charging station, really illustrate this point. Imagine your family returning home in the evening, immediately plugging in their mobile devices, and congregating in the kitchen to catch up with each other.

• The Fresh, Foodie Kitchen. The rising popularity of celebrity chefs and shows like Top Chef help demonstrate a cultural shift towards culinary appreciation and fresh food preparation. The result is the growing popularity of restaurant grade appliances and features that promote fresh, healthy food preparation. Commercial grade stoves are more popular than ever. Filtered faucets and refrigerators with multiple cooling and humidity settings for keeping food fresh longer are in demand. Copper sinks have made a comeback due to their rustic appeal and natural anti-bacterial properties. State of the art food storage and fresh herbs on the window sill are easy, inexpensive ways to incorporate this trend into your kitchen.

• The Come-Back of Color and Shape. Unexpected flashes of color and bold shapes are all the rage, and offer a nice juxtaposition to the earthy mellowness of the eco-friendly trend. Colorful paint, tiles or back splashes add some punch to an otherwise monochromatic space. Vivid blues, oranges and corals are particularly popular. Stainless steel appliances are still accepted, but colorful appliances are more cutting-edge, and seem at once both modern and retro. Likewise, unexpected shapes - it could be anything from your windows to accessories purchased at the flea market - add interest and character to your kitchen space. The idea is to make the space fun and unique, but not obnoxious, so be careful to self edit if you find the color and shapes taking over.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Polidoro

Tuscan Kitchen Design Ideas For a Beautiful Tuscany Style Kitchen

If your dream kitchen includes a large gathering table and chairs or benches to seat the entire family, warm sunshine streaming in through the windows with bold, warm, earthy colors throughout the space, natural elements including wood, tile and stone, you'll be thrilled with Tuscan kitchen design!

Tuscany style kitchens are strong yet welcoming, bold yet serene. How is this balance achieved? First, by selecting Tuscan kitchen colors, which include those found in nature: reds, burgundys, oranges,yellows, olive green, ivory, turquoise, deep purple,brown and black.

How you use these bold colors depends on your own decorating style and comfort. But know that you can comfortably place just about any of the colors (except black) described above on your walls and remain true to Tuscan kitchen colors and design. Suggestion: select shade of deep gold for the walls. It will always present a warm, sunny tone and will provide a beautiful backdrop for your darker wood cabinetry.

The bold colors will be balanced by the natural elements used such as tile, plaster, wood beams, stone and wood furniture, usually oak or pine. Cabinetry should be of a medium to dark wood grain, or a deep, dark wood tone (almost black) for those of you who are more adventurous in their Tuscan Kitchen decor. Your cabinets and furniture will be accented by the warm, beautiful color on the walls of the Tuscany style kitchen. Cabinet pulls should be iron, pewter or wood.

Floors should be tile, stone or wood to most closely follow the Tuscan kitchen design (think of that old Italian kitchen in the country - you know, the one with the chickens strutting around the room and Grandma at the stove preparing the pasta!)

Natural lighting will influence your wall color, although you will want to make sure that you have numerous sources of lighting in your Tuscan kitchen design. Examples include an iron chandelier, undercounter lighting, lighting above the cabinetry, brushed pewter lights,etc.

If your kitchen is large enough for an island, a Tuscan influence in this area may include pots hanging above, and counter tops of tile or stone. If faux stone is in your budget, there are many choices that are realistic in look and will give the same result for your Tuscan style kitchen decor.

Accessories continue the colorful and bold theme of Tuscan design, and many times include pottery, pewter and copper pieces. Whether you have collected, inherited, antiqued or spent some time at the discount store, your Tuscan kitchen design will include these pieces. Themes and patterns will often include fruit, grapes in particular. Beautifully colored tiles, whether used as a back splash or decoratively, are also found in Tuscan style kitchen decor.

Consider bold area rugs, greens (natural or faux), natural finish fixtures in dark brown or black, stainless appliances and touches of fruit, grapevines and/or sunflowers.

Remember as you design and decorate your Tuscan style kitchen to keep to these strategies: bold, earthy colors, natural elements and large scale proportions. Use a healthy dose of accessories keeping a watchful eye out for knowing when enough is enough (you don't want to create a flea market effect!). Above all, create a warm and inviting environment for the entire family to enjoy together, and you will have accomplished your Tuscan style kitchen design goal.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Candi_Randolph