Fall Tips and Trends for Your Kitchen and Bath

In honor of October being Kitchen and Bath month, we’ve compiled some tips and trends from local vendors to guide our readers in their current or future renovations. Whether you are building from scratch, or looking to tweak a few outdated areas, the following advice should help in your quest for the perfect kitchen or bath!

What’s cool for the bath?

Think ATT. Not for your phones, but for your shower! Robin Shor, builder liaison at Splash says, “this stands for ambient tuning technology—it’s the advent of digital showering. On the high-end side, you have custom spa experience by Dornbracht, and then there’s Kohler’s digital transfer system, to simpler, easy-to-use, every day digital showers. The vertical Dornbracht ATT allows the user to choreograph the shower water—three different programmed experiences: balancing, energizing, and relaxing. The e-control panel lets you know the flow rate and changes in temperature. Each family member can even personalize his or her settings.”

The new steam showers help you relax and save on water.

Robin Davis, Showroom Manager at Designer Bath, sees an upturn in people choosing to have steam in their home shower. “Steam showers only use about one to one-and-a-half gallons of water on average, as opposed to a whirlpool tub. In addition, steam not only helps you to relax, but added options such as aromatherapy can help to create a total spa experience in your own home.” Some steam systems even allow you to activate the steam using your phone or iPad’s Wi-Fi.

For those of you who truly want a spa experience in your bathroom and love taking a good bubble bath to relax, Davis feels that a freestanding tub is the ultimate self-indulgence. Made of either solid surface or acrylic, often with a sculpted design, the freestanding tub is now considered to be the centerpiece of the bathroom.

At Splash’s showroom, there will be a separate spa room so in the near future, people will actually be able to feel the spa experience for themselves. Shor adds that the Bain ultra-therapeutic air tub gives the bather a full-body massage experience while soaking. The Verdana by Bain envelops the user in aromatherapy, as well as dry therapy, light therapy, sounds therapy, and chroma therapy.

Grey is the new black. It can be soft or dramatic and goes with every color.

There’s also big news in color, Davis says. “There are lots of white and gray in both the kitchen and bath. Fixtures remain white, but cabinetry is now more gray and even blue with a grey tinge—more of a chambray or denim color. These painted cabinets are definitely taking over from the traditional wood finishes, and even here, in the traditional Boston area, we aren’t seeing the darker woods of yesteryear.” She adds, “in the bath we are seeing more wall hung vanities, in a more transitional style, along with the trend to wall hang cabinets, which creates a floating, more open feel for smaller rooms, and promotes easy cleaning underneath, while still allowing for under sink storage.”

Shor agrees, that when it comes to the bathroom furniture, “gray is the new black. Grey is a neutral, which can be soft or dramatic. It looks fresh and inviting and is incredibly versatile, as it goes with every color of linens, paint, or wallpaper.”

“Speaking of color,” Shor adds, “I feel that the trend in putting satin nickel all over the house is slowing down. New York and Europe are trending satin and unlacquered brass and bronzes, and this interest in brass finishes is definitely going strong in our area—most likely due to the economy tentatively getting stronger and the robust real estate market. With the upturn in the economy, people are investing more in their homes and are adding more personality—style and color that reflects their taste, instead of cookie cutter safer finishes.”

Designer Bath’s Davis agrees that, “different flavors of brass are returning. No longer are we seeing that highly polished brass sheen, but what’s selling is more of the brushed brass, antique or French gold, which is more muted.”

What’s hot in the kitchen?

Still talking about color, Davis explains that fixtures are different in kitchen and bath. “When it comes to kitchen faucets, while stainless steel still rules, we are actually seeing a trend to black and white.” The black faucets have matte finishes, and now more of the higher end faucet lines are offering glossy white—a patent leather look.

A new trend in kitchen faucets is the ease that it takes to turn on. “Turning your kitchen faucet on with only a touch of your fingertips isn’t new, but is growing, and is a must for every new kitchen or remodel,” says Davis. It prevents cross-contamination while handling food, and is a great way to control water usage, as the water flow is activated only when needed, he adds.

What’s steamy with appliances?

For homeowners seeking the best in new appliances for their kitchen renovations, we’ve connected with the experts at Thermador to share the latest in kitchen appliance technology from their Ultimate Culinary Series. Add one of these ovens to your remodel and you’ll be glad you did.

The free-standing 60-Inch Pro Grand® Steam Range

This is the only range available with a steam and convection combination oven, plus a full-size convection oven. This range has an extra-large oven capacity of 5.1 cubic feet for the epitome of versatility, as well as for delivering the flavor and health benefits of steam with the browning capacity of convection. Also, it’s healthier, helping food retain more of its essential vitamins, nutrients, and moisture.

The Built-In Steam & Convection Oven

This oven provides the taste, texture, and quality to match your passion for cooking. Thermador built-in wall ovens feature a 4.7 cubic foot capacity, the fastest preheat in the luxury segment, an industry exclusive SoftClose® door, and a record-setting two hour cleaning mode.

The 60-Inch Pro Grand® Range

This is the ultimate entertainer’s center. The double convection oven configuration has the largest combined oven capacity available. These 30-inch and 36-inch ovens accommodate professional grade catering trays, more casserole dishes at a given time, and bigger roasting pans. This is kitchen personalization with cooking technology designed around each person.

Whether you are completely gutting your kitchen and bathroom all at once, or taking one step at a time renovating, there is no better time than now to get started on the project you’ve always wanted to complete. Plus, with all of the amazing styles, variations of appliances, fixtures, and products out there to choose from, stop dreaming about having your dream home and start making it a reality.

For design inspiration for your kitchen and bath, contact one of these retailers today!

Resource Directory 

Designer Bath at Salem Plumbing
800.649.2284
designerbath.com

Kitchen Views at National Lumber
508.DESIGNS (337.4467)
kitchenviews.com

Splash
617.332.6662
splashspritzo.com

Thermador
thermador.com