Kitchen Design Trends for 2010

The National Kitchen & Bath Association (www.nkba.org) recently conducted a survey of designers to review key design trends for kitchens in 2010.  The results of the NKBA 2010 Kitchen & Bath Design Trends Survey confirmed the continuation of a number of existing trends in the marketplace, but also uncovered others that indicate shifts in the direction that kitchen and bath style will take this year. Below are 2010’s seven kitchen trends.



KITCHENS

1. Traditional is the New Contemporary
Traditional will continue as the most popular kitchen design style in 2010, with contemporary following closely behind, while the Shaker style is seeing a surprisingly strong resurgence. Shades of whites and off-whites will be the most common kitchen colors in 2010, while brown, beige, and bone hues will also be popular.

2. Cherry on Top
Cherry will remain the most popular wood for kitchen cabinetry, followed closely by maple, while alder increases in use. As for the finishes placed on those cabinets, medium natural, dark natural, glazed, and white painted will all be common. Other colors of painted cabinetry and light natural finishes are in decline, however, as are distressed finishes.

3. Floored by Tile
Ceramic and porcelain tile, as well as natural stone tile, remain popular kitchen flooring options, but hardwood will dominate the kitchen landscape more than ever in 2010. For countertops, granite continues to be the most popular option, but quartz will nearly catch up in popularity. For backsplashes, ceramic or porcelain tile and glass will serve as the primary materials.

4. Flexible Faucets
Standard kitchen faucets will become less standard in 2010 in favor of more convenient models. Pull-out faucets continue to increase their market dominance, while pot filler faucets will also become more prevalent. Kitchen faucets will most often be finished in brushed nickel, followed by stainless steel, satin nickel, and—surprisingly—polished chrome.

5. Undercounter Refrigeration
French door and freezer-bottom are the two most popular styles of refrigerators, and side-by-side refrigerators remain a popular option. A surprising trend is the extent to which undercounter refrigerator drawers are being used in the latest kitchen designs. Perhaps even more surprising is that undercounter wine refrigerators have been recently specified by half of kitchen designers.

6. A Range of Cooking Options
The tried-and-true range continues to serve as the workhorse for cooking, although the combination of a cooktop and wall oven is beginning to overtake it. Gas will maintain its position as the most popular type of cooktop over electric, although induction cooking continues to gain in popularity due to its energy efficiency.

7. Dishwasher-in-a-Drawer

Standard dishwashers, with the traditional door that pulls from the top down, will once again be easily the most common type in 2010. However, an increasing number of dishwasher drawers will be installed in kitchens this year for their convenience and their ability to wash small loads of dishes in each drawer, thereby saving water and electricity.

Cheers!

Here is something fun for your weekend celebrations! Turn wine labels into greeting cards with some handy stickers. Wine may have its nose but now it can have a mouth too. Toast-its are fun and give an alternative gift for that special hostess. Toast-Its are greeting cards that wrap around the bottle. Toast-Its can be personalized and will stay on the bottle after the wrapping is removed. Visit http://toast-its.com/

Wednesday's Best Buy

Now for Sale - Make any room seem brighter and larger with a mirrored coffee table.  At Sandcastle Interiors we have hundreds of unique designs for your home. Silver detail and the use of shapes gives this table the right amount of character.This look can polish any room and give a fresh new look to your sitting area. Save big on these items now before our newest shipment arrives!

Call at (843) 842-1370 or send us an email at sandcastleinteriors@gmail.com.

How do you display your books?

Here are a few inspiring ideas we thought might boost your desire to showcase all those books you might have laying around. Why keep them locked away in closets or drawers? Diplay your collection for all the world to see and have fun while you do it!

Taking Dressing Rooms to a whole new level...

We’re seeing a growing trend towards dressing rooms here at Habersham. More and more, men and women are opting for large, grand spaces that serve as an intimate retreat from the dizzying pace of today’s time-strapped lifestyle.

We’ve worked with our interior designer partners to create a number of lovely dressing room cabinetry projects over the past year. Completely customized to meet the client’s space, style and wardrobe needs, designs include wide deep drawers and plenty of shelving for shoes and accessories, hanging bars, mirrors, space for luggage , safes, hampers and much more.

We also give clients the opportunity to choose from a vast palette of hand-styled finishes in rich colors, tones and textures to create a private, luxurious space that is as fabulous as it is functional. They truly offer an escape from the ordinary to the extraordinary!

Chalkboard Trend

Thinking about adding a chalk board to a room in your house? This year with everyone getting organized it seems like a great way to be creative, organize family night or keep your busy family schedule out in the open. For some families this easy to do project gives their kids a fun new place to play or a great place to leave love notes. Check out some of our favorite chalkboards for your home.

Biltmore™ Collection Approach Road Cabinet

This month’s featured product – the Biltmore ™ Collection Approach Road Cabinet — is one of my favorite designs. If you’ve ever visited Biltmore ™, you’ll recall the beautiful drive along the three-mile “Approach Road” that leads to the estate. Like all of the lovely grounds on the Estate, the road itself was the work of renowned landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmstead, who also designed New York’s Central Park and the U.S. Capitol grounds. The curving road is lined with pines, shrubs, bamboo groves and other trees, which all come together to create a sense of anticipation as you approach the spectacular home.

Inspired by the road’s graceful curves, I chose a rounded front for this cabinet and echoed that design with three arches framing the adjustable wood framed glass shelves. Like all pieces in our line, this cabinet is available in your choice of finish or decorated art options. The decorated style shown here captures some of the design elements found on a stunning 16th century tapestry that hangs on a wall at Biltmore.

From these magnificent tapestries and original artwork by the old masters to countless antiques and other antiquities that fill the 250-room home, George and Edith Vanderbilt’s spectacular Asheville, NC estate has provided a rich source of inspiration for the many designs in our Biltmore ™ Chateau Reserve Collection. If you’ve never visited Biltmore or would like to learn more, you can visit their website.

For a complete look at the Habersham line and information on how to order email us at sandcastleinteriors@gmail.com or call us at (843) 842-1370

Wednesday's Best Buy

Now for Sale - Bring the outdoors IN this spring! At Sandcastle Interiors we have hundreds of unique designs for your home. Whether you want to start a new collection of art in your hallway or give some color to a neutral room - we have it all. Several select painting and images are now on sale! Stop in and take a look or email us for more images of what we have in stock. Save big on these items now before our newest shipment arrives!

Call at (843) 842-1370 or send us an email at sandcastleinteriors@gmail.com.

Canopy Living: The Ultimate Tree House

Sometimes we come across homes that are just too wild and we have to share with everyone! There’s the tree house your Dad built for you in the backyard, and then there’s the tree house Robert Harvey Oshatz built in the forests of Portland, Oregon. Designed in 1997 and completed in 2004, the Wilkinson Residence is in perfect harmony with its surroundings. Built on a steep sloping lot, the living space resides amongst the forest canopy, making your morning coffee most enjoyable. With more curves than Lombard Street, the Wilkinson Residence is a property you have to see to believe. Enjoy the photos of this one of a kind home in Oregon!

Info & Images courtesy of: http://www.oshatz.com/text/wilkinson.htm

The Ultimate Bathroom Organizer

Minimize mess, maximize storage: Create a cool, calm space where you’ll feel collected.

Toss Your Tired Products

Even ruthless purgers tend to hold on to lotions and potions for too long. But all items become less effective over time. Throw out anything that smells or looks funny or that you know is well past its prime. Many products have a “period after opening” label, a number followed by the letter M (shown). It indicates how many months the item is effective after opening. In general eye makeup is good for six months, foundation a year, and lipsticks two (but pay attention to preservative-free products, which typically degrade more quickly than others).

Use a Sticker Strategy

User the sticker strategy
For an easy way to track how long you’ve had a product, write the month and year when you first open it on a small sticker or a piece of masking tape and affix it to the bottom of the jar or tube. In time, if the item starts looking dicey, you can refer to this date to see if you’re in the clear or not. Then you can get back to remembering more important dates, like your mother’s birthday.

Channel a Surgeon
Most mornings, you need to fly out of the bathroom, so having everything readily available is key. Instead of rummaging through a dopp kit for your daily makeup, arrange everything on a small tray atop a counter. This way, you’ll have all your trusty implements at hand, just like a doctor. (And when you’re not using those items, stow the tray in a drawer.) Separate all other cosmetics by category (lip colors, shadows, blushes, etc.) and store them in containers that fit in the drawer. This will help you to see all your options at a glance―and encourage you to use them. Whether you repurpose pretty tins or purchase new boxes, they should be shallow enough so you can rest the daily-makeup tray on them and still shut the drawer.

Show the Disposables

So you can see when supplies are dwindling and know when it’s time to stock up, put everyday essentials, including cotton balls and swabs, in clear containers. Consider using any repurposed vessels or glass apothecary jars. Keep makeup brushes upright and accessible in a tumbler (as opposed to dusting up your drawers or makeup bag).

Keep Some Supplies to Yourself
Daily skin-care essentials are best stored in the medicine cabinet for easy access at the sink and mirror. Stow the items you use only on an as-needed basis―summer sunblock, tampons, guest soaps―in a closet or a closed cabinet. To save money and cut down on waste and trips to the store, buy shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in bulk and store them here. Decant the products into smaller bottles for the shower and even tinier ones for traveling. (You can find small containers at drugstores and websites like organize.com.)

Architecture for Humanity Responds to Haiti Quake

Architecture for Humanity members haven’t slept a wink since Monday night. The San Francisco-based non-profit design services firm founded by Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr, is busy mobilizing an architecture army for reconstruction efforts in Haiti following Tuesday’s horrific earthquake.

The firm, which provides design, construction, and development for nations and cultures in need, is currently fundraising for long-term efforts in the crumbled city of Port au Prince. Additionally, Architecture for Humanity has issued a call to architects, interior designers, engineers, environmental scientists, agronomists, and landscape architects across the globe to donate their time and talent to aid in the long road ahead.

“While Haiti is currently in desperate need of relief and recovery services, very soon we will move to long-term reconstruction,” said Cameron Sinclair. “When the world’s attention turns away from this disaster, that is when the design and building community is needed most. Give now to build back better.”

Currently, Architecture for Humanity is fleshing out a comprehensive, two- to four-year plan (including transitional, temporary shelter, as well as permanent construction) for the devastated nation that begins with a site visit in approximately three week’s time. Ideally, the firm will have professionals in the field by month two. Sinclair and his team are urging dedicated, passionate members of the industry, especially those who are French-speaking, to sign up to volunteer at www.architectureforhumanity.org/getinvolved/offerdesign. Monetary donations can also be submitted via PayPal sans service fee at www.architectureforhumanity.org/donate.

For all the Moms out there...

One of Our favorites! SAVE 25% off Petunia Pickle Bottom


Diaper bag got you in the dumps? Shop the designer’s modern styles (bedding, baby carriers, layette, and accessories) for a fresh start to the new year. The discount is site-wide. Thru Jan. 21; enter BABYCHIC.

http://www.petuniapicklebottom.com/

Wednesday's Best Buy

Now for Sale - These mirrored sconces by John Richard were designed to add great detail and design to any wall - large or small. Great for hallways, entry walls, powder rooms and more. Custom made and given texture with its gold trim and subtle details. Other special gifts and home accessories are now on sale at Sandcastle Interiors so give us a call at (843) 842-1370 send us an email at sandcastleinteriors@gmail.com.

SPANX Gets a Slender New Look

Women who slip into SPANX body-thinning hosiery and apparel appear to shrink within moments. The company itself is following the opposite course as the products’ popularity has spelled major growth for the Atlanta-based brand.

To accommodate the addition of dozens of staffers since its 1998 launch, SPANX gradually expanded by adding offices in its original Buckhead building. In May 2008, they hired locally based tvsdesign to provide a fresh start for their new headquarters, a 37,000-square-foot, two-level interior located directly across the street from its previous location.

New and old couldn’t be more different. Formerly, SPANX accreted workspace largely by building multiple enclosed rooms for new hires. Today, there are only 31 private offices placed in the center of the plan (further distinguished by curved expanses of Bentley carpet in a fiery floral pattern). Ninety-one unenclosed workstations are configured into “neighborhoods” hemming closely to the windows and around meeting or file-storage areas.

These community-oriented spaces reflect SPANX culture. “This was the first time they looked at how interior design would reflect their personality and support how they work,” says tvsdesign principal Steve Clem.

“It could not just be a typical, boring office space,” adds Elizabeth Levine, a senior associate at the design firm. “They focused on their company as a family, and they wanted to have fun and be girly in a grown-up way.”

The design team chose Teknion District for the open-office workstations. Appliquéd materials and soft drapes provide extra domestic touches. The highlight of each central meeting area is a custom table with antiqued, mirrored-glass top on a hammered-iron base. All tables are unique, and they rest atop area rugs beneath white chandeliers. Many pieces were sourced from consumer retailers, such as The Rug Company and Anthropologie.

While CEO Laurie Ann Goldman’s office could be considered a luxurious living room, tvsdesign’s residential aesthetic is also best expressed in the office break room and lobby. “SPANX has a ‘board of fun,’ which is in charge of organizing fun activities. They wanted a kitchen that felt like a home, a place where they could hold a baby shower,” Levine explains. tvsdesign responded with custom millwork and a marble countertop. Meanwhile, the lobby is the stuff of feather-boa daydreams, with the faux-leather-lined elevator landing leading to a petite room clad in red-lacquered walls on which SPANX is spelled out in Hollywood lights. “It’s a glamour story,” Clem says.

Even the lucky employees who kept their private offices feel at home. The offices feature intricate baseboard molding made of durable rubber. “Little details make a big difference,” Levine says. The offices do, however, reuse furniture from SPANX’s previous headquarters—to keep the budget from getting too, well, bloated.

All images by Brian Gassel; courtesy of tvsdesign