KITCHEN TREND PREDICTIONS FOR 2010

Moben Kitchens always likes to keep one step ahead – not just with products and service – but also by being the first kitchen retailer on the high street with the latest trends.

Terry Watson, kitchen planning expert for Moben, offers an insight in to what she believes will be the key kitchen trends for 2010:

Ode to Nature
There’s no doubt that people are experimenting even more when it comes to kitchen design, and if neutral schemes just aren’t your thing, striking wild-wood effects bring waves of colour to the kitchen. Dramatic grains fabricate a real focal point, so it’s fantastic to see that they are now coming through as a clear trend for the kitchen in 2010.

Offering the best of both worlds and ideal if you really want an eye-catching zebrano-effect or olivewood-effect veneer but don’t want to cover your whole kitchen in it; the latest must-have design combines the particularly striking look of a grain-effect veneer teamed with a backdrop of black gloss units, in a mix-and-match combination that certainly makes for a dramatic designer look with wow-factor.

Showing how it can be done with sophistication, Moben’s Urban Olive range brings together the natural beauty of an olivewood-effect veneer with noir gloss units for guaranteed impact.

Colour
Integral to the growing craze of ‘staying in is the new going out’, the kitchen is no longer just simply a place to cook. As such, with the average UK homeowner spending more and more time in the kitchen, expressing our creative intelligence and individuality has never been so paramount.

Colour is the ultimate mode to express an individual’s personality and at the beginning of 2009, Moben led the market when it introduced its Cortona range, incorporating 2009’s must-have colour for the kitchen – aubergine. Whilst typically, Moben’s customers have preferred to opt for neutral whites, creams or timber finishes, such as its best-selling Manhattan range, the introduction of Cortona saw sales of this on-trend kitchen colour soar. Lively colours are still expected to take over the kitchen market in a bright and bold way in 2010.

Texture
Wood-grain when produced to a high-quality can look like the real thing, but for 2010 veneers will now start feeling like the real thing too, as texture is set to be a rising trend in British kitchen design.

Tactile qualities are proving just as important to the homeowner when choosing a kitchen. Bringing visual interest and contrast which engage the senses further, textured units can be used to soften a kitchen look and make the room feel like it is coming to life. Plus, when combined with focused lighting, a strikingly textured unit can create dynamic silhouettes giving a sophisticated yet natural feel to any kitchen.

An example of how texture can be incorporated as part of the kitchen is in Moben’s Ripple range. Ripple was the first mainstream kitchen to tap into the current European trend for textured surfaces.

Appliances / Gadgets
Reinvented as the second living room in most modern UK homes, there is a growing demand for kitchens to integrate an array of gadgets and multimedia, with everything close to hand. Yet all are expected to be camouflaged, hidden, or minimised, so as not to lose the overall ambiance of the room.

Cue the desirability of glossy black fascias, showing that ‘white goods’ no longer have to be ‘white’. Black glossy appliances speak volumes for design, sophistication and flair, as they can create a real statement. As such the attraction of an appliance with a black satin finish is set to be amongst the top five kitchen trends of 2010.

In addition, the rise of men who consider cooking to be a hobby rather than a chore, will see ‘man-gadgets’ become an integral part of the kitchen in 2010. Not concerned with the style of the kitchen or the storage it offers, men are expected to be more focused on making sure their kitchen has all the best state-of-the-art ‘tools’ needed to make their time more enjoyable, so ladies best start making way for Teppanyaki grills and iPod media centres.

Storage
There’s nothing more important in the kitchen than plenty of storage and as such the typical UK household will still be obsessed with being organised in 2010.

Every nook and cranny will now have a function, maximising every inch of available space, which not only creates a stylish look and a streamlined finish, but it makes the room more practical and ergonomic. Expect to see traditional cupboards replaced with well designed interior units, such as drawer combinations of varying depths and styles, or bi-fold wall units that open upwards allowing people to move about the kitchen without the hindrance of hinged doors remaining open and in the way.

Since one of the goals for today’s spaces is an uncluttered look, drawer interiors will also continue to be customised to hold all our most common utensils and accessories. Essentially, it will mean that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.

 2010 Trends Ebook

Click on this link to see the trends mailer online, view images relating to the above trends and also find out what’s hot in bedrooms and bathrooms.