As we lean closer to closing out 2017 and look forward to welcoming 2018, the cliche’ that a house is never finished comes to mind. The trick is to find a way to put it all together so it feels complete.
Painted Cabinetry
While open floor plans are still working in most new builds, I’ve definitely witnessed the coming and going of many trends and period styles from English Country to Midcentury Modern. But I feel we’re post trend now. I think current design allows us the freedom to incorporate history in an unfussy contemporary way. When choosing kitchen cabinets, the easiest way to accomplish this is to mix finishes. Choose a lighter color for the perimeter cabinets and another darker color for your center island. Your eye is naturally drawn to the darker cabinet finish, while the lighter shade cabinets against the walls will make the room appear larger.
Always in-style are painted white cabinets, they have dominated kitchen design for easily the last 5 to 10 years. Many homeowners considered it to be an easy choice. White kitchen cabinets have a certain timeless quality and always brighten up the space. As a neutral color, white cabinets also played equally well with cooler walls. And while we will never see painted white cabinets go out of style, a couple of new color trends have started to pick up steam in 2017.
First, we have started to see a slight shift away from white, and moving toward gray. Gray shares many of the properties that people love about white, but in a slightly more subdued tone. While lighter shades of gray will never brighten up kitchen in the same way that white cabinets do, many come close, like Merillat Classic LaBelle in Maple Shale. As a naturally neutral color, gray will also look good alongside warm or cool accent colors.
In the past few years we’ve seen former warehouse carts being cleanup and re-purposed as coffee tables across suburbia. Just like other rooms of the home, more and more elements of both traditional and industrial design will enter the home kitchens space. A coming together of the best of both worlds! We’re already seeing this trend of traditional shaker cabinetry, being topped with concrete counters, combined with a farm sinks, and topped off with a tall, goose-neck faucet that would be at home in any kitchen…Elements like brick along with wrought iron stools help accomplish this industrial look, while the Merillat cabinetry: Sutton Cliffs in Hickory gives this kitchen elements of traditional style.
Talk with a kitchen and bath designer about how to create a unique space in your home! What styles have you seen start to emerge this year, or which do you think will start to really take off in 2018? Tell us in the comments!
As always stay tuned for more Adventures in Styleland…
XOXO
Michele Conti
professional and can only be bought in a fancy store. I live in a real home on a thrift store budget. A great look is affordable and attainable to anyone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and dive in. So, get ready to go junking, tune up the sewing machine, and buy a good paint brush. Your home’s potential is waiting to be realized and you’re the one who’s going to discover it.
Create winding paths, with boxwoods whether rounded, squared off, or snaked through other borders, they can add charm to any country garden. The clipped boxwood above leads you down the path which artfully binds the garden to the house.
This Garden Courtyard, with stone paths framed by tall grass and spirea sprinkled through .. brings you to a relaxing seating area, creating an oasis for relaxing and entertaining in this outdoor space..
This elegant landscape, with bee balm and Liatris Spricata has a variety of perennial plantings that making it colorful and easy to maintain.
Choosing a wall color can be fun, its all in the approach….and help from your painting professional! While doing a room for Vanguard Showhouse, I was asked to do a tour through the house and talk about the paint colors. As National Color consultant for 
Take Shape: Opening in May 2015
Telling featuring: Jane McCambley, Theresa McTague, Josette Pastore, Allan Sparrow
I cut my photo into two photos, with a one-inch border to fold around the foam boards.
Adventures In Styleland! 