Eight More NKBA Kitchen "Trends" for 2011: Looking Back or Looking Forward?

by Gale

As I said last month, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas to share with you. That was why I was puzzled to discover in a press release from the National Kitchen and Bath Association that they were using research from their member kitchen and bath designers and calling it the “11 Kitchen and Bath Trends of 2011.” Maybe I’m wrong, but I think of trends as being able to look forward to the future… not backwards to what has already happened. I listed the first three last month. Here are the others and I'll let you make up your own mind about the forward-thinking of these trends:

Shake It Up
The Shaker style began a rise in popularity in 2009 and gained momentum in 2010. History repeating itself again!

Dark Finishes
Dark natural finishes overtook medium natural, glazed, and white painted finishes to become the most specified type of finish toward the end of 2010. Maybe this is reflecting the mood of the country?

Inducting a New Cooktop
Induction cooktops haven’t overtaken gas and electric models, but they’re closing the gap. When does 34% of the market represent a statistical significance?

LED Lighting
Incandescent lighting continues its journey to obsolescence. While 50% of NKBA member designers incorporated incandescent bulbs into their designs at the end of 2009, only 35% have done so a year later. The truth is the U.S. Dept. of Energy is mandating this change beginning in 2012, not NKBA designers.

Trashy Designs
A greater emphasis is being made to address trash considerations in the kitchen. Some 89% of kitchens designed by NKBA members in the final quarter of 2010 include a trash or recycling pull-outs. Where else were they going to place the garbage?

Quartz Countertops
Quartz continues to take away market share from granite in the market for bathroom vanity tops. A year ago, 85% of NKBA bathroom designers incorporated granite into a recent design, compared to just 48% for quartz, but now, that gap has narrowed to 83% for granite and 54% for quartz. Granite seems so yesterday?

Green Bathrooms
No, we’re not referring to eco-friendly spaces—we literally mean green bathrooms. A year ago, green color palettes were used by only 14% of NKBA designers, but at the end of 2010, that figure had risen to 24%. I would have guessed that the NKBA would be promoting really going green with water-saving and energy-saving designs.

Satin Nickel Faucets

photo courtesy of Moen

This trend relates to both bathrooms and kitchens. From the end of 2009 to the end of 2010, the percent of NKBA designers who specified a satin nickel faucet rose from 41% to 63% in the kitchen and from 45% to 57% in the bathroom, while the percent who specified a brushed nickel faucet fell from 61% to 48% in the kitchen and from 66% to 38% in the bathroom. Nickel by any other name is still nickel?