Sun 1 Jul 2007
Recipe for success
Despite the popularity of takeaways and microwave meals, the kitchen is still one of the biggest factors when it comes to selling a home. Roger Hunt looks at what's cooking in the kitchen market."It is no surprise that many modern furniture trends for the kitchen are taking their cue from continental Europe. In particular, those hip Italians know what they are doing when it comes to modern design, and key features are filtering across the channel to UK homes. In the kitchen, dramatic black high-gloss finishes are currently leading the way in the style stakes with horizontal grains, exotic veneers and design features, such as frosted glass and wide pan drawers, adding extra 'wow-factor' to the overall effect."
This is the opinion of Terry Ball, managing director of William Ball. He also believes our increased concern for the environment will affect not just the materials used and the carbon footprint required to manufacture but will see the use of shades associated with nature coming through, particularly warm browns and olive greens.
William Ball's new Nero kitchen range offers flat, slab, high-gloss, vinyl-wrapped doors mixed with chestnut carcasses and wooden worktops, which results in a softer, yet still ultra-modern look.
David Smith, head of marketing at Octagon, also notes the Italian influence. "Trend has taken us linear. Our units are smooth, sleek, and wide, creating a seamless, unfussy look. Influenced by Italian design, this look was first spotted by the Octagon buyers at the Cologne Furniture Fair some 15 years ago but it has taken a little while to trickle through and be accepted at the top end of the UK property market.
"We have installed linear units in current projects, like Foxwood in Walton upon Thames, using a mix of laminate with two shades of wood and finishing with solid granite for the worktops. Our cupboard doors have no handles, making the units look more like modern living room furniture rather than cool, clinical kitchen modules. This has been perfect for our new big 'super rooms' where kitchen, dining and sitting room are opened up into one big space."
The use of citrus colours such as mango and pistachio, often complemented by a feature glass unit that is internally lit, is a fashion noted by Dean Williams, general manager of ALNO Southern Contracts Division. "It depends on the style of development but we are seeing a really strong trend towards contemporary kitchens and the combination of different colours - white and dark walnut for example. Developers are being quite bold with their show houses, opting for high-gloss kitchens in bright red or black."
In tune with this thinking, ALNOChic is a contemporary kitchen range available in ten high-gloss colours: mango, pistachio, aubergine, cappuccino, white, ruby red, vanilla, ice blue, artic yellow and brown olive-effect laminate.
New from Moores is the Luca olive wood range, which offers a distinctive grain pattern. The company exclusively supplies housebuilders and currently fits around 35,000 kitchens a year in the UK private development market.
James Craig, Moores' brand manager, asserts that there is a move away from blonde woods such as maple and pear, which have been the mainstay of the wooden kitchen market for the past five years, towards more adventurous species such as olive and teak. "The key to success with the really strong grain patterns is to use them in moderation - as accent elements rather that full-on saturation - but they are really making a major impact on today's open-plan kitchens and can do wonders for that all-important wow factor."
Woodberry, which offers a collection of 33 fronts and supplies to national housebuilders across the regions, has been investing in new machinery to produce solid wood fronts in teak and walnut and is pioneering new horizontal graining techniques.
Andy Magin, national sales director for Woodberry Kitchens' private development division, expects to see darker wood effects becoming more popular.
"Other trends which look set to dominate the market are the mixture of texture, with rough, antiqued granite being used with smooth gloss frontals, and the growing importance of lighting in the kitchen to complete the overall design scheme."
PLUSMODO, created in conjunction with Spanish furniture designer Jorge Pensi, is the latest innovation from Poggenpohl. It features a 13-centimetre thick worktop, display trays, glass inserts and open-ended wall units with sliding multi-positional doors.
Composite finishes are increasingly winning over natural materials, such as granite, for their uniformity and consistency of colour says Martin Gill, managing director of Poggenpohl UK. "Laminate worktops with under-mounted steel sinks, quality finished edges in steel, aluminium or timber and varying thickness offer a competitive price point for developers."
Dark Africa and pale magnolia are the two colours chosen by Nolte for its new High Wood kitchen range. The doors have a veneered centre panel and a solid oak frame; both are given a matt lacquered finish.
In terms of colours, Mark Evans, managing director of Nolte Kitchens, sees deep shades of brown and purple appealing to the global market.
"White and cream shades are also still popular and we are seeing an increasing trend towards mixing these with the bold colours to create an eye-catching effect. Certainly, gloss doors continue to lead the way. From the cheaper yet appealing foil wraps to the clean lacquers, the high-gloss look and feel to the kitchen continues its long stay at the top of the ratings."
With its new Mezzo collection, Symphony has introduced slab, saponetta and shaker door frontals in a warming mid-walnut timber effect, which, with its rich chocolate tones, gives a feeling of depth and warmth.
Shaker-style doors have, according to Symphony's building division marketing manager, Kathleen Lyon, been established almost without parallel. "The defining design principles that inspired the original Shakers have translated into the mainstream kitchen market and show no signs of fading away.
"Exotic timbers are set to be a major influence. New door frontals will all be sporting glamorous grains of timbers. Warm walnut tones are set to be the grains of choice and an earthy colour palette of chocolate, olive, ochre, umber and aubergine will replace the brights and bolds."
Pronorm has unveiled Wallis Plum, a contemporary look with a sumptuous gold-violet colour combination and an elegant walnut tone. Featuring knotholes and sapwood areas, it reveals 'imperfections' in the surface that enhance its character and natural aesthetic.
"Bold times demand bold decors and this is a strongly evident trend currently in kitchen design," says Jason Grinton, Pronorm business manager for the UK and Ireland. "We are seeing increasing use of monochrome solid colour in the contract market, in either glass or high-gloss frontals to make a confident design statement."
A bamboo kitchen is the newest introduction from Neil Lerner. Available in three colours, light, natural and amber, each door and drawer front is handmade from three layers of bamboo, an eco-friendly, strong, fast growing and easily renewable raw material.
The PJH Group, which already provides a national distribution and installation service to housebuilders for its appliance products, is now offering kitchen furniture. Its own-brand K Kitchens collection includes three new kitchens backed by a supply and installation service. Among them is the Newbury with a birch-effect PVC wrap door in square frame and raised centre panel design with a maple carcass.
Paula Rosa's new portfolio of ten kitchen ranges spans contemporary high-gloss finishes to wood-effect and solid wood doors. Internally each has a silver lining to give a sharp designer feel that moves away from the starkness of more traditional white interiors.
Brian Hammonds, Paula Rosa's national accounts director, believes that pressure on space results in more and more apartment developments designed for open-plan living. "As a kitchen manufacturer, this demands that we shoehorn 'all mod cons' into a very tight space and become even more imaginative with storage solutions. Multi-functional spaces also require kitchens to look more like furniture, with more internal drawer systems and handleless doors."
The importance of kitchens in selling homes is acknowledged by Kevin Marren, chief executive of Elite Homes Group, who claims that recognising the importance of kitchen design and style in its customers' decision making process has set Elite apart from its competitors. "No other similar-sized homebuilder selling mass-market homes offers customers the opportunity to meet with their kitchen designer and choose features and products to suit their lifestyle.
"Our customers enjoy this individual kitchen design experience in one of our Options Centres, another first from Elite. These dedicated 2,500-square-foot centres are located on Elite developments and feature full room sets including kitchens and bathrooms along with carpet, flooring and soft furnishing samples and every type of accessory anyone could ever want. Kitchen purchases account for over 25 per cent of our Individually Elite turnover."
First published in Show House Magazine July 2007.
The greatest care has been taken to ensure accuracy but some information contained within this article may have changed since it was first published.
Posted by Roger Hunt
in Alno, Moores, Neil Lerner, Nolte, Paula Rosa, PJH Group, Poggenpohl, Product Portfolio, Pronorm, Symphony, William Ball, Woodberry on Sun 1 Jul 2007
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