Kitchen Trends As Seen On HGTV's Power Broker
Filming 8 episodes for Season 1 of HGTV's Power Broker meant we renovated 8 kitchens. 7 episodes have aired to date, as seen in the pictures below, but since our finale has not aired yet, I will hold off on discussing that kitchen renovation until after it has hit your small screen.
The kitchen is the one room that everyone gravitates towards. It is the heart of every home and is the room that will monopolize the majority of your remodel budget.I love kitchen renovations. Making a kitchen more efficient and functional is a challenge that I enjoy. I will say, renovating kitchens for television has its added demands. I had to make sure that no two kitchens looked alike or even looked too similar to one another. This proved challenging since many of the homeowners had similar items on their wishlists.Here's what I noticed are the current trends in Kitchen Design based on homeowner requests:
- White Kitchen Cabinets - I remember when wenge or very dark walnut cabinets were all the rage just a few short years ago. Not anymore. Notice we did 2.5 white kitchens? Our Elegant Traditional Kitchen in Episode 103 had white cabinets on the perimeter with a dark island. We had 2 dark walnut kitchens, one dark gray, and a two tone cream and light yellow kitchen.
- Shaker Style Cabinets - this is a simple, neutral cabinet style. Its clean lines are contemporary while various design elements can be added to create a more traditional space. I just realized that all 7 kitchens had shaker style cabinets.
- Farmhouse Sinks - Prior to the show, I had never installed a farmhouse sink...and we used it in 3 kitchens! Have you ever sourced for a farmhouse sink? They are PRICEY! As we are always trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip, we used the farmhouse sink from IKEA on all 3 occasions...they offer the most cost effective options. They have a single bowl as well as a double bowl style. I would have loved to have changed things up a bit in terms of style, but all the other choices were twice as much and when you're working on such a tight budget, an extra $300-400 for a sink just could not be justified.
- Solid Surface Countertops - as you may have seen during the demolition phase, we removed a lot of ugly tile countertops. Homeowners today are looking for low maintenance, easy to clean surfaces without grout lines. 5 kitchens were outfitted with quartz countertops, the Farmhouse Chic kitchen got a marble countertop as did the baking station of the Updated Classic Kitchen, and the Elegant Traditional Kitchen got a combination of the black granite in the leathered finish around the perimeter and a gorgeous marble slab for the island.
- Stainless Steel Appliances are still the most requested finish. I was hoping to get the titanium finish for our Farmhouse Chic kitchen and even get a retro style appliance that looks like a restored classic car, but alas, the budget did not allow for such "fancy" upgrades.
Do you agree with these Kitchen Trends? Which of the Power Broker kitchens is your favorite? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave me a comment below.
Thanks for visiting!
