Category: Decorating

Decor Decorating Interior Decorating Kitchen Kitchens Retro Kitchen Uncategorized

Could the Avocado-Green Kitchen Make a Comeback?

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The days of the all-white kitchen and plain stainless-steel appliances may be numbered.

Remember your grandmother’s avocado-green kitchen? It could soon be yours. Or maybe it’ll be pink, mauve, emerald green or buttercup. Anything but white, because the revolt against the white kitchen has begun.

Last November, the cover of Elle Decor featured a Steven Gambrel-designed kitchen awash in a shiny turquoise — even the ceiling gleamed like an iridescent underwater wonderland. On Pinterest between November 2018 and November 2019, searches for dark green cabinets jumped 367 percent, plum kitchens went up 107 percent and pink kitchen walls spiked 121 percent.

For decades now, cabinets have been relegated to white, brown or maybe black, and it’s been even longer since appliances were allowed to be anything but stainless steel. But the Instagram kitchen — invariably a clean backdrop of basic Shaker cabinets, simple subway backsplashes and marble countertops — finally has some competition.

Jenny Dina Kirschner, an interior designer in New York, recently painted the cabinets pink for a client in Long Island, giving the room a decidedly ’80s vibe somewhere between mauve and millennial pink. The color picked up the pinkish tones in the Calacatta Vagli marble countertop.

“We’re starting to see more daring use of color,” Ms. Kirschner said. “It’s a rebellion against the white kitchen.”

Breaking the mold is risky when 43 percent of homeowners choose white cabinets and a third choose white countertops, according to a 2019 Houzz report. Try something bolder than wood cabinets or black soapstone countertops and you might fail. Unlike an unfortunate coat of paint on the living room walls, the wrong choice of cabinetry could cost a homeowner tens of thousands of dollars. And money aside, it’s not easy to rip out that chartreuse backsplash if you later regret it.

Yet cracks in the color-free facade are emerging. Between 2018 and 2019, BHG.com consumer insights found a 115 percent spike in interest in cabinet paint trends and a 10 percent increase in interest in colorful kitchen cabinetry. And from March 2018 to March 2019, interest in blue and green for paint and home décor rose 50 percent. Navy cabinets have become increasingly popular along with two-toned ones, with choices like blue for the lower ones and blond wood for the uppers. Greens of all shades have been nudging their way onto the stage, too, appearing as emerald cabinetry, avocado backsplashes and sage pendants.

In a throwback to the 1970s, the age of wacky colored appliances is also back. Want a retro fridge? Big Chill carries them in colors like beach blue, cherry red and pink lemonade. The appliance company BlueStar offers hundreds of color options, as well as custom colors for its products, letting customers personalize down to the color of the doors, trim and dials. Have a specific shade of purple in mind for your oven? Dacor can match a swatch you provide to the color of its appliances.

“Anything goes these days,” said Gideon Mendelson, an interior designer in Manhattan. He is currently designing a yellow kitchen for a couple on the North Fork of Long Island, which he described as “a sophisticated buttercup. It’s not going to be sweet and cutesy. It’s not quite mustard. It’s happier than that.”

Who doesn’t want a happy kitchen? With the world so dreary, a little yellow can go a long way. In these uncertain times, we’re drawn to colors that don’t need to be impeccable, that can hide the messiness of life. “There’s a sense of energy and nourishment in bright colors,” said Ingrid Fetell Lee, the author of “Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness.”

Alessandra Wood, the vice president of style for Modsy, an online interior-design service, told me that homeowners are looking for comfort and coziness in design choices, so why not our kitchens, too? “In this really unstable world, we are looking for anything that makes us feel comfortable, and we are definitely turning to our homes to do that,” she said.

Just look at the color Pantone chose for its color of the year: classic blue, because it “highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation.” Paint companies Sherwin-Williams and PPG also ushered in the new decade with blue as their picks of the year in a collective nod to what might soon be our new neutral — call it bluetral.

We’re also living in our homes differently. After decades of relentless moving, Americans are moving at the lowest rates since the U.S. census began tracking our mobility, with fewer than 10 percent of Americans moving between 2018 and 2019. Baby boomers are aging in place and millennials, facing rising housing costs and stagnating wages, are less likely to house hop. With no plans to stake a “for sale” sign in the front yard, why commit to the safe and listless colors of a staged house?

Greige, that dreary hue that is neither gray nor beige, but took over our homes for over a decade, is decidedly out. The relentlessly white kitchen may be next. It made a lot of sense in the era of house flipping. White looks clean and is unlikely to offend a potential buyer. Who hates white? And if your home is perpetually one renovation away from its next open house, white is a natural go-to color. It’s a kitchen designed for future buyers, not the specific tastes of the current inhabitants.

But let’s face it: White looks clean only when it is clean. The rest of the time, it is not the most practical color for a room that regularly gets splashed with marinara sauce. There is something to be said for a little color to hide the imperfections.

“We’re living in our spaces longer, so there’s an extra level of consideration that people are giving to them,” Dr. Wood said. “We’re thinking, ‘How do I make this space into a space that I really feel comfortable in?’”

So if there is no buyer on the horizon, if the kitchen remodel is just for you, the view widens. Why not wash the whole room in turquoise? It doesn’t really matter what some fictional buyer might think. You can be you and paint the cabinets pink.

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

 

Article courtesy of By Ronda Kaysen @NYTimes

 

 

Decor Decorating Housing Trends Interior Decorating Market Trends Real Estate Trends Trends Uncategorized

Interior decor styles that sell

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Of all the factors that influence a buyer’s decision to put in an offer on a home, there’s only one that sellers can fully control: how the home looks at first viewing. While clients may be used to hearing that they need to declutter and repaint rooms, they may not be fully aware of the impression their décor makes on a potential buyer — especially if they’ve already invested money in a specific look.

“In our area, everyone went crazy for the heavy ‘Tuscan-inspired’ style with lots of browns, golds, blacks, and speckled granites for about a decade in the early 2000s,” says Haley Rodriguez, REALTORⓇ and Luxury Home Specialist with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty in San Antonio, Texas. “When these houses hit the market now, buyers comment on how dated they are.”

Though you can’t go back in time, you can encourage sellers to make strategic changes that will create a more current feel that resonates with buyers. And the sooner they know, the better.

“Whenever you have a gut feeling that the décor is outdated or overwhelming, or if something strikes you as very personal, custom, or is crowding or compromising a space, replace it,” advises Corey Crawford, Real Estate Professional with Summit Sotheby’s International Realty in Park City, Utah. “Your seller is going to need to mobilize everything anyway, so why not get ahead of the curve?”

Whether working with a seller to make improvements or recommending staging, get acquainted with the décor styles that will stop buyers in their tracks.

Calm and classic

Summit Sotheby’s International Realty

When it comes to selling homes, it’s hard to go wrong by sticking to the trends that resurface over seasons. “I’m seeing buyers getting excited about classics,” says Rodriguez. “Shapes that have stood the test of time: Barcelona chairs, Eames Lounge Chairs.”

Even the recently beloved gray walls are already out of style. Instead, buyers are responding to wall colors and décor that cultivate a light and bright feeling in a home. “White walls, simple countertops, neutral drapes and furnishings, neutral art — these traits always sell a house,” notes Rodriguez.

The only risk? Simplicity can read as uninviting when overdone. Rodriguez advises her clients to avoid cold rooms by adding soft lighting throughout and bringing in blacks and aged brass as complements. Simple lines, flat-front style sliding doors, accent pillows, and tall, modern baseboards can support more classic design. “Less is always more,” she says. And when in doubt, add greenery. “Interesting houseplants are so on trend, and they make the home feel alive.”

Mountain contemporary and industrial chic

“The best aesthetics I’ve seen have been the blend of mountain rustic with proper modern,” says Crawford of homes in Park City. “A style that is more timeless, with vintage and organic elements that present warmth. Handcrafted tiles that feel fully custom. Bespoke lighting that lends a low volt wash to a wall.”

He taps into the expertise of designers in his market to get a sense of what’s happening from a style perspective. “I’ve learned a lot from the designers I work with on a regular basis. They’re adept at creating a sense of authentic spaciousness — that juxtaposition of clean architectural lines, the use of metals and stone with a simple edge detail, organic textiles and finishes, and items that have a patina.”

Crawford is also seeing his clients gravitate towards industrial trends. The hallmarks of industrial chic include concrete floors, wood cladding, and solid timbers. Stacked stone, ultra-luxury kitchens and cabinetry by Poliform, and solid slabs in bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes ensure that homes in this style strike a balance of natural elements and contemporary finishes.

Article courtesy of Inman