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2006 Press Releases
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What’s The Secret Ingredient for a Perfect Kitchen? Ask the Experts at Armstrong Cabinets
Q: Consumers have a few choices when they're getting new cabinets: custom, semi-custom, and stock. What are the pros and cons of each? A: Prior to the mid-1950s, all cabinets were custom-built specifically for a particular kitchen. Today, most cabinets are factory made. Custom-built cabinets are still available, but at a high price tag and long lead times. Semi-custom provides the advantages of "custom" cabinets at a substantially lower cost. Today’s semi-custom cabinets have a lot of bells and whistles, including decorative moldings, different finish and species options and decorative glass – as well as storage and utility options – for a custom-cabinet appearance. The disadvantage is that the designs, materials and details – while extensive – are more limited than cabinets specifically produced for a particular room.
Q: How are people choosing colors for their kitchen? A: Current clothing fashion continues to influence home décor, and a desire to blend with other interior furnishings to make a personal statement is another factor. Brown continues to be popular in a fashion sense, and rich colors with an elegant, yet traditional look, easily help mix Old World style with a new, more modern sensibility. Earth tones and tinted neutrals provide a balanced range of color for interior coordination. Depth of rich colors, such as chocolate browns, blacks and other deep colors in hardwood have emerged and will be an enduring trend. You may not want to change over your entire kitchen, but a touch of a bold new color can bring a totally new feeling to the room. There is still a movement toward bringing the outdoors inside, with natural materials and natural hues being popular, but also weaving a more innovative mix of different materials and textures. Think also about colors that suggest the outside – cloudless skies, brilliant orange sunsets, sea colors, soft or bold, but always exciting.
Q: What are the current trends? There’s been an increased popularity of specialty visuals such as hand applied glazed finishes and colors particularly creamy whites/off whites and black. Current design trends include old world styling coupled with modern conveniences. Rich crown moldings, glazed finishes and high-style touches evoke a traditional, yet luxurious look for a kitchen. Consider cherry’s old world charm and handcrafted construction accented with hand-rubbed glazes. Raised door panels and decorative glass inserts and decorative molding can make a dramatic difference. Glazed finishes, created with a tint that highlights recessed areas, but with a feeling of fine furniture, is a popular trend in cabinets, and also carried through to the flooring. Woods with quieter grain patterns, such as birch and maple have replaced oak and hickory as favorite cabinetry choices. Cherry in different stains also continues to be popular. Door styling trends have also tilted toward a simpler, cleaner look with recessed panels, squared frames and full-overlay styles making a stand against the more familiar raised panel styles. Raised panel styling remains a top choice for its timeless appeal. Varying depth and height creates visual drama using wall cabinets with staged heights and different depths, and also provides more options for hard-to-fit spaces. The newest trend in cabinets is not just exterior looks, but personalized storage, including open shelves, roll out pantry drawers, built-in wine racks or china displays, adding to the overall general use of the kitchen as an all encompassing, central room. Walk-in pantries and islands are now considered an essential kitchen ingredient and not just “a nice to have.”
Q: What’s on the horizon for kitchen cabinet design? A: Cabinet style options are wide open. Everything is acceptable – if done well. Cleaner lines are becoming more popular. Wood prevails as the material of choice. And, if you can’t decide between white cabinets and dark woods, combine them together for a dramatic, nontraditional look.
Q: What's big now as far as cabinetry hardware? A: Oil rubbed bronze is a very popular new finish; stainless is still very popular, due to appliances. You can visit www.amerock.com for finishes, but the oil rubbed bronze is great and matches many of the new faucet styles. Rustic bronze is also nice – anything weathered to match the distressed cabinet look and, for contemporary looks, the stainless is great.
Q: Do you have any ideas for how consumers can express their personal style in redecorating their kitchen and choosing cabinets? A: The first step in remodeling a kitchen with new cabinetry is to appraise the space. Draw a floor plan of your kitchen and take measurements. Also, think about how you would like your new cabinets to look. Considerations will range from style and color to types of wood and finishes. Lifestyle is key – are you family oriented, do you like to entertain, do you prefer a quiet kitchen area, do you bake – will determine layout, type of cabinet options, storage solutions, work zones, etc.
Wood cabinets are available in a wide range of species and colors and can be integrated into almost any décor. Glazed finishes make a room look elegant and sophisticated More information about Armstrong is available on the Internet at www.armstrong.com.
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