Custom Kitchens:

What’s New & What Sells

Written by Marion Butterworth

Having morphed over the last 50 years from an out-of-the-way workspace to the hub of the home, kitchens are now multipurpose rooms where family and friends gather for far more than food. No longer just a place to cook, today’s kitchens are for meeting as well as eating, lounging, and living.

We queried a sampling of luxury home builders in the D.C. metro area to discover what’s popular with buyers of custom kitchens in today’s upscale housing market. Certain components are classics like roomy environs flooded by natural light and lots of versatile storage. Hand painted cabinets, natural materials for surfaces, the kitchen as living area, and professional grade appliances with pedigrees are area trends.

Buyers are pulling out all the stops reports Lornea Oden-Curtis, a kitchen designer whose clients include Natelli Custom Homes and Renovations, outfitting kitchens with “twin sinks and dishwashers, warming drawers, and under the counter ice machines and freezer or refrigerator drawers.”

Builder Shawn Cody, principal at Cherokee Homes, says that as the social focal point of most homes, “Kitchens sell houses.”

Luxurious Living

Victorian style embellishments such as richly carved corbels, work legs, dentil and crown moldings make cabinets feel like furniture.

A mantle on the range hood creates a focal point and living room feel. “The biggest change I’ve seen in the last ten years is a switch to high style. There’s been a growing demand for interesting detailing on cabinetry,” says builder Griff Gosnell, President of Monroe Development Corporation in Vienna, Va.

Photo courtesy of Clive Christian

Island Fever

Spacious bars offer dining options as well as workspace. “We don’t usually put a cooktop in the island,” explains Shawn Cody, principal at Cherokee Homes, “because it consumes prep space and takes away our ability to feature a big gorgeous commercial range with decorative hood and an interesting backsplash in copper or tile on the wall.” These solid cherry cabinets have dovetailed joints and a hand rubbed coffee finish over a cherry stain.

Photo by Mark Gilvey, courtesy of Cherokee Homes

Refreshing the Palette

“Painted cabinets and cabinets done in a combination of different wood species are trends that have been growing over the last several years,” says Cody. “If appliances are not stainless, they are often covered in a customized panel to match cabinetry.”

Photo by Michael Enfield, courtesy of Bell Builders

Mixology

“Buyers today are mixing countertop materials,” says kitchen designer Oden-Curtis. In this home remodeled by Natelli Custom Homes and Renovations, “We mixed granite and stainless steel.” Marble, wood and copper are popular, too. “Clients also favor a more complex finish on cabinets, which is achieved by hand rubbing glaze over paint or stain. This imparts an aged look because the glaze gathers around breaks in the panel and in crevices,“ Oden-Curtis explains.

Simply the Best

Today’s buyers want features that make their homes more efficient, as well as the prestige that comes from owning the best. “Stainless steel appliances are the norm now,” says Gosnell. Agreeing, Frank Bell owner of Bell Builders in Md. says his clients prefer, “Miele, Dacor, Viking, Sub-Zero and Thermador, and Bosch” appliances. Twin sinks are common. Oden-Curtis says, “Stainless steel is a workhorse that won’t chip or fracture. Undermounts are popular with high end buyers because they show off the thickness of the countertop material and create a lot less surface to clean.”

Photo courtesy of Equity Homes

Clearly Custom

In a home renovation designed by Richard Leggin Architects and executed by Macon Construction, a bow-shaped, three-tier island takes center stage in the kitchen. Since a large window over the sink reduced space for wall cabinets, kitchen designer Galen Harley of Nancy Thornett Associates incorporated wall cabinets on either side of the island. The range and refrigerator are angled to reduce the distance between key elements in the work triangle. Craftmaid custom cabinetry complements the tumbled marble backsplash and limestone floor.

Photo by Kenneth Wyner, courtesy of Richard Leggin Architects and Macon Construction