kitchen trends 2016We’re continuing to see a pattern that minor investments in the kitchen and bathroom areas of the home can pay off big-time for the home’s value. We know that can definitely ring true for improvements such as refinishing a kitchen countert op. Here are several other remodeling ideas in the immediate vicinity of your refinishing project in the kitchen area that the homeowner could desire a whole lot more in the coming year:

 Welcome to the Smart Kitchen
Technology has made its way into the kitchen in a much bigger way and for many homeowners, there’s no going back. They want the docking stations built-in for their smartphones and tablets because leaving them behind somewhere else in the home isn’t practical. But making room for devices to charge and play music in the kitchen is simply the beginning.

In fact, greater connectivity between kitchen appliances and our devices is only going to become more common, such as having the ability to control a refrigerator through a phone or tablet. Whirlpool is even prototyping a concept of an interactive back splash that enables you to view digital recipes right on the surface.

Escaping to the Island Countertops
When you throw a party, do you ever notice that no matter how hard you try, everybody seems to wind up standing around in the kitchen island to congregate? Well, homeowners aren’t fighting that idea anymore. They’re designing their island countertops with this high traffic and visibility in mind. It’s why we’re likely to see a preference of high quality surfaces that leave an impression, such as granite. Plus, being an area that’s so frequently utilized by other members of the household, a granite surface can be ideal for easy cleaning.

Open Concept Brings Family Room Design Spillover
True, we’re talking about kitchens. But one of the most important trends of this space – that’s not going away in 2016 and may even rise in popularity - is the open concept kitchen that flows seamlessly into the adjacent family room. As the walls have literally come down, we’ve seen a greater emphasis on ensuring colors are well coordinated. This doesn’t mean that the two areas should look like a carbon copy of one another as each should have its own distinct identity. However, there’s no mistaking that the open floor plan ensures a certain degree of influence from the family room to the kitchen and vice versa, with a tie-in of design that reflects how these spaces are closer than ever before.

For the Modern Kitchen Countertop, Thin Is In
While wood may convey warmth, the sleek black and white look of a modern kitchen can call for a different tone and a different approach to the countertop altogether – specifically, thin countertops. In a way, the thin countertop works as an optical illusion to draw the eye to other elements of the kitchen like the backsplash and make the space appear larger than it is. From a logistical standpoint, the lighter weight of a thin countertop can be an installer’s best friend on those jobs that require a fair distance to transport the piece up several flights of stairs like the 3rd floor of a vintage condo building that doesn’t have an elevator.

Refacing with Veneers and Laminates
To some designers, veneers and laminates on a kitchen countertop used to be seen as low-quality “knock-offs” of the real thing, but that view is rapidly changing. Today, many veneers and laminates are used in high-quality kitchen countertops, not to mention these elements may increase in popularity in light of two trends: 1) The homeowner is seeing major returns on smaller investments such as these cost-effective options rather than highly expensive ones and 2) the homeowner is opting for a classic look in the kitchen that stands the test of time, not the one that’s trendy today but outdated tomorrow.

Of course, chances are that there are a lot more kitchen remodeling trends coming in 2016 in addition to the ones you see here. We’ll keep an eye on all of them as they arrive and make sure you’re updated on every which way the design trends and ideas in the kitchen shift.