Coastal Kitchen Design Trends for 2018

Homeowners are integrating high-tech appliances that reflect their personal interests and passions. This homeowner included a wifi enabled Bosch coffee maker into a beautifully finished butler’s pantry.

Custom cabinetry masterfully conceals the refrigerator.

Island color in guest quarters of a historic Falmouth, MA carriage house. Designer color, Ralph Lauren Club Navy gives a bright pop that rivals the blue of adjacent Vineyard Sound.

Kitchen islands have become a favored spot for tucking microwaves out of sight.

Creating a detailed inventory of the homeowner’s kitchen utensils insures a place for everything.

A crisp white mudroom with hard-wearing slate floor has plenty of room for towels and beach totes.

A traditional kitchen featuring cabinets with ebony stain on the bottom and crisp white paint on the uppers is both visually interesting and practical.

This custom wet-bar hutch includes a wine fridge. The wet-bar utilizes new materials and finishes such as a cold cast zinc countertop with a glass under-mount sink.

A small cabinet flush with the countertop is designed to help keep surfaces clear of clutter. Just shut the the doors and unattractive appliances are hidden from sight.

This mudroom is command-central with a smart mix of open shelving, cabinetry and cubbies.

A mix of task and ambient lighting bathes the kitchen with light without casting shadows.

Rustic wood cabinetry has a distinctively beachy feel.

Recent trends show a move toward using more textured and tactile finishes in the home. This leathered quartzite countertop has a soft sheen, irresistibly luxurious feel and hides fingerprints and watermarks.

Over the last decade, kitchen design styles on Cape Cod have remained consistent. White, shaker style cabinets, subway tile, granite countertops, and stainless steel have held court as the fashionable combination for achieving the desired Cape Cod Coastal kitchen.

The tide is changing for 2018

According to Mark Bogosian, owner of Longfellow Design Build, for the first time in quite a while, homeowners are showing greater flexibility when it comes to designing the heart of their home. “Our clients are beginning to consider a wider variety of colors and textures in their choice of materials and finishes. They are also incorporating cutting-edge technology, and customizing spaces to integrate with their family’s unique needs and lifestyle.” Here Bogosian and his architectural design team predict the best kitchen design trends for 2018 and beyond.

Color & Texture

While white remains the cabinetry stalwart—especially in New England where traditional architecture reigns—Bogosian says there’s been a noticeable increase in clients choosing color. For example, white wall cabinetry with base and island cabinets in a deep shade of navy, a warm-toned gray, or a subtle sage green elevates the overall impact. “Carefully working shades of color and texture into a kitchen design increases overall visual interest and depth,” he says.

As for his clients that do choose all white cabinets, Bogosian finds they’re open to incorporating color in other areas. “We have so many new, and unique materials in our showrooms that provide homeowners with style choices never before available. A leathered quartzite countertop, hammered copper range hood, blonde wide-plank bamboo flooring, or a decorative lighting fixture can go a long way to offset a wall of white, kitchen cabinets” he says.

“Our kitchen designers often use pendant lights as the unifying element in the design of a kitchen. Carefully chosen pendant lights hanging down over a gorgeous thick white marble countertop or sink can make the whole design come together in harmony.”

Customized Cabinetry

It’s not just the style and color of their cabinets that customers are reconsidering: more and more homeowners are customizing their cabinetry choices with organizational features chosen to integrate with their family’s interests and lifestyle.

“We recommend that you invest in the best quality of cabinetry your budget allows, as they are most often the foundation for a beautiful kitchen,” says Erik Leckstrom, an architectural designer at Longfellow Design Build.

Besides the distinct advantages of looks and quality, Longfellow Custom Cabinetry offers many useful options and the opportunity for additional custom modifications. Longfellow Custom Cabinetry includes some of the following options:

– Pull-out trash drawers
– Multi-Tiered drawers
– Plate holder drawers to safely store dish-ware
– Knife racks to keep cutlery sharp and out of reach
– Pull-out shelves for easy access
– Deep drawers for pots and pans
– Specially built shelves and pantries

Appliances built into the island, a desk area, or an appliance ‘garage’ are all popular additions to the standard upper and lower cabinet banks. “We’ve done a lot of free-standing hutches and custom built-ins in this past year, and we only expect that trend to continue,” says Lekstrom. “Furniture-grade millwork can add a ton of character and beauty to a room. We’ve done kitchen hutches, wet bars, built-in desks for homework, wine racks … Really anything that supports a family’s specific lifestyle.”

A Smart Kitchen

Like all areas of the home these days, the kitchen is rife with opportunities to install new technologies that simplify and automate everything from water filtration to room temperature and turning on a faucet.

Smart technologies can also be incorporated to conserve resources and create a more environmentally friendly space.
Among the most common new technologies, homeowners are choosing to add to their designs:

– LED lighting
– Smart thermostats
– Window shade, window, and door automation
– Sensor faucets
– Home entertainment systems
– Smart appliances
– Built-in iPad holders and device re-charging stations
– Water filtration systems
– Smart lighting, entertainment, surveillance, and sprinkler systems
– Amazon Echo and Google Home integration
– Home system integration

Hiding Accessories & Appliances

Homeowners may want the latest technologies and specialty appliances in their kitchens, but that doesn’t mean they want these devices at the front and center of their design. In fact, most homeowners are now choosing to hide these things whenever they can. “Moving accessories and appliances off the countertop and into specialty cabinets, or hiding the dishwasher and fridge with custom paneling are popular for maintaining a cleaner, less cluttered look,” says Longfellow Design Build lead designer, Mark Barr. “Kitchen islands have become larger and multi-functional with storage cabinets, shelves, prep sinks, and charging stations for mobile phones and laptops. They can be fitted with various appliances while also serving as the preferred spot for casual dining, socializing, or homework.”

Hardworking Utility Spaces

Given Longfellow Design Build’s Cape Cod location, it’s no surprise their kitchen designs reflect the demands of a Coastal, New England lifestyle.

For example, the mudroom isn’t a typical kitchen feature. Mudrooms are often adjoined to the kitchen, and many of our customers want the two spaces to align both visually and functionally,” says Bogosian. “Our typical Cape Cod homeowner loves the outdoors: beaching, boating, fishing, paddling, gardening, hiking, outdoor sports, and so on. To manage all this gear, sand, and wet so that it doesn’t invade your living quarters, we recommend a substantial mudroom entryway customized to accommodate a family’s preferred activities, including a hidden laundry closet.”

To see more inspiration from Longfellow Design Build check out their online kitchen portfolio here, or visit one of their ‘Main Street’ (yes, they are all on Main Street) showrooms on Cape Cod in Falmouth, Chatham, and Osterville, MA.