IN KITCHENS & BATHS
THINK HOME
IN KITCHENS & BATHS
While classic looks never go out of style, these days
BY LYNN PEITHMAN STOCK
and touches, such as embossed tile and glass, touches of
consumers do not want any more of the same-ol’, same-ol’ in their kitchens and baths. They’re wanting unique items
Fava Design Group
1 WALLS GO WILD Gerard Cuozzo, manager of Catalfamo Gallery, says large format glass tiles are becoming a trend for both kitchens and baths. Today, consumers may choose from glass, mosaics, pebbles and embossed glass. Large format pieces of glass — 12 inches by 24 inches — adorn home walls, particularly in bathrooms. One particularly stunning treatment is gold glass tiles embossed with a scrollwork design. Such intricate detail “is usually what catches people’s eye,” Cuozzo said. “It’s a ‘wow’ factor. “The glass mosaics are becoming more popular,” he said. “This is a trend that’s increasing faster and faster.” Some glass pieces are even larger — four feet by eight feet and his company can create custom pieces that are seamless. 2 TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
Catalfamo Gallery
technology and clean and white backdrops for semi-precious countertops. Here’s a look at what South Florida designers and kitchen and bath experts say is trendy right now:
“We’re seeing a resurgence of mid-century,” said Joe Fava, owner of Fava Design Group. “Bathrooms are becoming more graphic and geometric.” Even with a mostly white bathroom, playful splashes of geometric circles in rich burgundy, brown and tan may accent one wall of a shower. This shines the focal point on the unusual details and allows for use of pops of color and pattern. 3 REVIVING OLD FAVORITES Maintenance never goes out of style, and existing marble and tile floors need some love, too, said Robert Schwartz, vice president of A&S Total Cleaning. The company specializes in restoring find stone flooring, including travertine, granite, marble and terrazzo. Marble flooring should be cleaned and sealed to protect against water and stains. Using a processing called “honing” to restore marble floors, “we grind down the marble surface to take out the imperfections. It’s really restoring the floor to new. Over time, in a high-traffic area, the marble wears.” Polishing and sealing the marble floor will extend its life and reintroduce its sheen.
THINK HOME
Kitchen Designs and More
4 CLEAN AND WHITE … AND VERSATILE
6 QUIET IN THE KITCHEN
“We’re seeing a surge in white cabinets,” said Elliott Landman, owner of Kitchen Designs and More in Weston. “A classic white, painted kitchen is forever,” he said. “It could be contemporary, it could be traditional, it could be retro … depending on what you use for backsplashes.” Kitchen Designs and More chooses to offer manufacturers that use a multistep process for their finishes, and these cabinets have lifetime warranties.
Cabinet doors and drawers now can close more quietly and softly, said Landman of Kitchen Designs and More. “The trend is also with softly closing doors and drawers,” he said, citing Blum as the best in the world for this detail. “They’ve figured out how to put in the hinge and put it in the tracks. They’re putting furniture into the kitchen.”
5 TECHNOLOGY GOES TO THE KITCHEN We want our iPads and tablets close at hand, so cabinetry is making accommodations for that technology in the kitchen, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom Kitchens. People want technology at their fingertips, such as digitized recipes on their iPads. But high tech extends beyond tablets in the kitchen. Refrigerators now have touchscreens on their fronts. Drawers can open electronically at the touch of a button, and cabinets can light up when we open them and shut off when we close them. Homeowners also want lots of electrical plugins, and Broward Custom Kitchens find ways to incorporate those. “Kids are doing homework in the kitchen and everyone needs to plug in their gadgets,” Maggio said.
7 STAY AWAY STAINS Another trend is countertops manufactured from manmade materials, which will not stain, come with a warranty and can be almost any color imaginable, Maggio said. Today, manufacturers have colors that rival stone. Many of these are made with 93 percent quartz and 7 percent material that make the countertop non-porous. “With the quartz, (consumers) can do a lighter color and not have to worry about staining.” Even if granite is sealed, stains can still seep in, she said. 8 MAKING THE TRANSITION “We’re seeing a lot of transitional styles,” said Maggio of Broward Custom Kitchens. People are getting away from the purely traditional look but don’t want to abandon it entirely. For instance, a kitchen may have a Shaker door. These details “are still elegant but have a bit of contemporary feel to them.”
THINK HOME
Broward Custom Kitchens
9 SURFACES LIGHTEN UP “For years, it’s been all about espresso,” Fava said. At recent furniture shows in Milan and Paris, “they were showing walnut with a grayish tint to it.” The colors are lightening up, with gray palettes becoming the hot color now. “The trend right now, whether it’s kitchens or bathrooms, is more of a neutral palette. Taupes and grays are being used, but with texture,” such as pebbles in a shower floor. Cabinets are going pale, too, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom Kitchens. Popular shades for cabinets and painted products are alabaster and eggshell … not bright white and not the almond popular during the 1970s. This is more of a creamy white, she said. “It’s white but it’s not so bright that it is overbearing.” 10 COUNTERTOPS GET MORE PRECIOUS “On the high end, people are using semi-precious stones in bathrooms and for countertops,” Fava said — amethyst, quartz, agate, tiger eye. “That’s the top of the heap right now.” But as the name “semi-precious” suggests, this material is definitely on the high-end, price wise. Semi-precious material runs $300 to $400 a square foot, compared to granite, which is “only” $10 to $15 a square foot.
RESOURCES A&S Total Cleaning: 1015 W. Newport Center Drive, Suite 103, Deerfield Beach; 954.570.1165; totalcleaning.com. Broward Custom Kitchens: 1721 Powerline Road, Pompano Beach; 954.960.0550; browardcustomkitchens.com. Catalfamo Gallery: 2534 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954.561.5770; catalfamogallery.com. Fava Design Group: 3556 N.E. 12th Ave., Oakland Park; 954.568.3732; favadesigngroup.com. Kitchen Designs and More: 2330 Weston Road, Weston; 954.389.5991; kitchendesignsandmore.com.
Catalfamo Gallery
“You definitely have to find the right client,” Fava said. “They see it and fall in love with it. The colors are unique. It’s a conversation piece.” For instance, a slab of white quartz could be used in a shower or a slab of amethyst quartz would be on a bar. It’s a completely different element, but for a client who’s looking for something a little different, that’s one way to go,” Fava said. “I look at it as more of a piece of art.”
IN KITCHENS & BATHS
While classic looks never go out of style, these days
BY LYNN PEITHMAN STOCK
and touches, such as embossed tile and glass, touches of
consumers do not want any more of the same-ol’, same-ol’ in their kitchens and baths. They’re wanting unique items
Fava Design Group
1 WALLS GO WILD Gerard Cuozzo, manager of Catalfamo Gallery, says large format glass tiles are becoming a trend for both kitchens and baths. Today, consumers may choose from glass, mosaics, pebbles and embossed glass. Large format pieces of glass — 12 inches by 24 inches — adorn home walls, particularly in bathrooms. One particularly stunning treatment is gold glass tiles embossed with a scrollwork design. Such intricate detail “is usually what catches people’s eye,” Cuozzo said. “It’s a ‘wow’ factor. “The glass mosaics are becoming more popular,” he said. “This is a trend that’s increasing faster and faster.” Some glass pieces are even larger — four feet by eight feet and his company can create custom pieces that are seamless. 2 TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
Catalfamo Gallery
technology and clean and white backdrops for semi-precious countertops. Here’s a look at what South Florida designers and kitchen and bath experts say is trendy right now:
“We’re seeing a resurgence of mid-century,” said Joe Fava, owner of Fava Design Group. “Bathrooms are becoming more graphic and geometric.” Even with a mostly white bathroom, playful splashes of geometric circles in rich burgundy, brown and tan may accent one wall of a shower. This shines the focal point on the unusual details and allows for use of pops of color and pattern. 3 REVIVING OLD FAVORITES Maintenance never goes out of style, and existing marble and tile floors need some love, too, said Robert Schwartz, vice president of A&S Total Cleaning. The company specializes in restoring find stone flooring, including travertine, granite, marble and terrazzo. Marble flooring should be cleaned and sealed to protect against water and stains. Using a processing called “honing” to restore marble floors, “we grind down the marble surface to take out the imperfections. It’s really restoring the floor to new. Over time, in a high-traffic area, the marble wears.” Polishing and sealing the marble floor will extend its life and reintroduce its sheen.
THINK HOME
Kitchen Designs and More
4 CLEAN AND WHITE … AND VERSATILE
6 QUIET IN THE KITCHEN
“We’re seeing a surge in white cabinets,” said Elliott Landman, owner of Kitchen Designs and More in Weston. “A classic white, painted kitchen is forever,” he said. “It could be contemporary, it could be traditional, it could be retro … depending on what you use for backsplashes.” Kitchen Designs and More chooses to offer manufacturers that use a multistep process for their finishes, and these cabinets have lifetime warranties.
Cabinet doors and drawers now can close more quietly and softly, said Landman of Kitchen Designs and More. “The trend is also with softly closing doors and drawers,” he said, citing Blum as the best in the world for this detail. “They’ve figured out how to put in the hinge and put it in the tracks. They’re putting furniture into the kitchen.”
5 TECHNOLOGY GOES TO THE KITCHEN We want our iPads and tablets close at hand, so cabinetry is making accommodations for that technology in the kitchen, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom Kitchens. People want technology at their fingertips, such as digitized recipes on their iPads. But high tech extends beyond tablets in the kitchen. Refrigerators now have touchscreens on their fronts. Drawers can open electronically at the touch of a button, and cabinets can light up when we open them and shut off when we close them. Homeowners also want lots of electrical plugins, and Broward Custom Kitchens find ways to incorporate those. “Kids are doing homework in the kitchen and everyone needs to plug in their gadgets,” Maggio said.
7 STAY AWAY STAINS Another trend is countertops manufactured from manmade materials, which will not stain, come with a warranty and can be almost any color imaginable, Maggio said. Today, manufacturers have colors that rival stone. Many of these are made with 93 percent quartz and 7 percent material that make the countertop non-porous. “With the quartz, (consumers) can do a lighter color and not have to worry about staining.” Even if granite is sealed, stains can still seep in, she said. 8 MAKING THE TRANSITION “We’re seeing a lot of transitional styles,” said Maggio of Broward Custom Kitchens. People are getting away from the purely traditional look but don’t want to abandon it entirely. For instance, a kitchen may have a Shaker door. These details “are still elegant but have a bit of contemporary feel to them.”
THINK HOME
Broward Custom Kitchens
9 SURFACES LIGHTEN UP “For years, it’s been all about espresso,” Fava said. At recent furniture shows in Milan and Paris, “they were showing walnut with a grayish tint to it.” The colors are lightening up, with gray palettes becoming the hot color now. “The trend right now, whether it’s kitchens or bathrooms, is more of a neutral palette. Taupes and grays are being used, but with texture,” such as pebbles in a shower floor. Cabinets are going pale, too, said Dawn Maggio, co-owner of Broward Custom Kitchens. Popular shades for cabinets and painted products are alabaster and eggshell … not bright white and not the almond popular during the 1970s. This is more of a creamy white, she said. “It’s white but it’s not so bright that it is overbearing.” 10 COUNTERTOPS GET MORE PRECIOUS “On the high end, people are using semi-precious stones in bathrooms and for countertops,” Fava said — amethyst, quartz, agate, tiger eye. “That’s the top of the heap right now.” But as the name “semi-precious” suggests, this material is definitely on the high-end, price wise. Semi-precious material runs $300 to $400 a square foot, compared to granite, which is “only” $10 to $15 a square foot.
RESOURCES A&S Total Cleaning: 1015 W. Newport Center Drive, Suite 103, Deerfield Beach; 954.570.1165; totalcleaning.com. Broward Custom Kitchens: 1721 Powerline Road, Pompano Beach; 954.960.0550; browardcustomkitchens.com. Catalfamo Gallery: 2534 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale; 954.561.5770; catalfamogallery.com. Fava Design Group: 3556 N.E. 12th Ave., Oakland Park; 954.568.3732; favadesigngroup.com. Kitchen Designs and More: 2330 Weston Road, Weston; 954.389.5991; kitchendesignsandmore.com.
Catalfamo Gallery
“You definitely have to find the right client,” Fava said. “They see it and fall in love with it. The colors are unique. It’s a conversation piece.” For instance, a slab of white quartz could be used in a shower or a slab of amethyst quartz would be on a bar. It’s a completely different element, but for a client who’s looking for something a little different, that’s one way to go,” Fava said. “I look at it as more of a piece of art.”
