Blend is the trend at KBIS 2010

David Alderman, president-elect of the National Kitchen & Bath Assn.,
talks industry trends witnessed at the 2010 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show.

Many cabinet companies displayed a plethora of new product offerings and styles at the 2010 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, which took place April 16-18 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Although white finishes continued to be a favorite among designers for kitchen cabinets, one trend that seemed to be picking up steam at this year’s show was the blending of light and dark tones in kitchen cabinets. For example, Quality Cabinets, a division of Masco Corp., featured a kitchen vignette with light upper cabinets and dark lower cabinets — a mix of Jamestown Maple Biscotti with Mocha and Quincy Cherry Cider with Licorice.

Quality Cabinets, a division of Masco Corp., featured a kitchen
vignette with light upper cabinets and dark lower cabinets.

In the past, cabinet companies may have mixed paint with a stain, but this year, several cabinet companies displayed a variety of stain blends from light to dark and a mixture of different woods as well, such as the maple and cherry featured in a Wellborn Cabinets kitchen vignette. Ron Machunski, a representative for Showplace Wood Products Inc., said that this trend initially started with kitchen islands being a separate color than the cabinets. That style eventually migrated to the cabinets.

Showplace Wood Products Inc. featured several kitchen vignettes
blending light and dark tones in its cabinetry.

White finishes are still top sellers
Keith Selby, sales rep of Faircrest Cabinets said that although dark colors have become more popular over the years, white is still their number one seller. He pointed out one of his popular finishes on display — Heritage White with chocolate glazing. David Alderman, incoming president of the National Kitchen & Bath Assn. and president of Dave's Cabinets in Chesapeake, VA, concurred with Selby about the popularity of white finishes.

Although white and off-white are still among the most popular colors, he noted that in many cases they are being tempered with glazes or other specialty finishes. A lot of cabinet companies exhibiting at K/BIS also showed light colored cabinets complemented by darker tones, both in paints and stains. "You might see a white kitchen with a black island or hood. What we're also seeing are a lot of two-toned cabinets: vertical, horizontal as well as islands," Alderman said.

One benefit of blending light and dark colors in the cabinetry is that it allows designers to have the best of both worlds, as well as creating a new aesthetic look with this contrasting style.