The names of Merillat's new cabinet stains and glazes make you want to sit at the kitchen table sipping something rich and dark: Cognac. Cabernet. Kaffe. Espresso.
On the manufacturer's kitchen cabinets, those colors are rich and dark, and they're selling well among home buyers who are opting, as Paul Radoy, manager of design services for Merillat and Quality Cabinets, explains, for "dark, dark oak and dark, dark maple—a Pottery Barn kind of look" in their kitchens. "Even ebony isn't that dark."
The wood cabinets, which are stained, painted, or layered with glazes to achieve the swarthy shades, are newly popular with homeowners who pair them with deep-colored walls, pitch-black granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances.
"A lot of it has to do with something different," says Radoy. "People have gotten tired of seeing the same thing in every kitchen."
Renton, Wash., custom builder Bill Schaefer agrees. "People are tired of the white, and the white-on-white has been popular for so long," says the owner of Homestead Homes. "There's getting to be more color in the kitchens, and the darker, the better."
Furniture Feel
Buyers are opting for kitchen cabinets that look more like their living room furniture, with pieces that coordinate but aren't necessarily identical in size, color, or species.
"It's a whole movement because of the opening up of the kitchen into the living areas," says John Troxell, director of design for Wood-Mode. "You're seeing everything from basic one-step stains to multi-step finishes that are what you would expect on furniture."
Likewise, says Troxell, more homeowners are opting for simple, clean lines on their kitchen cabinets, and minimal hardware. "A lot of cabinetry is taking on looks similar to contemporary furniture pieces," he says.
Traditional looks remain strong, but contemporary styles are picking up in popularity, says Troxell, who estimates that modern cabinet styles accounted for around 10 percent of sales four years ago but account for as much as 25 percent today.
At the same time, "eclecticism is very hot," notes Dave Heigl, a kitchen designer and vice president of Orren Pickell Designers & Builders in Lincolnshire, Ill.
"People aren't afraid of mixing styles," agrees Troxell. "They don't mind putting contemporary cabinets in a more traditional room or vice versa. It depends on their own taste."
Standing Out
The quest for kitchens that reflect individuals' taste, says Andy Wells, senior director of product design and merchandising for MasterBrand, is driving the popular new styles.
"There is much more color and a lot more capability with product lines to create a very individual solution" than ever before, Wells says. He advises builders to offer lots of kitchen cabinet options so they don't "pigeonhole" people. Instead, he urges, "Show them how to use eclecticism to create a kitchen that makes an individual statement."
That's the goal of The Estridge Cos., Indiana's largest custom home builder, whose new design studio offers buyers a choice of 85 cabinet door styles.
"Most definitely, one size doesn't fit all," says Jaimie Maple, the builder's director of purchasing.
Troxell endorses that approach. "Home builders really need to recognize they will sell more homes if they show [buyers] how to personalize the cabinetry," he says. Most production builders, he says, are sticking with tried-and-true medium-hued oak or maple cabinets, all one style, in the kitchens of tract homes.
Bellevue, Wash., kitchen designer Richard Landon urges builders to think of what happens in the kitchen before they build it.
"If we begin to think of kitchens as food-related, we begin to realize what a huge mistake builders have made over the years, with cookie-cutter designs that are bland and beige," he says. "People don't want to eat bland food. They don't want to cook in a bland kitchen."
Mike Ryan says his custom building company couldn't get away with bland in his market. Ryan, the sales manager for Elfers, Fla.-based Samuelson Builders, explains, "It's a given that the kitchen is a 'wow' in every home. When you're selling homes for $400,000 to over a million, the kitchen's got to have some pop."
His customers are shying away from yellow hues in favor of what he calls "blackish" glazes as dark as chocolate and of warm stains with red, brown, and even green tints.
Storage Solutions
At Samuelson, the cabinetry must-haves don't stop with aesthetics. At a minimum, Ryan says, the cabinets must feature slots for trays, a pull-out trash can, and a deep drawer for pots and pans.
Storage-minded kitchen design is important to homeowners, confirms Wells, who points to the popularity of wire racks, pull-out trays, and movable shelves.
"Our industry has evolved into a fashion business," he notes. Yet the true reason for cabinets in the kitchen is storage. "A lot of [manufacturers] ignore the real need for the cabinetry," he says. "It's an ongoing strategic thrust for us as a company to develop great [designs] that make the cabinets useful."
Home buyers are recognizing the utility of drawers, and are asking for more of them. In fact, says Troxell, some builders and remodelers are hanging fewer wall cabinets and installing more undercounter drawers.
One of the most popular recent design innovations is invisible: easy-does-it drawer runners and cabinet hinges that slow the door down before it slams shut so it doesn't make any noise when it catches. Pioneered by Blum, other manufacturers have added the silent runners to their cabinets during the last year.
Such innovations are coming at a time when the cabinet industry has hit a slump.
For more than a decade, cabinet sales have grown right along with the booming housing demand and the healthy kitchen remodeling market. But, like home sales, they took a bleak turn in 2006, according to Research and Markets, which reports on market trends.
Still, Cleveland-based industry research firm The Freedonia Group predicts that U.S. demand for cabinets will expand 3.1 percent a year until the end of the decade despite sinking home sales because homeowners are demanding more cabinets in the kitchen and other areas like laundry and media rooms.
A recent Merillat survey of new home buyers backs up that contention: It reveals that cabinets are their highest-priority kitchen item—more than twice as important as appliances. -- BUILDING PRODUCTS
White cabinets aren't completely out of style; they're just a bit more muted than the stark white that has been so popular for so long.
Glazes that give a worn, antique look to a white cabinet are in favor, as are muted off-whites with soft gray tones.
"White is one of those classics that never goes away," says John Troxell, director of design for Wood-Mode. "It may trend down or up. Right now, we've noticed a little bit of an uptrend in it."
"The kitchen," says Bellevue, Wash., designer Richard Landon,"doesn't begin in the kitchen. It begins in the garage."
That's where the homeowner unloads the groceries that will wind up in the kitchen.
First, she must make her way—with groceries, purse, car keys, and maybe muddy shoes—through the garage and the laundry or mud room—before she can drop her bags on the kitchen countertop.
Along the way, says Landon, she's got no place for her keys or purse to land. A few well-placed cabinets would make the trip easier.
"I put in twice to three times as much cabinetry [in remodels] as they do in a spec house," says Landon, who notes that much of it isn't in the kitchen. And he says nearly all of his customers call him in to remodel kitchens in homes that are less than five years old.
"People come to me and say, 'Something's not right with this house.' The people pathways need to be synchronized in the way that appeals to people."
Paul Radoy, Merillat's manager of design services, agrees.
"Where do you bring the mail in? Where do you charge the cell phone and the iPod?" he asks."It's that area between the garage and the kitchen: the mud room, the laundry room. There seems to be that zone, where it's a good spot for those kinds of things to happen."
He adds:"There's not a specific cabinet for that, but [kitchen] cabinetry can be planned in to do that."
As reported by Builders, installers, and Manufacturers:
| Merillat. The Fusion door style is the latest addition to the company's Classic line. A fresh, contemporary option, it features a full overlay, one-piece slab-style door and drawer front, and is available in maple and cherry, the maker says. 517-263-0771. www.merillat.com. |  |
 | Woodharbor. This kitchen shows off the flush inset Waterbury door style with Manor raised and slab-style drawer fronts. These cherry wood products are finished in cinnamon to create an inviting and elegant look, the maker says. 641-423-0444. www.woodharbor.com. |
| Wood-Mode. Avalon cabinets are available in country linen and black. The cabinets feature solid wood doors and multi-step finishes, and are available in traditional framed construction with the door mounted on a front frame and contemporary frameless construction with no face frame so the door is mounted on the cabinet case itself. 877-635-7500. www.wood-mode.com. |  |
 | Medallion. The Bella line comes in a variety of stains and glazes on maple and cherry doors and cabinets. A simple, sleek design makes this post-modern cabinet a natural partner for stainless steel appliances. This kitchen mixes two finishes, maple natural and maple wheat, an emerging style trend. 952-442-5171. www.medallioncabinetry.com. |
| KraftMaid. The maker's collection of Harmony Storage Solutions features smooth, sliding pull-out doors and shelves. Pull-out cabinets are available in a variety of options, including tall, wall, and base cabinets, with several units accessible from both sides, the maker says. The wall and base cabinets are available with a stainless pegboard back (pictured) and with adjustable shelves, the company adds. 888-562-7744. www.kraftmaid.com. |  |
 | YesterTec. These cabinets are UL-listed to conceal cooking appliances when homeowners aren't using them. The appliances hide behind doors that swing out and slide back into the unit, and can only be operated if the doors are open, the maker says. When concealing ovens, the pocket doors are locked until the appliance has had a chance to cool off. 877-346-4976. www.yestertec.com. |
| Huntwood. The manufacturer custom-makes each cabinet. Builders and their customers can choose from 13 wood species, 28 colors, and a variety of furniture and antique glazes, or aged and distressed finishes. Other options include a choice of overlays and edges. The Woodland door style is shown here in rustic hickory finished in spice. 800-873-7350. www.huntwood.com. |  |
 | Aristokraft. The Durham door offers homeowners an affordable way to take advantage of the enduring white kitchen trend, the maker says. Available in the toasted antique glaze, this door features a recessed laminated center panel; five-piece, square-mitered style; and full overlay. 812-482-2527. www.aristokraft.com. |
| Wellborn. The Milan door style, now available in oak, features an overlay slab door with wood edgebanding on the perimeter. The maker offers the Milan style in the Premier and WoodCraft series in six standard and nine specialty finishes. Milan Oak is the company's first oak door style to feature the popular straight grain pattern, the manufacturer says. 800-336-8040. www.wellborn.com. |  |
 | Dura Supreme. The new Wall Bi-Fold door is available in the Crestwood, Designer, and Alectra lines. Pictured in an aluminum frame, the door is also offered in wood, and homeowners can specify grain direction to be horizontal or vertical, the maker says. 888-711-3872. www.durasupreme.com. |