Some of the most enduring home design trends often start at the high-end- and luxury-home level. Stainless steel and high-tech home automation are two examples of trends that began as luxury elements in homes and have become popular trends regardless of price point. For the Bristol Herald Courier, HomeAdvisor's Dan DiClerico highlights several current luxury design trends with the potential to become more broadly popular in the home design sector.
Organic Kitchens
First came the organic food movement. Now, kitchens are rising to the same level of wholesomeness. The trend is most evident in the banishment of plastics from appliances. Case in point: Dacor’s Project Blanc 30-inch refrigerator and freezer columns with interiors made almost entirely out of porcelain. Besides the beauty of porcelain, the material is durable and low-porous, making it stain and odor-resistant. Other luxury appliance brands are replacing plastic with powder-coated stainless steel, obsidian, and even glass.
Customized Cooking
Gas or electric? It’s always been one or the other when it comes to cooktops. But more luxury appliance brands are letting customers mix and match cooking technologies. Gaggenau’s new Vario 200 series cooktops, for example, offer a range of customized options, including gas burners, induction elements, electric grills and even a teppanyaki griddle. JennAir offers a range of sizes—15-, 24-, 30-, or 36-inch—along with an array of cooking technology options, giving homeowners more than 700 custom combinations.
Appliances That Think One Step Ahead
The latest smart appliances communicate with each other. For example, Miele’s new ventilation hoods are Wi-Fi-enabled, allowing them to receive information from compatible Miele induction cooktops. When the cooktop is turned on, the hood’s ventilation kicks in. As the heat on the cooktop goes up and down, the hood adjusts accordingly. And once the cooktop is turned off, the hood runs for 15 minutes before powering itself down.
In addition to smart communication, we’re seeing artificial intelligence being applied to appliance design in exciting ways. For example, Signature Kitchen Suite’s new 18- and 24-inch column wine refrigerators feature an AI-driven app that learns a user’s wine preferences over time and suggests wine and food pairings based on their available wine selection.
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