Just what are the trends cooking up in Alberta kitchens?  Well, that all depends on who you ask, where you go and what you want.

Calgary interior designer Reena Sotropa of Corea Sotropa Interior Design says it comes down to these words: high tech; chef’s kitchen; using dramatic natural materials; multi-use and entertainment spaces.
Recently, New Home Living rediscovered the kitchen through designers, home builders, manufacturers and suppliers.

Trendsetters
Browse show homes in Calgary and Edmonton, and you’ll see current and emerging kitchen trends. Take Calgary’s Sabal Homes and their Arkitekt series. The Heidi Model has a “stylish kitchen” featuring contemporary Kaluha stained maple cabinets, graphite black tiled backsplash and a set of sleek black appliances.

In Calgary and Edmonton, Jayman MasterBUILT homes’ standard kitchen fare includes KOHLER deep stainless steel kitchen sinks with Moen chrome single handle faucet with pullout spray. Its GE-brand appliance package offers the Energy Star-rated fridge, self-cleaning range, dishwasher and over-the-range microwave.

At Calgary’s Baywest Homes, home buyers can choose from its Serenity Collection. While enhancing many areas of your home, much of the attention (of the Serenity Collection) centres on the kitchen and the bath—two areas that truly inspire and rejuvenate.
Coining it “cabinet envy”, the builder offers taller, deeper kitchen cabinets over the range and an extra set of pot and pan drawers for more storage space. Cabinet layout can be modified to accommodate a wall oven and cook-top. Granite counter upgrades are elegant options and Blanco Vision Silgranit undermount kitchen sinks are available in white or black.

Baywest offers cabinet choices of maple, hickory, oak, alder or lacquer in numerous stains, and six different door styles and crown molding on upper cabinets.

 While in renovation projects, interior designer Reena Sotropa says her clients are moving towards higher-end materials, layouts and appliances that may have only been found in professional kitchens not long ago. “Names like Sub-Zero, Wolf, Viking, Thermador, Dacor are becoming the standard in our newly renovated kitchens,” she says.

 “Clients now seem to have a long list of requirements that their kitchens must have, and many of them have very little to do with cooking and eating” Corea Sotropa Interior Design, is often asked to design small office spaces, family organization zones, TV viewing and entertainment areas for small and large groups, she says.

“Some clients are sacrificing practicality for beautiful natural materials such as marble countertops, which are notorious for their porous surface and are highly susceptible to staining and etching. Not long ago, people wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but now they seem to be putting practicality aside because they love the look.”

Edmonton homeowners also want to add natural materials into countertops, cabinets, backsplashes and floors, says Edmonton interior designer Peggie Melnychuk-Millard of Go Design Group.
Storage, she says, is another function that kitchens increasingly seem to serve.

“Tiled backsplashes—tile is hot and the best place to incorporate this trend is in the backsplash,” says Melnychuk-Millard. “It’s a great way to incorporate real art into your kitchen.”

Coasting along
Coast Wholesale Appliances, which has Calgary and Edmonton locations, is Western Canada’s largest supplier of home appliances. The company supplies “innovative products for builders, designers and home owners.”

In its Exciting New Products section, Coast lists a variety of new options, especially for refrigerators. Among the, the Dacor Microwave-in-A-Drawer can be installed under counter or below a wall oven. From Jenn-Air, the 25-cubic-foot refrigerator has stainless wrapped doors and handles, dual doors, a glide-out freezer drawer, and TriSensor electronic climate control.

The Samsung four-door convertible refrigerator has four compartments, each individually controlled. Meanwhile, the Liebherr C 1650 built-in refrigerator-freezer has a stainless steel door and transferable door hinges to adjust for any layout.

“The GE Appliance brand is focused on offering consumers options for kitchen convenience, ease and, of course, stylish design. Multiple oven spaces in the kitchen address the evolving needs of homeowners,” says Philippe Meyersohn, general manager brand, MABE Canada.

“The Free-Standing Double-Oven Range is affordable and perfect for families preparing multiple food items at the same time—in one oven,” adds Meyersohn.

The new GE Profile 30-inch Free-Standing Double-Oven Range features an upper oven, large oven, PreciseAir Convection System and Bridge Element. And the GE Profile Dishwasher with SmartDispense lets you calculate the exact amount of water and soap needed for each dish load. It holds a 47-ounce bottle of detergent and only has to be refilled every two months.

Awash in function
KOHLER has launched its breakthrough Karbon kitchen faucet that frees up both hands for kitchen prep and clean-up tasks. “This articulating faucet represents a breakthrough in the evolution of the category,” says Les Petch, senior product manager for KOHLER kitchen faucets. “The quest for the ultimate in functionality has not only produced a faucet that outperforms other models but has also yielded an astonishing piece of contemporary design work that represents as much a piece of art as the next generation in faucet technology.”

This faucet maintains its exact position and provides both spray and aerated water flow options. Another design detail is the remote joystick valve that has a sleek look and is flush with the countertop.

Cool appointments
Further KOHLER innovations come in the KOHLER Cordial entertainment sink and Crevasse rinsing sink. The round, cast iron Cordial sink is an all-in-one entertainment idea, perfect for washing and rinsing glassware, preparing garnishes, staging drinks and providing cold storage for wine and other beverages. “The circular design of the Cordial entertainment sink enhances the participation of guests, while adding beauty to any prep station,” says Andy Barber, marketing manager for KOHLER kitchen products.

The stainless steel KOHLER Crevasse rinsing sink makes food prep and cleanup easy and hands-free. Its technology activates a rinsing action and the garbage disposal at the touch of a button.  The trough-like, sloped design offers ample space for food waste to be brushed into the basin. And its 33-inch size should fit into any kitchen work space alongside a primary sink or as a stand-alone.
Hard choices

“When it comes to durability, versatility and style, nothing compares to CaesarStone,” says Kirsten Kemp, designer and host of TLC’s Property Ladder.  An increasingly popular choice for kitchen countertops, CaesarStone is quartz surface that’s tough enough and available in wide ranging colours.

Swede offerings
Stylish and design savvy, IKEA, with Calgary and Edmonton stores, always has “affordable solutions for better living. In the past, buying a kitchen has been one of two things—either very expensive or requiring a lot of time and effort,” says IKEA. Known for its affordable wares, the Swedish retailer seeks to change that. In addition to carrying everything for the culinary space including the kitchen sink, IKEA now provides consumers excellent online resources to get started like its kitchen guide and planner tool which can be downloaded. It allows hopeful kitchen remodellers to key in their own dimensions and choose from the kitchen options available, to calculate fit and cost. One of its newest kitchens is the IKEA AKURUM/STÅT. The stylishly clean white kitchen package includes cabinets, countertops, shelving, drawers, hinges, moldings and panels.

Like IKEA, “(Alberta) kitchens are now planned, well thought-out and researched,” says Melnychuk-Millard. “Thoughts about lifestyle, multi-purpose uses, and recycling are being incorporated (into kitchens now).  To do that, we have to spend time before cabinets are selected to think about where things should go and what the best use of space is.”

Just add … value
Will a kitchen renovation add value to the resale price your home?  That may happen, according to the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

The institute recently released the results of its 2008 RENOVA survey.

It asked members, who are experts in residential appraisal, which improvements add value to the sale price of a home.  

One renovation identified as having higher recovery rate was adding a cooking island in the kitchen (65 per cent). In perennial home improvements, bath and kitchen renos are most popular, with recovery rates of 75 and 100 per cent.

Source: Appraisal Institute of Canada – RENOVA 2008

Lay of the land
Did you know that the efficiency of your kitchen can depend more on its layout?

The single-line kitchen: This is a smart and simple solution for narrow rooms, ideally with one wall over ten feet long, without windows and doors. However, this layout causes the longest tips since you often have to walk from one end of the room to the other.

The galley kitchen: This shape offers the most efficient use of space, making it the choice of many professional chefs. Two rows allow room for lots of preparation space, and moving between activity areas can be as easy as turning around.

The L-shape kitchen: This is ideal for a family kitchen, or for entertaining guests, since it can easily accommodate table and chairs.

The U-shape kitchen: The use of three full walls in a room offers the perfect working kitchen. The fridge, range and sink can be spaced for maximum efficiency and convenience, providing the best workflows with the shortest distances around the kitchen.

The island kitchen: The island layout is perfect if you plan to entertain, but requires more floor space. An independent island unit can face a dining or living area, allowing the cook to socialize while preparing. NL
Source: IKEA Kitchen Guide

NETTING THE DETAILS:
For more information, check out the following websites:
www.coreasotropa.ca 
www.sabalhomes.com
www.jayman.com
www.baywesthomes.com
www.godesigngroup.com
www.coastappliances.com
www.geappliances.ca
www.kohler.com
www.caesarstone.com
tlc.discovery.com
www.poggenpohl.ca
www.ikea.com
www.aicanada.ca