Décor trends in the kitchen change so fast it seems I can barely keep up with what’s new. Of course decorating, especially when it comes to one of the most expensive rooms in the house, is sort of a matter of personal taste anyway. While I can’t predict what color will be hot next year and what materials will become undesirable as fast as they became the next big thing just a couple of years ago, I can reasonably conclude that a few kitchen design trends will be around for awhile. Here are my best bets:

Keeping Green in Mind

The movement towards green design and using sustainable products such as bamboo flooring and cabinets made of environmentally friendly materials and wood is not going to go away anytime soon. In fact, I don’t even think going green has come close to peaking as a trend yet. If you’re thinking about doing a green remodel, the kitchen is certainly a fantastic place to get started, even on a budget.

Doubling Up On Appliances

This might shy away from the green movement, but as we are getting busier and busier in our everyday lives, I almost think we’re begging for more conveniences to help us relish what little time for relaxation we have available. For big and busy families especially, doubling up on certain appliances such as dishwashers is a growing trend. In fact, they’re even becoming essential for getting the job done. If having more is better or saves time, expect to see it more in kitchens too.

Adding More Space by Better Engineering

This is almost a gimmie. Designers are starting to figure out that space is almost always at a premium no matter what. The more space we have, the more space we’ll quickly fill up.  While there’s really only one perfect solution to the problem (getting rid of the stuff), advanced design might improve kitchen functionality in the short run. ; Expect to see more and more innovation such these increased storage space cabinets.

More Beautiful Copper Finishes

The trend on this is clear - copper is definitely in when it comes to kitchen design.  As copper is already becoming more and more expensive as a commodity everyday, we’re still seeing a huge increase in its interior application. And why not? It’s versatile and beautiful for a whole range of uses such as sinks, range hoods, and even wall accent tiles.

Just last week I made the comment that professional home stagers are using the color red as their favorite accent color, especially when working with rooms primarily decorated in neutral tones. Not only is red one of the best colors for catching the eye (there’s plenty of studies to prove it), but it also exudes power and energy. In a nutshell, these reasons alone make red the perfect accent.

And what better way is there to accent than pillows and table lamps? Okay, I don’t really expect an answer for that question, but rest assured that these are indeed two great methods of accentuation. Bringing me to my find of the week:

This awesome smallish size red stripe-shaded table lamp is not only bold and eye catching, but it’s versatile too. It’d work perfectly throughout the house, from the living room to the bedroom to the office even. Granted, each of us is an individual and might view the styling of this lamp anywhere from formal to vintage - I’ll leave it up to you to decide where it should go, but I am indeed impressed by the options its design presents.

The bonus?

It’s downright cheap and the shipping is free too! I can almost guarantee you won’t find this unique lamp anywhere else. Enjoy:

If you’re looking for an excuse for a good weekend project, it’s always a great time to install or replace a ceiling fan in your home (if you’re looking for a silent heirloom quality upgrade, try a Casablanca fan like the one pictured above). It’s the perfect do it yourself project if you’re so inclined and even more so if the electric is already run to the correct location.

And yes, ceiling fans are even beneficial in the wintertime. I know it’s easy to dismiss their functionality when the last thing you want is a cool breeze blowing down on you. But when they’re switched to reverse mode (all ceiling fans have the switch), they’ll keep you more comfortable by forcing the warm air that accumulates towards the ceiling back down to your level.

As an added bonus, running ceiling fans in reverse at low speed in your house will not only help distribute the heat evenly throughout the entire home, but they’ll also save money by doing so. Some rooms of my house take in more solar heat because of their southern exposure. I take advantage of this and pump the natural free heat out of those rooms and into the rest of my home by using the ceiling fans in those rooms.

So what are you waiting for? Late fall and winter is the perfect time to install new ceiling fans after all!

Toilets from all around the world that will make you laugh.

It’s fun to watch the trends and fads of appliance design make huge shifts in paradigm several years or so. Visualize this - kitchen appliances going from avocado green and harvest gold to almond beige, to bright pure white, to stainless steel over the years. Well, if you thought we were stuck on the stainless steel look for awhile, guess what:

Colors are the next big trend in appliances.

Yes, they’re creeping in to the market ever so slowly. Fire engine red ovens, slate blue refrigerator - you pick the appliance and the color and it’s starting to happen now. Sure, it might take a few years for the fad to really explode, but it’s starting to take place even now as we speak. Choosing colorful appliances is definitely hot.

You’ll even begin to see more and more appliances done over in radical colorful patterns, although I don’t know how much staying power this trend can possible maintain. We’ll just have to wait and see where this all ends up and how long it is until the next big thing, but for now, enjoy your baby pink coffee dream machine!

Just last weekend, my wife and I spent an awesome autumn Saturday going through our town’s annual old house tour.  We’re fortunate to reside in a small community that is incredibly diverse in history and boasts fantastic well-preserved architecture.

All of the homes on the tour really show off the owner’s pride and dedication to restoring and maintaining even the most tedious of details.  Now after touring several museum quality homes, all restored accurately to the time period they were built in the mid to late 1800’s, one begins to sort of fade into the next.

All except for one particular standout:  It definitely brought to light the Victorian time period it originated in, but at the same time was decorated in a tastefully modern and so very livable fashion.  I appreciate all old homes and architecture, but must admit that very few of theses showpieces were really livable according to the levels of comfort we expect today.

The moral of the story - It might be fun to own and restore a “museum” but would you really want to live in a museum?

Oh and there’s one other thing I was going to talk about here today which is barely even related to the antidote above, but got me ranting anyway.  One of the homes we toured had a very antique butcher block featured as the centerpiece and island of the kitchen.  It was not only very old, but massive and extremely heavy.  Being about 5 foot square and boasting a 16” thick solid maple top (naturally distressed through many years of service), this thing really must have literally weighed a ton.

It made us wonder just what it would take to introduce a similarly inspired feature into our own kitchen - our own personal island of maple, if you will.  Well, fortunately I was able to find quite the selection of pro quality solid maple top kitchen islands by John Boos.  This might just be the basis of a future kitchen makeover:

Seriously, I’ll bet not even half of us are completely satisfied with the current state of our kitchens. They’re just so expensive to totally refurbish and even then, the remodels only stay in popular style for so long, if you know what I mean.

So What’s My Solution?

Well, in a nutshell, I suggest doing a quick and easy makeover of the parts of your kitchen that matter the most. And fortunately for the budget minded among us, these are also the usually the most affordable areas to tackle. Here’s a great way to start your budget friendly kitchen makeover:

Upgrade the Things You Touch the Most.

This might seem sort of like a surface makeover and in essence it is. But really take a moment to picture your daily duties in the kitchen. Don’t you think replacing the little things that are used the most give the biggest bang for the buck?

Here’s what I mean: New custom cabinetry costs a fortune. So instead, do your own inexpensive but fully custom cabinetry refinishing - more commonly known as paint. Next, finish off your brand new custom cabinets and drawers with all new handles and knobs. As a matter of fact, sometimes just new cabinet hardware alone can make your kitchen shine like brand new.

Choose Your Dream Faucet.

Again, this might sound inconsequential in the whole scheme of things, but if you’re anything like me, I use my kitchen faucet probably more than any other item in the kitchen. This is one upgrade I can absolutely appreciate and I’m sure you will too. Sure, it might run a couple of hundred bucks by the time it’s all said and done, but a new well engineered kitchen faucet is worth every penny invested.

Need a suggestion? If so, Danze sure makes a nice faucet. Take a look at my favorite Opulence model of theirs for the perfect balance of style, quality, and price.

What Else Stands For Improvement?

That’s right, you’re standing on it: The kitchen floor! Yeah, painting the walls and cabinets is an easy and affordable weekend project, but if you really want to finish the whole room off, you’ve got to take a look at the flooring too. The good news is that even some of the new yet really inexpensive vinyl flooring looks really great. Or if you’re willing to tackle the project yourself, good looking tile and engineered wood floors can both be done well even on a tight budget.

When it comes down to it, sure it’s easy to spend tens of thousands of dollars on an all new kitchen. However, by planning smart and focusing on the details that are most important, you can easily renovate your kitchen on a budget. What are you waiting for?

Let’s face the facts - no matter what our political persuasions might be, it is most definitely clear that energy costs are skyrocketing as natural resources are becoming more and more limited.  But what can we really do about it at home in our everyday lives?

Go low flow.  I know just the other day, I bragged up the benefits of an awesome high output luxury showerhead, but this is the perfect time to make note of the recent improvements in water saving shower heads.  You might be surprised at how much pressure some of them put out - I know I was.

Switch to CFLs already.  CFL stands for compact fluorescent light bulbs - you might already refer to them as swirl bulbs or even ice cream cone bulbs because of their shape, but don’t dismiss their dramatic improvement in function and quality over the last couple of years alone.  They used to be a novelty, but now they’re totally mainstream.  And the savings?  Phenomenal.  My wife and I switched all of our bulbs a few months ago and we’re saving around $20 monthly on our electric bill!

Turn down the temp.  Try a programmable thermostat to automate your house a bit while you’re sleeping or away at work.  The benefits are awesome, basically keeping your house warm and toasty when you’re aware and powered down and efficient when you’re not.  And when you are at home, why not save even more energy and money by deploying a space heater where it counts and keeping the rest of your house turned down?  That’s what I do and I can assure you it’s well worth it!

Sure, going all out and doing a total renovation is one (really expensive) way to improve energy efficiency and go totally green.  But for the rest of us, there’s no need to fret - going green one step at a time is easier and more affordable than ever!

I’m sure you’ve seen the home staging shows on TV - you know, where they completely redecorate a house, increasing its selling value sometimes even while working with a bargain basement shoestring budget. It’s always fun to guestimate how much value the rework will bring. Sometimes the results are absolutely stunning.

But have you ever thought about staging your own home? Just because you’re not selling your home doesn’t mean you can’t stage it for your own enjoyment!

Declutter Your Way to Double the Space.

If you’re anything like me, you might have managed to pack about double the amount of stuff your home has capacity for. It’s human nature after all. But one of the first things any professional home staging attempt will do is remove the clutter and the non essential furniture. Doing so not only gives the illusion of more space - it actually does give more living space.

Practical Tip: Ask a friend to help decide what should stay or go - being creatures of habit, it’s too easy to decide everything stays when we’re left to make the choices on our own.

Accentuate the Positives.

To really keep things in check, keeping a room’s colors mostly neutral is not a bad idea. Think of it sort of like working with a blank canvas - it’s easy to paint on the details one by one. Add a couple of brightly colored pillow to that beige couch. The key is to not overdue the colorful accent pieces because in essence, that really just equates to more clutter.

Practical Tip: Pro stagers have found that red accent pieces really stick out and add energy to a room.

Shake Things Up.

Even if you think everything is already okay, try the big switcheroo. It’s kind of like getting a radically different haircut - you’re not really sure, but you make the choice and most of the time fall in love with the new look in no time at all. Except with furniture and décor, if you don’t care for the results, it just takes a few minutes to move everything back.

Practical Tip: Use a warm iron over a plain white cloth to steam furniture indents from previous arrangements out of the carpet.

Let There Be Better Light.

By saying this, I don’t necessarily mean adding more light - in fact, less light might be better in some cases, especially if the quality of lighting is unpleasant. For example, if you’re trying to stage a finished basement that uses overhead florescent tube light fixtures, start by turning them off. Think instead of light fixtures with eye appeal and also warm ambient light output.

Practical Tip: Placement is key with lighting. Try to avoid the dead center approach; it will almost always put the lighting in the wrong place.

Even though they’re not exactly water misers, the large antique style showerheads like this Danze 10” Model with Flex Jet Ports are just appealing on so many levels.

Trying to take a cleansing and relaxing shower under the trickle of an old clogged up plastic showerhead is what I would call a daunting process, to say the least.  I’ve been there and done that, but never again.  This is ten huge inches of overhead water dispersion, about as big as a shower can get and let me tell you, this is what it’s all about.

In other words, it is indeed downright luxurious.  But for those who are worried that a shower nozzle like this might be committing a sin against being green, rest assured that having enough water to get the job done can cut your time in the shower in half if you so choose.  Water saving heads decrease the flow, but also make it take just that much longer to rinse.

Trust me, there’s no way you’ll ever regret choosing a showerhead like this!